Superintendent's Corner
By DALE CARLSON
NRHEG Superintendent of Schools
2016 is here and the NRHEG School District is busier than ever as we near the half-way mark of the school year. I hope you will have an opportunity to attend and enjoy a number of the school events and activities taking place during the winter months. You will find more information about our activity schedule on our school district website.
My December article highlighted the School Board’s plan to engage our communities in the process of developing a strategic plan of continuous improvement that will provide us with a roadmap designed to lead us to achieving our vision as a school district. Along with this vision, the plan will clearly identify and confirm our purpose or mission, and affirm what core beliefs and values we believe in, live by, and expect from all of us.
You play a critical role in this process. The School Board wants to hear from you! What do you believe should be our highest priorities? What are we doing well? Where do we need to improve? Where should we focus our resources? What is our vision for the future?
The NRHEG School Board is reaching out to all District residents in the next few weeks with a community-wide survey to gather input about educational priorities including facility needs. The School Board has developed the survey to gather data as they write the District’s strategic plan as well as develop a long-term plan to address district facility challenges. The School Board recognizes that this plan must also reflect the priorities of taxpayers. Therefore, the School Board is urging all residents to participate in this important district-wide effort.
To assist with data gathering efforts, the School Board is working with School Perceptions LLC, an independent firm with expertise in conducting school district surveys. All survey data is returned to School Perceptions and all information will remain anonymous.
Residents will receive a paper survey in the mail and can take the survey in two easy ways:
1. ONLINE: Log on to www.survey2000.com and enter the survey access number printed on the their mailing
OR
2. PAPER: Complete the paper copy of the survey and return it to any District office or mail it directly back to School Perceptions in the envelope that will be included with the survey.
Our schools are a critical part of our communities. As we work to improve our schools we want to ensure that they will meet the needs of our students and communities both now and in the future. Therefore, the voice of every resident is critical to this process.
Survey results will be presented at the February 16, 2016, School Board meeting held in the NRHEG Secondary School Media Center and will also be available on the district website at www.nrheg.k12.mn.us.
For additional information or questions about the survey, please contact me at 507-465-3205.
In addition to completing the survey, please plan to attend a public engagement session hosted by the School Board tentatively scheduled for Thursday, February 18. More details as to time and locations will be shared in the coming weeks. The public session will be facilitated by our partners from the School Board Association and South Central Service Cooperative.
The School Board conducts its regular monthly meeting on the third Monday of each month. The location of the meeting is rotated monthly between the NRHEG Secondary School Media Center in New Richland and the NRHEG Elementary School Media Center in Ellendale. The January meeting will be held in Ellendale on January 19, 2016, which is a Tuesday. The School Board is meeting on Tuesday due to the School District’s observance of the Martin Luther King Holiday on January 18. The School Board will also be holding the February meeting on Tuesday, February 16, in observance of President’s Day on February 15.
It is an exciting time to be part of the NRHEG School District! Thank you for your continued support and for the difference you make in the lives of our students!