It is a privilege to serve as your new superintendent. I have enjoyed the opportunity to meet many people throughout the school district and community since my start in July. Thank you for the kind and warm welcome.

Another change of seasons is upon us as we move through fall in preparation for the winter months that are not far away. The school district student activity calendar is in full swing with plenty of excitement, competition, and entertainment to enjoy. I hope you have the opportunity to observe our students in action throughout the school year.

Each day I have the good fortune of seeing the collective efforts being made by many school district employees, parents, and community volunteers to provide our students with wonderful learning opportunities. The success our students experience would not happen without your support. Your engagement in the life of the school district is essential in helping us fulfill our mission each day in providing students with knowledge, skills, and attitudes which enable them to succeed in a globally competitive society.

Your involvement in providing input and feedback on how the school district is performing is also important to our overall success as a school district and to our commitment to continuous improvement.  The school district is in the process of examining our strategic plan and determining opportunities for improvement. As part of our overall improvement plan focused on supporting and improving teaching and learning, public school boards in Minnesota are required to adopt the World’s Best Workforce (WBWF) plan that is intended to be locally owned and developed with community involvement. The plan includes clearly defined goals in five WBWF areas:

• All students meet school readiness goals

• All third-grade students achieve grade-level literacy

• Close the academic achievement gap among all groups

• All students graduate from high school

• All students attain college and career preparedness

School districts are to seek public review and input annually on progress being made within the five areas. The NRHEG School Board will be holding a public hearing as part of the November 16, 2015, regular School Board meeting to be held at NRHEG Elementary School in Ellendale, in order to provide the community with feedback on the school district’s 2014-15 World’s Best Workforce (WBWF) Plan) summary. Administration will first present a brief summary of the plan followed by a time for public input.

Residents are encouraged to review a draft of the WBWF plan summary prior to attending the November 16 School Board meeting. The summary can be found on the school district’s Web site at www.nrheg.k12.mn.us.

The WBWF plan includes:

• Goals and benchmarks for student achievement

• Process for evaluating student progress toward meeting academic standards

• System to review and evaluate effectiveness of instruction and curriculum

• Strategies to improve instruction, curriculum and student achievement

• Practices that integrate high-quality instruction, rigorous curriculum, technology and collaborative professional culture that supports teacher quality, performance and effectiveness

• Annual budget for continuing to implement the plan

As previously mentioned, the November School Board meeting will be held at NRHEG Elementary School in Ellendale.  The regular meeting of the NRHEG School Board is held on the third Monday of each month. The meeting is rotated between the Elementary School in Ellendale and the Secondary School in New Richland. The December meeting will be held in New Richland and the January meeting will be held in Ellendale.

Thank you for your continued support and for the difference you make in the lives of our students.