Your Board Briefs
from the November 8, 2012 Board Meeting
From our superintendent…
Sandy Lewandowski referenced three pieces of information related to the district’s support for children’s mental
health: (1) a letter to Governor Dayton, jointly signed by Mike Opat on behalf of the Hennepin County
Commissioners and Sandy on behalf of the Hennepin County Superintendents, urging him to increase the state
funding for school-linked mental health, (2) the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) Advocate newsletter
article highlighting how Hennepin County and its school are “Working to End the School to Prison Pipeline,” and
(3) a registration brochure for the Bridging Children’s Mental Health K-12 Summit, November 27, 2012, which is
being cosponsored by the intermediate school districts and the Association of Metropolitan School Districts.
Sandy also referenced a document that will be shared with Board members highlighting the expansion and
refinement of the District 287 Conference Center. What Board Members Should Know about the District 287
Conference Center, summarizes Center resources for 287 and member district staff as well as external customers.
From our instructional services…
Jon Voss, Jane Holmberg, and Jon Fila gave an overview of the process to complete the digital Minnesota Studies
Course that was written as a collaborative effort among 13 school districts. The course being piloted during this
academic year is an alternative to traditional print curriculum. Districts investing in collaborative curriculum
development realize (1) the power of technology to engage students in learning, (2) significant cost savings over
purchasing curriculum, and (3) more opportunity to keep information up to date. The project is summarized in What
Board Members Should Know about Collaborative Digital Curriculum Projects, a memorandum that also foreshadows
plans for future collaborative digital course development, beginning this month with Grade 7 Social Studies.
From our administrative services…
Jaynie Leung presented and the Board approved policies from three “buckets”: District Admin/Organization,
Employee Rights & Responsibilities, and Financial Planning/Operations.
Mae Hawkins reviewed the first set of enrollment monitoring reports for the academic year. The enrollment
numbers in the Area Learning Center and Career and Technical Education are meeting projections. In Special
Education (1) two programs have sufficiently high enrollment such that they are closed to non-member districts
and (2) in the few programs that have lower enrollment than projected, the district has not yet hired staff.
Tom Shultz announced that the North Education Center has been specially invited to compete for the 2012
Minnesota Construction Association Choice Award. This is an extremely prestigious recognition.
From our Board…
Anne Bremer reported on the recent Board/Union breakfast and also urged members to invite their local legislators to
the upcoming “Get on the Bus” event, December 4.
Board Briefs is produced bi-weekly for all employees and stakeholders of Intermediate District 287. If you have a
question about the content, please contact Wauneen Denson-Mgeni at 763-550-7101 or wbdmgeni@district287.org
www.district287.org