ENG 2025-26 Family Update No. 22

Dear Northfield Public Schools Families:

I am thrilled to welcome Dr. Tim Anderson as our district’s next superintendent. I believe Northfield was one of the most sought-after superintendent positions in Minnesota this year, leading to a strong pool that included 19 candidates.

You can learn more about Dr. Anderson’s selection here.

Since 1989, the Northfield School District has had only four superintendents. This length of tenure for superintendents is highly unusual. I’ve known Dr. Anderson for several years and I am confident he will carry on the tradition of excellent leadership our community expects.

He will start the position on July 1. We have been communicating regularly and have a plan for an effective transition. You can expect to see additional information about opportunities to get to meet Dr. Anderson this summer as he transitions into the role.

Finally, I cannot praise our school board enough for their superb, transparent selection process. Our board models exceptional governance and public service. It is one of the reasons that so many highly qualified candidates were interested in the position. I am proud of our school board and you should be too.

As always, thanks for your support, and please let me know if you have feedback about the district.

Sincerely,

Matt

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Matt Hillmann, Ed.D.

Superintendent

The district’s annual parent/caregiver satisfaction survey was conducted in April 2026, and showed a fourth consecutive year of improvement. We thank St. Olaf for being our third-party survey administrator. Here are the survey highlights:

• There were 702 responses from 537 unique individuals, up from 457 responses in the 2024-25 survey.

• The overall mean increased from 4.10 in 2024-25 to 4.18 in 2025-26.

• The “top box” increased from 41.6% to 51.2%. The "top box" score is the overall responses that "strongly agreed" to each statement.

• The “top two box” was 78.40%. The “top two box” score is the sum of those who responded “agreed” and “strongly agreed” to each statement.

• This was the fourth consecutive year of an increased overall rating (the rating was 4.0 in 2022-23).

• The greatest strengths, as indicated in the survey results, are listed below:

• I believe this school provides a safe environment for my child to learn.

• I believe my child’s learning is a high priority at this school.

• The greatest opportunities for growth as indicated in the survey results are listed below:

• I receive positive phone calls, emails, or notes about my child from the school.

• I regularly receive feedback from school staff on how well my child is learning.

The community is invited to a groundbreaking ceremony for the Reimagine Northfield High School project on Tuesday, June 9. Here are the details:

• Date: Tuesday, June 9, 2026

• Time: 4:00 p.m.

• Location: The front of the main entrance (Door 1) at the high school

  
  

Following the ceremony, a reception will be held to honor Superintendent Hillmann’s leadership and to wish him well in his new role with the Minnesota Association of School Administrators (MASA).

As shared in Family Updates No. 19, No. 20, and No. 21, construction bids were significantly higher than expected with substantially fewer bids submitted than anticipated. The district is completing a value engineering process with Wold Architects and Knutson Construction to find thoughtful and meaningful savings in the project.

Rebidding will begin in late May. Bids will be due mid-June, with awards taking place in late June.

While this news is not what we were expecting, we are committed to finding solutions that lead to student-centered, effective, and fiscally responsible decisions for the Reimagine Northfield High School project. Overall, we continue to look forward and are optimistic about what lies ahead. We appreciate your ongoing interest and support, helping Northfield Public Schools prepare every student for lifelong success.