School Board to act on sale of former D.C. on Monday, Aug. 14

Two offers less than $400 different; what each would bring to Elk River unknown to public at this point

by Jim Boyle
Editor

The Elk River Area School Board is expected to approve on Monday a purchase agreement for the sale of the former District 728 Offices at a price of $901,000.

District officials received two offers, which after an analysis of them, differ by less then $400.
Greg Hein, the Elk River Area School District’s executive director of business services, will present an analysis of the two purchase agreements.

The administration will recommend the School Board accept a purchase agreement with 10401 BRE Group, according to the School Board’s agenda for its regular meeting at 7 p.m. on Aug. 14 at Elk River City Hall.

BRE Group, a limited liability company proposed has negotiated a purchase price of $901,000 to buy the building at 815 U.S. Highway 10, with the financial net impact of the deal being $839,667.

ResCare Minnesota Inc., a Delaware corporation with its headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky, has offered to by the former administrative offices building for $925,000, with the final net impact being $840,039 — or $372 more than BRE’s offer.

Factors in the net financial impact include commissions, closing costs and operational costs for the due diligence period.
Prior to the expiration of the due diligence period, the buyer shall be satisfied that applicable zoning laws, ordinances and recorded restrictions, if any, will permit the buyer’s intended use of the property.

There was no information in the prepared documents for the Aug. 14 meeting to suggest what BRE Group’s intent. The Star News has left a voicemail with Robert Carlson, of the BRE Group to find.

The group was incorporated on Dec. 23, 2015 and remains active and in good standing, according to information on the Office the Secretary of State’s website. It’s registered address is at 3131 Fernbrook Lane North in Plymouth.

There were also no indications of what ResCare Minnesota’s intent would be if they were to purchase the building. The organization, however, has a website that tells about the company in general terms.

The Star News also has a message into David Folkner, the president of ResCare and the listed buyer in the purchase agreement.

ResCare, Inc., founded and headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, is dedicated to impacting communities for the better with a mission to help people live their best life, according to the organization’s website.

ResCare is the largest private provider of services to people with disabilities, the largest privately-owned home care company, the largest provider of specialized high-acuity neuro-rehab in community settings and the largest career center workforce contractor in the U.S., according to its website. The website states it is also the largest diversified health and human services provider in the U.S.

With more than 40 years of experience, ResCare offers daily living support services and in-home care, vocational training, job placement, pharmacy, rehab and behavioral health services for people of all ages and skill levels. Our care professionals work in thousands of communities across the United States – helping more than 2 million people each year.
ResCare has helped people achieve quality and safety outcomes at home or in a homelike environment since 1974.

Company officials consider themselves an innovator in the safe care of individuals in need of assistance, whether it’s adult support or the support of children with special needs.

by Heather Reinhart
Contributing Writer
A proposed bus facility was discussed and approved by the Zimmerman City Council during Monday night’s meeting.

A 5-acre property, which is located in the Sherburne County Public Safety Addition, would be owned by Vision Enterprises and would be used to build a 10,000-square-foot office space and bus storage facility with plans for expansion. The facility would employ 30-35 people with wages ranging from $15 to $25 per hour. The minimum taxable value of the completed project is $520,000, which will bring in approximately $18,560 per year in property taxes.

As part of the meeting on Monday, a public hearing was held regarding a request from the Sherburne County Housing and Redevelopment Authority, to establish a redevelopment district and the associated project plan for Vision Enterprises, LLC. County Attorney Kathleen Heaney and Assistant County Administrator Dan Weber were in attendance to discuss the plot of land, which is currently owned by the county and has been vacant since 2008.

Sherburne County intends to enter into a purchase agreement to sell three county-owned lots to Vision Enterprises and needed the city’s approval to do so.

“The location is ideal for us,” said Jason Anderson, business services director for Vision Enterprises, LLC. “We’re within 2.5 miles of all the schools and we’ll be able to increase our efficiency.”

The Zimmerman City Council unanimously approved the request by Sherburne County’s HRA, finding it in the best interest of the public based on what it would bring the city.

The plan will now move on to Sherburne County for approval. This is scheduled to be on the agenda for the Aug. 22 County Board meeting.

Buses at the location would service Zimmerman schools in the Elk River Area School District. The current buses come from Elk River. Anderson said that by bringing the buses right to Zimmerman will increase efficiency and will provide many of their employees a shorter commute to work.

Anderson said that if everything falls into place, Vision Enterprises would like to start building this fall.

by Jim Boyle
Editor
The St. John Stem Club, a group of kids heading into fourth, fifth and sixth grade at the Elk River parochial school, will compete Friday at the Minnesota State Fair.

The team qualified by winning a blue ribbon in the Rube Goldberg Competition at the Sherburne County Fair.

This was no small feat.

The task calls for creating a Rube Goldberg contraption that uses everyday items in a whimsical and complicated way to interact with a series of steps and chain-reactions to accomplish the simple task of raising a flag and waving it.

Every year the Minnesota State Fair challenge is different, but this was Sherburne County’s first time participating in the program. The competition was hosted by 4-H but open to 4-H participants and non-4-H participants alike. That allowed the St. John program to take part.

Teacher and STEM coach David Inselmann said it literally took his team more than 100 tries before it could get all 10 or 11 of its machines to work together at once and accomplish the mission.

When the flag finally went up and waved gloriously for the team, its members burst into the kind of excitement seen when people win Olympic gold medals. Inselmann said the joy they experienced was so genuine, because they knew “they did it.”

Inselmann knew going in he had many responsibilities in leading the group, but one of the most important was to let them struggle at times.

“They had this incredible sense of accomplishment,” he said. “They knew they did it.”

That special moment was captured on video, but for these sleuthing mathematicians, physicists and engineers who came together from various backgrounds, with various interests and differing abilities they still had to get their contraption to the county fair and make it work again.

That is no easy feat, either.

For all the pride he had in his kids’ accomplishments along the way, he estimated the chance of winning entrance to the state fair was about 5 percent. And it would be OK if they didn’t make it.

“I tell the kids this contest is about more than winning and any trophies,” he said. “It’s what you learn about yourself and others and learning how to work as a team.”

Their self esteem in many cases soared. The kids learned things about themselves they never knew, and things about their peers they never would have even guessed.

While the whole team participated in the design and testing process, each began to specialize in certain areas.
The kids spent two months working on their Rube Goldberg contraption. The theme of it was “Toy Factory”, and the team even selected a theme song, “Power House,” made popular in Looney Tunes cartoons.

The kids on the team learned about physics and engineering principles like simple machines, potential and kinetic energy, mechanical design, energy transfers and mechanical advantage.

They also learned about the many roles that make an efficient engineering team like researching, design engineers, testing engineers, record keeping, discussion leaders and presentation developers.

One team member came up with an ingenious discovery that allowed their flag to wave in two ways.

Another came up with a lever that the group affectionately named “The Trevor Lever” after their teammate who demonstrated how he could flourish given a chance to use his hands and think mechanically.

“What I like is this contest taps multiple intelligences, aptitudes and abilities,” Inselmann said. “I tell them that the question to ask yourself is not ‘How smart are you?’ but ‘How are you smart?’”

Anne Burdick, the parent of a fourth-grade girl said her daughter learned quickly to listen to people’s ideas and that everyone brings something different to the table. Burdick said her daughter also learned where her strengths fit in the project, and was very proud of the work.

“She told everyone she knew and some people she didn’t know that (her team) made it through the Sherburne County Fair and on to the State Fair,” she said.

Burdick said the lessons the kids learn are invaluable, especially with the increasing number of robot-controlled CNC machines.

“Being able to understand how machines work, why they do what they do, how to solve issues that rise along the way and learning how to make it operate faster and more efficient is critical,” she said.

The St. John Stem team will put their abilities and skills to test on the afternoon of Aug. 25 in the 4-H building at the Minnesota State Fair. They will set up at 1 p.m., and show time is at 3 p.m.

by Kurt Nesbitt
Contributing Writer
A Plymouth-based management company has agreed to become the new owner of the old Elk River Area Public Schools district office building off U.S. Highway 10

School board members approved a $901,000 bid from BRE Group, LLC, on Tuesday night with little discussion by the board members.

School board documents gave no indication of what the future holds for the 40 year-old office building. Representatives of both bidders were contacted by the Star News but had not replied as of this writing.

The district received lots of interest on the building and two offers for it. BRE Group made the lower of the two offers. The other bidder, ResCare of Minnesota, Inc., offered the district $925,000.

The district reviewed both offers and, according to an analysis presented to the school board Monday night, found that while ResCare’s bid was actually higher, that bid required more commissions and more due diligence, such as building inspection, which would have meant the district would have to pay the building’s operating costs for a longer period of time. The difference between the two bids, after commissions and other costs, was $372, the analysis found.

The district put the property up for sale after it decided to move its central offices into the building off U.S. Highway 169 that was recently vacated by Minnesota School of Business. The U.S. Highway 10 property was recently the subject of a debate among Elk River city council members, who considered buying the building for city purposes and also debated a temporary halt to all city permits affecting downtown redevelopment. Mayor John Dietz sought the moratorium on downtown development after hearing rumors from city staff that an “out-patient facility” could go into the building, which is located blocks from Elk River’s central downtown business district. The council ultimately chose not to impose the moratorium, since some city council members felt doing so would “handcuff the school district.”

School board members did not have many questions Monday night, except for board member Joel Nelson. He asked about whether the district did its due diligence regarding the proposed contracts. Both Board Chair Shane Steinbrecher and Greg Hein, the district’s executive director for business services, said the contracts were reviewed by the school district’s legal counsel.

by Kurt Nesbitt
Contributing Writer
The Elk River Area School District added about six teaching positions at three elementary schools in Rogers and Otsego for the coming school year Monday night.

The additional staff will address class sizes that have spiked due to greater-than-projected enrollment.

The School Board approved the additional staffing to address hot spots at various grade levels at Rogers Elementary School, Prairie View Elementary and Middle School and Otsego Elementary School. The additions represent a total of 5.8 full-time equivalents.

Rogers Elementary will see 1.2 FTE at the kindergarten and fourth-grade levels each. Prairie View will also have 1.2 FTE at the first- and second-grade levels each and .5 FTE – a half-time position – at the kindergarten level. Otsego Elementary will also get a half-time position at the kindergarten level.

The proposal received no discussion from School Board members.

Superintendent Dan Bittman reported earlier in the meeting during his report that resident enrollment continues to grow, which validates the “good work happening throughout the school district.”

by Kurt Nesbitt
Contributing Writer
Elk River Area School District officials say they want to develop good relationships with the people who have an interest or concern in what the district does.

School Board Chair Shane Steinbrecher presented a one-page document to the board Monday night that outlines three goals for both the board and the superintendent.

Here’s a summary, starting with the School Board’s goals.
The School Board should review all of its policies to bring them up to date and develop a review cycle that deals with policy evaluation going forward.

The School Board will also publish an official communication to stakeholders at least 10 times throughout the year, and three of them will be distributed to residents living within the district’s boundaries. School Board members will contribute and the communications will be evaluated.

Each month, at least one School Board member will participate in one school-related and one community or business event and then share any information learned at the next School Board meeting.

For the superintendent, a discussion with the School Board and the heads of the district departments about the roles they play as they relate to many aspects of running the district, including communications, operations and practices, will be completed. The progress will be evaluated.

The superintendent will continue to communicate relevant district and department information to principals, directors and School Board members on the second and fourth Friday of every month and work with the department heads to make sure everyone has access to the information and opportunities to provide feedback.

The superintendent will also spend time at 10 different school-related and two community events and share any information learned at those events with the board and cabinet for them to evaluate and possibly put into action.

Steinbrecher said the plan focuses on “visibility, communication and leadership.”

He said the goals will be posted on the district’s website, www.isd728.org.

District 728 goals at a glance:

School Board goals
By October 15, 2017, the Board of Education will review and approve all “Mandatory” School Board Policies and develop a policy review cycle that addresses the evaluation of all ISD 728 Policies by June 30, 2020. Progress on said goal will be evaluated no later than November 1, 2017.

At least 10 times throughout the school year, the Board of Education will create and publish a written “Board Communication” to stakeholders. At least three of the publications shall be distributed to district residents. Each board member will contribute to at least one publication. Progress on said goal will be evaluated in December 2017 and June 2018.

Each month, at least one board member will participate in one school-related and one community/business event (i.e. Chamber, Rotary, etc.). The participating board representative will share the information learned at a regular Business Meeting. Each board member will participate in at least one school and one community event by June 30, 2018. Progress on said goal will be evaluated in December 2017 and June 2018.

District Benefit: Develop positive relationships, increase visibility and leadership, and foster mutually beneficial partnerships with school and community stakeholders.

Superintendent goals
In collaboration with board and cabinet, and no later than October 15, discuss, develop, and articulate (in writing) board, cabinet and superintendent roles as they relate to communications, operations, procedures, practices, etc. Progress on said goal will be evaluated a minimum of three times throughout the year (December, March, June).

The second and fourth Friday of every month, communicate relevant district and department information to leadership (i.e. principals, directors, school board members, etc.) and community stakeholders. Each time new information is communicated, work with Cabinet to ensure all stakeholders have access (i.e. website, social media, etc.) and an opportunity to provide feedback.

Each month, spend time at a minimum of 10 different schools and/or school-related events within the school district, and at least two different community/business events (i.e. Chamber, Rotary, etc.). Information shared and learned will be discussed and/or communicated with/to the oard and cabinet, while being evaluated, considered, and when appropriate, implemented within the school district’s next strategic plan.

Dean’s lists:
North Dakota State University
Elk River
Shelby Gracik, Jennifer Krick

University of Northwestern
Elk River
Joseph Chaffin, Shelby Eden, Brittni Gillquist, Brooke Gillquist, Angela Hipsag, Erik Nyquist, Mitchell Weege
Otsego
Freya Hanson
Rogers
Margaret Emahiser
Zimmerman
Michlyn Fisher, Alexander Johnson, Caityln Wilbur

Graduations:
South Dakota State University
Elk River
Samuel James Krick, B.S.

Southwest Minnesota State University
Elk River
Jill Ann Anderson, B.S., early childhood education
Otsego
Fenis G. Mogere, B.S., nursing- RN to BSN

by Jim Boyle
Editor
Vision Transportation put just under two million miles on its fleet of school buses this past school year, and it’s preparing for a future in which it will put on even more.

Vision plans to build a 12,000- to 15,000-square-foot bus facility to house buses on a 5.07-acre site in Zimmerman that it is buying from Sherburne County. The project is designed to increase efficiencies and make it better for Vision’s workforce that often commutes to Elk River before driving bus for the family-owned company with second generation owners Wayne and Lisa Hoglund.

The Sherburne County Board of Commissioners approved on Aug. 22 a redevelopment plan on land it owns in the Sherburne County Public Safety Addition that will make this possible. The county also agreed to sell this property to the bus company, which provides service for the Elk River Area School District as well as schools in Big Lake.

Vision employs about 140 and the expansion will allow that number to grow by 30-35 people with wages ranging from $15 to $25 per hour.

The minimum taxable value of a completed project is $520,000, which will bring in approximately $18,560 per year in property taxes.

Vision will pay $55,000 for the property. The organization came across the property in March and began to pursue it.

As part of the meeting on Tuesday, a public hearing was held regarding Vision’s request to the Sherburne County Housing and Redevelopment Authority, to establish a redevelopment district and the associated project plan for Vision Enterprises, LLC.

The county has owned the vacant land since 2008. The purchase agreement calls for the sale of three county-owned lots to Vision Enterprises, and the City of Zimmerman has already signed off on it.

“This will improve our work environment,” said Jason Anderson, director of business development for Vision Enterprises, LLC. “Our employees won’t have to drive nine miles to work before they board their bus. We should have shorter routes and better efficiency.

“The location is within 2.5 miles of all the schools and we’ll be able to increase our efficiency.”

Anderson said Vision Enterprises would like to start building this fall.

Vision had 66 big bus routes, 17 special education routes and 18 van routes last school year for Elk River.

Last year all Zimmerman buses came out of Elk River. This year they will be based out of DaRan Trucking in Zimmerman while the new facility is built.

The final “routing” isn’t complete for 2017-2018 school year but it appears with the new Prairie View Elementary and Middle School in Otsego, it will be adding at least eight routes.

Vision is hiring in Zimmerman, Elk River, Big Lake, and Rogers for school bus drivers, van drivers and bus assistants.

Prairie View Elementary and Middle School Principal Kari Sampson led sixth graders through some team-building exercises during an orientation Wednesday, Aug. 23. This week the school will host an open house.

by Aaron Brom
ECM Publishers
The hundreds of Elk River Area School District teachers who came to Rogers High School Wednesday, Aug. 30, for an all-staff meeting might have expected a feel-good message.

And they got it, but also highlighting the meeting was a somber message of how to cope with despair, in this case “traumatized” students.

Highlighting the plight of these students and how to empower them was the guest speaker, Dr. Bernard Franklin, director of university programs at Shawnee Mission School District in Kansas City.

While introducing Franklin, Superintendent Dan Bittman highlighted how Franklin became the first black student ever elected Kansas State University president of the Student Government Association. At the age of 24, Franklin also made Kansas history by becoming the youngest person ever appointed to the Kansas State Board of Regents and the youngest chair of the board at age 28.

He has been a fellow for the study of the United States presidency and has served on an advisory commission to President Jimmy Carter’s administration with Martin Luther King III and other prominent African Americans.

His theme to District 728 educators was “Creating Trauma-Sensitive Schools.”

He spoke about how fast the world is changing, moving from a farm to factory environment, and now from factory “to out of space.”

“We’re going to technology that you and I can’t begin to understand,” he said, highlighting how Google Fiber in Kansas City will usher in an age where appliances like refrigerators are “smart,” connected to the Internet and providing their users with real-time data about refrigerated contents and links to order new ones.

“Every aspect of the Jetsons is in the process of being patented now,” he said of the “futuristic” cartoon from the 1960s that featured things like flying cars, which he said will become a reality.

“We’re making a huge shift in our culture to places we can’t comprehend.”

Along with the shift in technology is a rapidly changing family environment, where children are coping with verbal and physical abuse, and neglect from “broken families and chaos.”

“If America wants to stay strong, we have to produce young people who can deal with that future,” Franklin said.

“Trauma overwhelms a child. Trauma interferes with normal development. Those fundamental steps are missing.”

He also said trauma changes the physical chemistry inside young people’s brains, noting that children in a constant “freeze-fight state” are not going to act their chronological age. Thus, he strongly encouraged that students need to feel safe, as well as needing good nutrition, good hydration and physical activity.

Speaker encourages promotion of four Rs
Franklin encouraged teachers to promote the four Rs: rigor, relationships, relevance and resiliency.
“Life is hard, but you can climb over whatever is in front of you,” he said. “Think of new ways to give your young people attention.”

Along with taking care of the students, Franklin emphasized that teachers, too, must take care of themselves, as they also fight through family difficulties at home and burnout in the classroom.

“Take time to nurture yourself, build self-confidence, practice an exercise regimen, get diet and rest, use a daily planner, take journals.”

Franklin said he begins each day with meditation, and has helped promote Zumba physical activity classes for teachers in Kansas City.

“Education has never been at a crossroads like it is now,” Franklin said. “It’s going to take a change from all of us. Incorporate mindfulness.”

He closed by quoting the late Bobby Kennedy, former attorney general and brother of President John F. Kennedy.

Of the lessons he learned from Kennedy, Franklin said in closing, “I do what I can to make sure I contribute to the good of our country. I believe in who we are, and we can work through common challenges.”

New superintendent introduces himself
The all-staff meeting also offered a chance for new Superintendent Bittman to introduce himself.

Mirroring District 728’s mission statement, Bittman encouraged teachers to “challenge how you educate, challenge how you inspire, challenge how you empower. Each and every single person in this room will make a difference.”

He reminded the teachers that their profession is a “life choice.”

“I need you. I challenge each of you to learn every day,” he said. “Be courageous, take chances and have fun. Be the reason our kids want to come to school every day. They need us.”

by Sophia Khori
Contributing Writer
As Westwood Elementary School’s newest principal, Tim Stowe is looking forward to using his elementary and technology experience in the Elk River Area School District.

The Star News recently got the chance to sit down and chat with Stowe about his professional background and goals for the upcoming school year.

Q: Tell me about your background and how you decided to become an educator?
A: I grew up in Faribault, Minnesota, and went to complete my undergraduate degree at Augsburg College in Minneapolis. I originally started out as a business major. As part of the programming at Augsburg I had some clinical experiences in the classroom. You have to do community service work, and part of my work was to be in a classroom in one of the schools in downtown Minneapolis. So after that experience, it was a complete light bulb that came on that I need to be in education and a teacher is what I wanted to be, elementary specifically, because I really like working with kids. Part of it might also have to do with the size of my family. I have 11 brothers and sisters, so we have a huge family.

Q: What were some of your previous experiences?
A: My path has led to becoming a principal at Waterville-Elysian-Morristown. In my time, I have taught multiple grade levels. I’ve taught fourth grade, sixth grade, and most recently second grade.

I have kind of a spectrum of experiences with teaching, but it really is a perfect fit for Westwood Elementary because they are a three-through-five school. My first principalship experience was in Waterville-Elysian-Morristown, so a very small school district of 800 students. Half my role was technology coordinator, so I did a lot of work with technology integration in the classroom and in the instruction and repair.

Q: Why did you decide to take on this new role?
A: When I found out about the opportunity at Westwood there was some uncertainty that this would be. When this opportunity came up this past spring, I applied and was interested. I went through the interview process, I met staff, and I came up and spent some time with the community in Zimmerman and around the Elk River area with my wife, Meghan, and that was a defining moment that this would be a good fit for our family.

Luckily, I was selected and accepted the position and it’s just been thrilling ever since. I’ve gotten to know staff more as I’ve gotten the process started. My initial gut reaction and my instincts I had early on have all been substantiated and reinforced. The warmth and caring and welcoming environment from everyone, from the Zimmerman community throughout the 728 District, has been fantastic.

Q: What key learning moments from past positions do you hope to apply to your role as Westwood’s new principal?
A: What’s helped shape me as an educator are some mentors and some leaders; past principals and past teachers that I’ve had that have had a profound effect on education. I’ve really been moved by them and so I think that has been a big influence on my ability to establish relationships and build relationships with people. It’s the most important thing for our families. They send us their babies in the morning and they trust us for not only that safekeeping, but also for a quality education to help give them the tools that they are going to need to be successful for not only the next year but in life. I recognize that we’re not just in the business of teaching math and reading. Although a lot of times that’s the only part that gets the limelight, we’re really looking at the whole child. We’re fostering the ability for our kids to persevere and have adversity as opposed to shutting down. We’re very conscious and mindful about the environment that we create in the school system.

Q: What do you think some of the challenges and rewards you will come across at Westwood are?
A: I think the challenge right away will be getting to know the families and students, being new to an entire community. I don’t have the context and the background, so I think that will be challenging getting to know that part, but I think that’s also one of the things that will be the most rewarding. I think that we’re just in an age of change, looking at the technology that is coming to school systems and the world around us faster and faster. I think that we have to be mindful about the future, and we have to be ready to adapt and change and move accordingly.

Q: Why do you think incorporating technology in the classroom is important?
A: I think it’s important to have experiences and the most important part of it is that we have an opportunity to use technology to redefine a lot of learning experiences. I think if technology is the substitute for a pen and paper, then we’ve missed the mark. We don’t need a more expensive pen. I think that opportunity for us is to take learning to a new level and a deeper level for students.

At the same time I think it’s also important to be mindful of screen time and digital citizenship. There are some precautions we need to take to make sure we’re developing responsible digital citizenship for our students. If they make a mistake on social media, some of that stuff continues to haunt them in ways that have never stood with a person before and that’s a scary thing. We also want to be mindful that technology is not a pacifier. It is a tool that helps us reach our goals in a deeper, more meaningful way, but it’s also a necessity. I can’t think of many jobs where technology doesn’t play a role on some level.

by Eric Oslund
Reporter
Kelly Corbett’s journey to becoming the new principal at Otsego Elementary School started back in 2001. She was fresh out of college with a degree in finance from Arizona State University and got a job with IBM in Chicago.

She enjoyed her time there, but never really felt like she was living out her passion. She was a member of a great team, had a great boss, but something just didn’t seem right. It was a time in the nation that a lot of people began re-evaluating their lives, and Corbett decided to make a life-changing choice.

“At that time, Sept. 11 had just happened and it made me re-evaluate what I wanted to do with my life,” she began. “I thought, ‘I really want to become a teacher.’”

So she returned to Arizona State University, completed her apprentice teaching program in 2003, and went on to work as a teacher and summer program coordinator for third and fourth graders at L.O. Jacob Elementary School in Coon Rapids.

She worked there for three years, but then her husband’s job moved them to Arizona, where she got a position as a third and fourth grade teacher at Fuller Elementary School. That’s when she met Ken White, the principal at the time, and a man who put the idea of being a principal herself one day into her head.
“It was Ken White, who is a phenomenal principal,” Corbett said. “He’s just amazing, super charismatic and just a real straight talker. It was exciting to come and work for him every day. I thought, ‘When I’m a principal, I want to be like that. I want to be where people can’t wait to come to work to find out what we’re going to do today or what’s going to happen.’”

She began working on her master’s degree while working at Fuller Elementary, and served as the principal intern, and then in 2010 she would receive that degree in educational leadership with a K-12 principal emphasis. But she was forced to leave the school, and her principal she grew so close to, in 2012 and took a job as a third grade teacher in Noblesville, Ind.

Her time there wouldn’t last long, though, as the following year she became the assistant principal at Joyce Kilmer Academy in Indianapolis, and was then named the assistant principal at Suncrest Elementary School in Frankfort, Ind., in 2014.

It was during her time at Suncrest Elementary that she and her husband decided they really wanted to put down some roots somewhere. Their son was about to start kindergarten and they didn’t want him to have to change schools every year because her husband’s job continued to move the family from place to place.

They sat down, discussed an ideal place to start raising their family, and decided on Minnesota.

“We just thought this would be a great place for our son to grow up, I really think we wanted to move to Minnesota, so it just worked out that he ended up getting a job 48 hours later in Minnesota and then we got here and I got a principal job eight days after that,” Corbett explained. “So everything kind of fell into place.”

Working at Edward D. Neil Elementary School in Crystal was her first chance to be a principal.

Her family took up residence in Plymouth and began making friends with all their neighbors, one of whom happened to be from Otsego. They always raved about that community to the Corbett family, wishing they could have stayed, but being forced to move because of a job relocation.

Corbett loved the way her neighbors described their old hometown and wanted to look into it, and sure enough she found an opening for the principal position at Otsego Elementary. She applied, got an interview, and the moment she walked through those doors she knew it was where she wanted to be.

It was a hard decision to leave Edward D. Neil Elementary, But Corbett felt right at home from the start at Otsego Elementary.

“The district does things the right way. They really do,” she said. “They really make sure everyone has a positive experience, whether you’re a parent, student, job applicant, principal, it doesn’t matter. They treat everyone well, and, to me, that was evident from the get go.”

Working at the elementary school level is also her real passion.

“I definitely enjoy the younger kids,” Corbett began. “I feel like if they have a strong foundation they’re going to be successful in middle school and high school. I feel like you can start building those work habits, and elementary literacy is a big passion of mine, too. In the upper grades, you don’t really get to teach kids to read as much, it’s more reading to learn rather than learning to read. I’d feel like I was missing out on that part if I wasn’t there. I’m definitely an elementary person.”

by Kurt Nesbitt
Contributing Writer
Another unexpected enrollment increase led Elk River Area Schools to add a few more positions Monday night at points where enrollment has exceeded predicted levels.

The School Board voted to add four and a half positions in Zimmerman and another position at Elk River High School to accommodate what district officials say is another unexpected enrollment spike, coming the week before school is scheduled to begin.

Joe Stangler, director of research and assessment for the district, told the board that when it met two weeks ago, more positions were added in schools in the southern end of the district to alleviate larges class sizes.

He said Monday night the same thing is happening at the center and northern parts of the districts. With the new additions, class sizes are now up to 26 to 27 students in Zimmerman at the kindergarten and second-grade levels which, Stangler said, is out of line with the classes in the rest of the district. The positions are expected to bring those levels down to 23 or 24 students per classroom in Zimmerman.

Stangler said new enrollments in the last two weeks also mean the high school population is 70 to 100 students over expectations at Elk River High School, since those mean the high school is at 40 to 42 students per class room. The one full-time equivalent at the high school will be spread across many areas, he said.

School Board Member Gregg Peppin asked if the cost of more positions will continue to be offset by the increase in money from the state. Stangler said state reimbursement will continue as it has in the past.

“Each time I pull enrollment, the numbers are getting large, so Dr. Bittman and the rest of the cabinet want me to pull them hourly,” Stangler told the board, which laughed at his remark.

“We’re just seeing enrollment throughout the district. For a while it was the south, but now it’s coming strong in the northern part of the district and the central part of the district, so we’re definitely looking at a strong start to the school year,” Stangler said.

School Board Members Holly Thompson and Joel Nelson were absent from the meeting.

by Kurt Nesbitt
Contributing Writer
Elk River Area School Board members gave general approval to district staff to continue looking at an expansion of Prairie View Elementary and Middle School in Otsego.

Superintendent Dan Bittmann told School Board members that the enrollment trend at Prairie View will continue, since enrollment levels for resident kids are staying at or near their projected levels. Bittman said the district recently learned that many students in the upper or intermediate grades have returned to Elk River from other school districts.

“We’re excited about that,” he told the board at its work session Monday night. “We have the space and are planning space.”

Prairie View was planned to phase in successive grade levels when it was built, he said. But it’s only a matter of time before Prairie View won’t have enough classroom space if the district doesn’t add a second phase, Bittman said. He said he brought the discussion back to the board “to tell community, continue to be transparent and look for ways to prepare for what lies ahead.”

Executive Director of Business Greg Hein said the district has conceptual designs for the second phase that include special education space, a gym addition, 10 classrooms, a staff office and labs. He said the district has four options to pay for it, two which require voter approval — a bond referendum or voter-approved capital project levy.

“I think the decision’s been made that it isn’t going to voters for a vote, which leaves us, really, with these two options. Lease-levy can expand the building up to 20 percent of its existing footprint and use the lease-levy funding option for that. That doesn’t quite pay for the expansion. We can use leftover money from the bond referendum because it’s part of the original scope. Another would be operating capital,” Hein said.

Hein said the district was told by a contractor the second Prairie View phase would cost about $11.8 million. The district has, to that limitation of 20 percent, an estimated cost of $7.7 million. Since the School Board has expressed interest in going lower than the full 20 percent, the target is $1 million less than that or a half a million less than that. The district would make up the balance of the amount needed using unused money from the $98 million approved in the referendum that built the first phase of the school.

Hein estimated the property tax impact is an $18 to $19 increase on a $250,000 home.

School Board Member Gregg Peppin said he was unsure when the School Board decided not to use funding methods that required voter authorization.

School Board Chair Shane Steinbrecher said the district has taken similar approaches in the past, such as when it dealt with Westwood and Zimmerman elementary schools. He said the board decided those buildings had to be built and gave a clear direction to move ahead.

“We have no option because we know that enrollment will increase,” Bittman added.

Hein said the district is in the process of getting next year’s property tax levy numbers together, so the increases for the second phase would probably show up on this fall’s levy certification. Hein said the process for building the second phase will start with designs, proposals, and a decision on a construction bid next August. He said the second phase of Prairie View would be open in the fall of 2019.

Bittman told the board no formal action was required Monday night. He mentioned its past interest in moving forward with the lease-levy and said he wanted to see if the board still feels that way because district staff is working with the Department of Education on the levy.

Bittman said a short time later that board action will be needed along the way. The School Board would certify the tax levy with that dollar amount and then approve the contractor and sub-contractor.

School Board Members Holly Thompson and Joel Nelson were absent from the work session.

Prairie View Elementary and Middle School in Otsego opened its doors for the 2017-18 school year on Tuesday, Sept. 5, welcoming hundreds of students in grades kindergarten through sixth.

Eventually the school will have early childhood students along with elementary school children as well as sixth through eighth grade middle school students. An addition is already being examined to handle expected enrollment growth in the area.

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Photos by Jim Boyle Third grade teacher Brenna Lavalier-Kortenkamp addressed her class on the first day of school after getting her students into a circle at the front of their new classroom at Prairie View Elementary and Middle School in Otsego.

by Kurt Nesbitt
Contributing Writer
Enrollment numbers for Elk River Area Public Schools keep going up. And on Monday night, School Board members learned the first week of school this year proved no exception.

According to figures from Joe Stangler, the district’s director of research and assessment, enrollment for last Friday was 303 students larger than last year, which is a growth of 2.3 percent.

“This is the largest growth we’ve seen in over 10 years. We’ve had fifteen hundred flat but this is the first year we’ve seen growth come back like we experienced in the early 2000s, when we were growing rather rapidly,” he said.

“The one thing we’ve seen with the growth, there’s areas across the district that are growing, and it’s not just one particular area. I think, when you look at the growth in the south, the center and the north, each area is growing. I know in the center of the district, our elementary population is less than last year. A big factor there — the big fifth grade class year in the center of the district was the biggest fifth grade class they’d ever had so when you replace it with a smaller kindergarten, you are going to have a little bit smaller enrollment. However, that’s been made up toward the middle and the high schools toward the center of the district.”

Stangler said the southern part of the district has growth of over 200 students when compared with last September and the northern part, near Zimmerman, has growth of 90 students over last year. He noted cohort growth – kindergarten classes that become first-grade classes and then second-grade classes – is a part of the increase.

“This is the first year where we’ve have positive growth at every grade level, indicating that we are retaining our students at a higher rate and also adding more students to our system, whether it’s through move-ins or re-attracting students into our fine school system. So really, across the board we’re seeing growth at every grade level and in every community throughout the district,” he said.

Stangler said in response to a question from Director Gregg Peppin that in the past few years elementary has actually been smaller each year because kindergarten classes coming in were smallest; the smallest grade level is second grade. That group of students is growing, since it has 919 students this year.

But other school districts’ smallest grades are also their second-grades. That trend coincides with a state demographer’s report that said the birth rate for that group was low because it was the height of the recession, Stangler said.

“Outside of that, we are attracting students to our system and I think probably the biggest notable is at Prairie View (Elementary and Middle School), where every grade level attracted students back into our district from other school districts this year. We’re very excited about that and the growth that it’s providing for us,” he said.

Later in the meeting, the School Board voted a third time to add more positions at schools around the district. Otsego Elementary got another half-time position in the fifth-grade. Prairie View Elementary got another half-time position in the fifth-grade, Westwood Elementary got a full-time position in the fifth-grade. The vote also added a specialist for music, physical education, art and media technology at the elementary level for the three schools.

The School Board decided to add more full-time equivalencies twice this past summer to accommodate the upward enrollment trend.

by Joni Astrup
Associate editor
Mackenzie Risting has become the first student at Zimmerman High School to earn a varsity letter for community service.

Mackenzie, a sophomore, has been instrumental in working with Operation Christmas Child at her church, Central Lutheran in Elk River.
Operation Christmas Child sends shoeboxes full of items to children in need throughout the world. Last year, more than 500 shoeboxes were collected at Central Lutheran to be distributed through Operation Christmas Child. The shoeboxes were filled with necessities such as notebooks, toothbrushes, pencils, pens, soap and wash cloths as well as toys like Beanie Babies.
“It’s kind of a good feeling to help people,” Mackenzie said.
She said her sister was involved in the program and, when she graduated, passed it on to her. Mackenzie has been volunteering with Operation Christmas Child since she was in the seventh grade. She is the daughter of Tim and Michelle Risting, of Elk River.
Jaime Hilyar, activities director at Zimmerman High School, said in working with Mackenzie it’s obvious that serving others is important to her and her family.
“Mackenzie is a great kid and we are very happy she is part of our Thunder family,” Hilyar said. “We are hoping her leadership in the area of community service will inspire other students to think about contributing positively to our local and global communities.”
The varsity letter program for community service was first implemented at Zimmerman High School in the 2016-2017 school year. All students in grades nine through 12 are eligible to apply and can earn a letter each year.
“We had many discussions with various groups in Zimmerman about how to get students involved in their communities and serving others. This program was a way to promote and reward students serving their communities,” Hilyar said.
The varsity lettering criteria is as follows:
•150 hours of unpaid, volunteer service completed in any 12-month period. At least 75 hours must be completed through one agency or for one cause to insure understanding and sustained commitment to a selected social issue that is personally relevant to the student, such as homelessness, the elderly, poverty, literacy, environment or health care.
•A record of all service hours verified by an adult supervisor or parent.
•Two recommendation letters from organizations or people served describing the student’s service and performance.
•A written reflection, journal, video, song, work of art, children’s book, presentation or other piece of work based upon student’s sustained service with one agency or in one area of need.
•Digital photo of the student doing service.
•Student must have a 2.0 or above GPA and be chemical-free during the year to participate in the program.
To qualify for her letter, Mackenzie said she did 100 hours of her community service with the Operation Christmas Child project and spent another 50 hours helping some of her mom’s friends, who are teachers. She labeled books and did other tasks for them.
She also made a portfolio of her volunteer work and wrote a paper explaining what she did.

Elk River High School’ 2017 homecoming royalty has been picked.

Seniors vying for queen are Ciara Bailey, Rachel Dorff, Elise Hills, Madison Odegaard and Emily Sizen.

Seniors vying for king are Cole Antilla, Tristan Carlson, Keegan Haus, Mitchell Stroh and Grant Warner.

The Homecoming parade is at 5 p.m. on Friday and the Elks football team plays St. Francis at 7 p.m.

Dean’s lists:
North Dakota State University
Nowthen
Courtney L. Stament

Graduations:
Bemidji State University
Elk River
Emily Kirscht, B.S., business administration; Brandy Starkweather, B.S., nursing
Otsego
Kimberly Dierks, B.S., elementary teacher education
Rogers
Michael Keil, master of special education, special education; Mary Sabinash, B.S., elementary teacher education;
Krista Walstrom, B.S., psychology
Zimmerman
Michele Adams, B.S., nursing; Hunter Bies, B.S., accounting, B.S.,mathematics

North Dakota State University
Elk River
Shelby Gracik, B.S., sport management; Elizabeth Grimshaw, B.S., human development and family science

by Jim Boyle
Editor
Zimmerman High School’s homecoming parade — organized by the high school football program’s booster club — delivered an exciting prelude Wednesday night to the big game.

The 4-0 Thunder were slated to play Little Falls last night.

There were about two dozen individual groups that participated in the parade. The Zimmerman American Legion and Zimmerman Fire Department got the parade started as usual and the varsity football players brought up the rear.

Sherburne County Sheriff’s Department reserves volunteered their time to block off a safe route for the parade.

“The turn out was amazing,” said Jana Schnellman of the Zimmerman High School football booster club. “I feel like our entire community came out to support us.”

The quarterback club has been organizing event for years, and the parade concludes with bonfire and car bashing.
The excitement was to continue on Friday with a pep fest, the crowning of a homecoming king and queen and the football game.

Zimmerman High School royalty held a marshmallow toss on Sept. 25 at the school to help kick off homecoming festivities.
The candidates for king and queen competed in some of their worst outfits as it was “Dressed to Unimpress Day” at the school.

Tuesday was “TV and Movie Character Day.”

Wednesday was “80s Workout Day.” There was a scavenger hunt at lunch and a parade was put on by the Zimmerman High School football boosters.

Festivities contineud Thursday during “Career Day.”

Friday, of course, was “Spirit Day,” and the king and queen were to be crowned before the homecoming football game.

Royalty candidates include:

Freshman
Carly Hanlon
Cole Hinton

Sophomore
Sammy Andresen
Trevor Wellman

Junior
Katie Jacob
Caden Neubauer

Senior
Aly Hanlon
Blake Howard
Deja Dudley
Colton Reschke
Linny Briggs
Michael Shaver
MaKayla Pool
Nick Kliever