Kennedy News

Kennedy Families,

I am so excited to welcome back all of our Kennedy Cubs for another fantastic year of learning and growing together! The first day of school is Wednesday, August 27th, and we can’t wait to see our hallways filled with smiling faces once again.

The 2024–2025 school year was an incredible one for Kennedy. Thanks to the hard work of our students, families, and staff, Kennedy was named a National ESEA Distinguished School—one of only 69 schools in the entire nation to receive this honor! This recognition highlights the amazing academic growth of our Cubs and the powerful partnerships we have with our families.

As a Title I (ESEA) school, we are proud to provide additional academic support and opportunities to every student. This support has helped Kennedy Cubs achieve some of the strongest results in our district and region. Looking ahead, our focus remains the same: to make Kennedy the very best school for every student by ensuring they reach their fullest academic potential, feel a strong sense of connection and belonging, and—of course—have fun along the way!

We are so fortunate to have an incredible team of educators who are ready and eager to welcome your children on August 27th.

If you haven’t already, please take a moment to log into Parent Portal to see who your child’s teacher will be this year. You’ll also find the link to sign up for entrance conferences online—more information is included later in this newsletter.

Below is a list of teachers for 2025-2026 school year.The names in bold are new to Kennedy.

• Kindergarten - Mrs. Lout and Mrs. McConkey
• 1st Grade - Mrs. Brennan, Mrs. Dahline, and Mrs. Olmanson
• 2nd Grade - Mrs. Imhoff and Mrs. Wiste
• 3rd Grade - Mr. Meyers and Mr. Wischnack
• 4th Grade - Mrs. Schulz, Mrs. Peterson, and Mr. Winning
• 5th Grade - Ms. Kelly and Mrs. Uhrich
• Intervention - Mrs.Veroeven and Mrs. Wittenberg
• Multilingual Learners (MLL) - Mrs. Zimmer and Ms. Rodriguez
• Specials - Mrs. Smith (PE), Mrs. Benson (Media), Mrs. Carpenter (Music), and Mrs. Bealey and Ms. Atkinson (Art)
• Special Education Resource Teachers: Mrs. Wensel, Ms. Samuelson, Mrs. Stenzel, and Ms. Campbell
• Special Education ASD Program: Mrs. Hopkins and Ms. Thomas,
• Speech Language Pathologist: Mrs. Mueller and Mrs. Ewel
• Student Support - Ms. Helget (Counselor), Mrs. Northenscold (Social Work), Mrs. McCarron (Youth Community Navigator/Social Worker), Mrs. Dehnoff (School Psychologist), Ms. Estrada (Nurse) and Mrs. Heidemann (Nurse)

We can’t wait to begin another amazing year at Kennedy—let’s make it the best one yet!

It's Great to Be a Cub!

Steve Rustad

srusta1@isd77.org

BE SAFE

ENGAGE

SHOW EMPATHY

TOGETHER WE ARE KENNEDY!

We are so happy to be able to welcome back our Cubs!! Arrival and dismissal times involve a large number of students moving through common locations, so we developed a safe and efficient way to drop off and pick up at Kennedy. To make this process as safe and efficient as possible, we use a staggered drop off system and rely on everyone doing their best to follow the times and locations for drop off/pick up. If your assigned drop off time does not work for you, please talk to your student's teacher about a time that works better.

Arrival Procedures

If walking or dropping off please follow the staggered arrival times by last name:

Last names A-H 7:45

Last name I-P 7:50

Last name Q-Z 7:55

Students must enter and exit through the designated doors for their grade level. The only exception to this is that older siblings of kindergarten and 1st grade students may enter at doors 1 and 2 to drop off younger siblings.

All Kindergarten - Door 2

All 1st - Door 1

All 2nd + 4th - Door 14

All 3rd + 5th - Door 13

VERY IMPORTANT ARRIVAL INFORMATION FOR PARENTS

• PLEASE PARK ONLY IN THE DESIGNATED AREAS FOR DROP OFF (SEE MAP BELOW)
• DO NOT DROP OFF IN THE BUS LANE BY DOOR 14.
• DO NOT DO U-TURNS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET.
• PARENTS AND OTHER VISITORS WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ENTER THE BUILDING DURING DROP OFF UNLESS VISITING THE OFFICE. PARENTS DO NOT BRING STUDENTS TO THEIR CLASSROOMS.
• PARENTS WHO ARE WALKING THEIR STUDENTS TO SCHOOL SHOULD STAY ON THE SIDEWALK NEAR THE ROADS DURING DROP OFF.
• IF YOU HAVE A SITUATION WHERE YOUR STUDENT HAS TO ARRIVE BEFORE 7:45, THEY SHOULD GO TO DOOR #2.
• DOORS 1, 13, and 14 WILL BE LOCKED UNTIL 7:45.

Dismissal Procedures

Students will be walking out with their classroom teacher and gathering in their outdoor pod spot. Students will tell their teacher when they are leaving. Siblings should choose a meeting location on the sidewalks away from the other pods. We will begin our dismissal process just before 2:30. If you are waiting for your child outside of a car, please wait on the sidewalks along the roads and your child can meet you there. Thank you for your help and cooperation to make this run as smoothly as possible. We appreciate your patience as we all learn this new routine. Let us know if you have any questions.

VERY IMPORTANT DISMISSAL INFORMATION FOR PARENTS

• DO NOT DROP OFF IN THE BUS LANE BY DOOR 14.
• DO NOT PARK OR PICK UP ON KENNEDY STREET BETWEEN THE STOP SIGN AND THE BUS LOOP. THIS CREATES A TRAFFIC JAM.
• STUDENTS AND PARENTS SHOULD ONLY CROSS KENNEDY STREET AND MAIN STREET IN THE CROSSWALK EVEN IF THIS MEANS WALKING A LITTLE FARTHER. THE CROSSWALK IS THE ONLY SAFE OPTION FOR STUDENTS.
• PARENTS AND OTHER VISITORS WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ENTER THE BUILDING DURING DROP OFF.
• PARENTS WHO WALK HOME WITH THEIR STUDENTS SHOULD STAY ON THE SIDEWALK NEAR THE ROADS WHILE WAITING.
• PETS MUST STAY ON THE SIDEWALKS NEAREST TO THE ROAD DURING PICK UP. PETS SHOULD BE ON A LEASH, SHOULD NOT BE NEAR THE BUILDING, AND SHOULD NOT BE ACCESSIBLE TO STUDENTS.

Did you know that if your Cub misses 17 or more days of the school year that they are considered chronically absent by the state of Minnesota? We know that students miss school for many reasons such as illness, vacation, or family emergencies. It is expected that a student will miss a few days throughout the year. However, when students start to miss more than a few days of school, it can be detrimental to their academic growth. Research shows that students who miss 7 or more days of school are more likely to struggle to be at grade level academically. Here at Kennedy, we want to see our Cubs in school as often as possible so that they can continue to get what they need to succeed in school.

Here are some important things to know about how we will be approaching attendance for the remainder of the year:

• Stay below 17 Days Absent: Mr. Rustad will be sending a message out to all families who have students on pace to miss more than 17 days of school this year. We have about 10% of students who are at this point. Our school goal is to have less than 5% of our students missing 17+ days this year. If you receive that message from me, know that we are looking to partner with you to make a plan for better attendance for the remainder of the year.
• 7 Sick Days=Med Letter Needed: If you have had a student who has missed up to 7 days because of illness, we will be requiring a doctor's note to excuse any further absences for illness. If your child isn't feeling good but they seem like they could be at school, I encourage you to bring them to school and have them checked out by our school nurse, Ikzela Estrada. She will let you know if your student should stay at school or go home for the day.
• Doctor's Note Needed: Every time your student goes to an appointment (doctor, dentist, therapy, etc.), they must come back with a note from the visit excusing them from the time they were absent. If they have no note and it is just called it, it will be marked as unexcused until a note comes in verifying the absence.
• County Involvement: When a student has 8 or more unexcused absences, our school partners with Blue Earth County to support families with a plan to get their students to school more often.

Thank you for your partnership around attendance. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at srusta1@isd77.org.

Breakfast and Lunch will be offered for free for the 2025-2026 school year. Students who bring a cold lunch but want a milk will be charged for the milk. We encourage all eligible families to fill out an application for Educational Benefits. If you have previously qualified for free or reduced meals other benefits may be available to your family. If you feel your family might qualify for benefits, please use the link below to start the application or please email Lindsey Northenscold, the School Social Worker for Kennedy. All information is confidential, and students who receive benefits are not identified in any way. You may apply at any time during the school year.

Completing the Educational Benefits Application helps Kennedy in many areas. The number of qualifying applications directly impacts the Federal funds MAPS receives which helps provide continued funding to support all students.

For more information on how to fill out the application, email Lindsey Northenscold at LNorth1@isd77.org or use this link: https://www.isd77.org/experience/departments/nutrition-services. You can also call 507-388-7442 for questions.

Mankato Area Public Schools will have a monthly 2 hour early release day. This will replace the 2 hour late start days.

What do you need to know?

• Students will be dismissed at 12:30 PM.
• Students will be able to have breakfast and lunch at Kennedy. Under the 2 hour late start system, students did not have an option to have breakfast.
• There will be child care available for students on this day. Students will need to be signed up in advance so that we can appropriately staff the child care. Students who are not signed up will be dismissed at 12:30 and will follow their afterschool plan (bus, parent pick up, or walk). Students who are signed up will be dismissed at 2:30 and will follow their afterschool plan (ACES, parent pick up, or walk).
• The first early release day is Wednesday, 9/10. All early releases are on a Wednesday. Here are the dates for all of the early releases: 9/10/25, 10/8/25, 11/12/25, 12/110/25, 1/14/26, 2/11/26, 3/11/26, 4/8/26, and 5/13/26

Are you or someone you know looking for a job working with students? Kennedy may have just the right job for you!

We are hiring for the following jobs:

• Student Success Coach
• Special Education Paraprofessionals
• Substitute Teachers

If any of these jobs sound interesting to you, please email Principal Steve Rustad at srusta1@isd77.org for more details.

Looking to get some Kennedy gear for your Cub? Now is the time to shop! All orders will be shipped directly to your home and 10% will come back to our Kennedy PTO. Find some great Kennedy gear for the warm weather!

The Kennedy PTO is a great committee that supports our school by hosting events that celebrate the school community and connect families to each other. Learn all about the PTO through the Kennedy PTO Facebook page. Click the button, give the group a like, and follow the group to stay up-to-date on the latest happenings at Kennedy!

• August 25th and 26th: Entrance Conferences
• August 27th: First Day of School
• September 1st: No School - Labor Day
• September 9th: PTO No Cook Night at Boulder Tap House
• September 10th: 2 Hour Early Release

Principal:

Steve Rustad

Email:

srusta1@isd77.org

Excellence, Equity, Empowerment. Every Student, Every Day.

Courage-Student Centered-Integrity-Accountability-Inclusive Practices

Email: ke@isd77.org
Website: https://ke.isd77.org/
Location: 2600 East Main Street, Mankato, MN, USA
Phone: (507) 387-2122