District 482 News 
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posted Dec 27, 2012, 7:33 AM by Neil Andruschak
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updated Jan 1, 2013, 6:08 PM
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Lindbergh Elementary will kick off the use of the "Flyer Jams" on Friday, January 4th. This is a series of one minute videos, created by Jeremy Stadum and Kristin Haugo-Jones, that will be used in the classrooms periodically throughout the day to increase student activity and attentiveness. Check it out - Flyer Jams |
posted Nov 5, 2012, 11:42 AM by Neil Andruschak
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updated Nov 19, 2012, 9:39 PM
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Superintendent, Stephen Jones has created a YouTube channel to provide Flyer Talk, a weekly review of happenings at Little Falls at Little Falls Schools.
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posted Jul 25, 2012, 12:33 PM by Joshua Lindquist
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updated Jul 25, 2012, 12:33 PM
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May 31, 2012:
Stephen Jones has been chosen by the Little Falls Schools Board of Education to be the next Superintendent.
After three days of interviews with finalists for the Superintendent position, the school board tonight voted to enter into contract negotiations with Stephen Jones. He currently serves as the Superintendent of the Sibley East School District. Jones will replace Curt Tryggestad who is leaving Little Falls to become the Superintendent in Eden Prairie.
School Board Chair Jay Spillum said the board felt that Mr. Jones has closed the achievement gap at Sibley East and can do the same thing in Little Falls. Spillum also stated that the board believes that Mr. Jones will get to know the staff and the community and will be visible within the community. Spillum added, "His positive energy will work well with the community and school district."
Jones has been the Superintendent in Sibley East since 2009. Prior to that, Jones was the Superintendent/High School Principal at Murrary County Central from 2005-2009. He was the High School Principal at Maple River High School and taught Speech/Language Arts/Media Production at Tracy High School. |
posted May 24, 2012, 8:12 AM by Joshua Lindquist
At the May 23, 2012, School Board meeting the School Board narrowed the field of candidates for the Superintendent search from 7 down to 3. The finalists are listed below.
- Stephen Jones, Superintendent of Sibley East Schools
- Mary Klamm, Superintendent of Menahga Schools
- Lee Westrum, Superintendent of Benson Schools
The three finalists will have their final interviews as scheduled below.
| Date | Finalist | | May 29, 2012 | Mary Klamm | | May 30, 2012 | Stephen Jones | | May 31, 2012 | Lee Westrum |
All interviews will take place in the LeBourget Room at Lindbergh Elementary School. The interviews are a day long experience for the candidates to meet with a variety of groups within the school community. Below is the schedule that each candidate will have for the day.
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posted May 22, 2012, 7:41 AM by Joshua Lindquist
The following letter was written by Dr. Brenda Cassellius on behalf of the MN Board of Education.
Dear Parent and/or Guardian:
Last fall I wrote to you about Minnesota’s request for a waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law. We sought this waiver because it was clear after more than a decade that while the goals of NCLB were worthy, the law’s strict emphasis on single test scores had not significantly helped move achievement for students, and had in fact, mislabeled too many schools as failing, while not recognizing those having tremendous success.
Well the good news is – we got our waiver! So today, I’d like to talk with you about what this means for your child’s school, our state’s efforts to ensure all students are performing at their full potential, and our plans to work together with schools to help make that happen.
One of the first things we’ve done is to set new accountability targets. Our highest priority – and my personal commitment – is to ensure all children, not just some children, are doing well. To help us do that, we set an aggressive goal of closing achievement gaps by 50 percent over the next 6 years, and developed new measures that will monitor our progress in closing those gaps. We know the goal is ambitious, but we also believe it is reachable.
Second, we will begin using a new tool called the Multiple Measurement Rating (MMR) to gauge school performance in four areas: - Did the school meet its performance target?
- Did individual students meet their growth target? Put more simply, are students making expected progress?
- Did the school make progress closing its overall achievement gaps?
- In the case of high schools, did the school increase its graduation rate?
Finally, rather than simply designating all schools as either “failing” or “not failing,” we’ll begin using new designations to identify only those schools that receive federal Title I funding. These designations, based upon the MMR, are:
- Reward Schools - The 15 percent highest-performing Title I schools in the state. These schools will be recognized annually.
- Focus Schools - The 10 percent of Title 1schools showing the largest achievement gaps in the state for one or more groups of students
- Priority Schools – The bottom 5 percent of schools on the MMR – our most persistently low- performing schools education.state.mn.us
For those schools designated as Priority and Focus schools, please know that the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) will be work closely with your school leaders on their school improvement plans. Our goal is not to label a school and leave, but rather to stand beside and work with schools most in need of support, and to applaud and recognize their efforts as they begin to show results. By the same token, schools designated Reward schools will be celebrated for the great work they’re doing, even as we work to learn from and replicate their success.
As I said last fall, no single factor should be used as the sole indicator of a school’s performance. In addition to the MMR, I would encourage you to look at your child’s test scores and other class work, and to visit with your teachers and principal to learn more their efforts to meet student’s needs. I also suggest you visit the data center at the Minnesota Department of Education website http://education.state.mn.us/MDEAnalytics/Reports.jsp, where you will find a wealth of information about all of Minnesota’s schools.
Every Minnesota child deserves a high quality education, no matter where they live or their socio- economic background. We believe our new accountability system will help make that goal a reality by providing a more accurate look at how our schools are doing and providing resources and support to the schools that need it most.
Sincerely,
Dr. Brenda Cassellius Commissioner |
posted Apr 11, 2012, 8:49 AM by Joshua Lindquist
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updated Apr 12, 2012, 12:46 PM
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Community
Middle School Nurse, Kayla Chock (holding flowers) recognized by Take Heart St. Cloud, based at the CentraCare Heart & Vascular Center - St. Cloud Hospital, for her life-saving skills.
Heroes perform great deeds and often save lives. Little Falls Community Middle School is fortunate to have one such hero...in our Nurse's Office.
Kayla Chock, Little Falls Community Middle School nurse, literally saved two men's lives in the last two years. In the fall of 2010, an adult male community member was in the commons one school morning when he was overcome by heart failure and collapsed. Kayla grabbed her emergency bag, the school's AED, and performed CPR until the ambulance came. Early this spring of 2012, one of our substitute janitors wasn't feeling quite right. Dizzy and weak, he was brought to the nurse's office. He was having a heart attack! She placed him on the ground and performed CPR. In both situations, Nurse Kayla applied the Automated External Defibrillator (AED), but it advised "no shock." With her strong, competent hands, Kayla continued CPR until the ambulance arrived.
Community Middle school has one AED, and it's located by the school pool. Kayla says that one AED is sufficient. Being a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), Kayla is required to have knowledge on how to use AEDs. However, she says it is designed so user-friendly, even a student could use it if necessary. Our AED cost $1,500 – what’s the price of a life that is saved? We've had AEDs in our school district for 7-8 years. Maintenance personnel check all AEDs every month for expired batteries and pads, to make certain they are ready when an emergency occurs.
When asked if Kayla felt like a hero, she brushes that term aside and humbly states she just did what she was trained to do. She did her best and is very happy with the outcome. Finally, Kayla advises students to exercise to maintain a healthy body, to not smoke as it can lead to stroke or heart failure, and to eat healthy because eating a lot of junk food can become a habit. We are lucky to have such a gifted nurse!  -Sarah Stout and Daniel Marod, 8th grade LFCMS April 2012 |
posted Mar 8, 2012, 12:13 PM by Joshua Lindquist
Ben Newman has overcome some physical issues during this high school hockey season. Early in the year, for example, the junior center from Little Falls had to deal with a shoulder injury that got in the way of his tough, physical style of play.
And during Wednesday’s Class 1A state quarterfinal game against St. Thomas Academy at the Xcel Energy Center, Newman was forced to leave the ice for a time after a high stick sliced into the skin above his left eye.
That episode could have been much worse, considering that Newman’s left eye is his only working eye. That’s right, Ben Newman plays hockey – and plays it very, very well – despite having vision in just one eye.
Is it a miracle? Not if Ben has anything to say about it. He lost the vision in his right eye when he was only eight months old, so as he put it after the Flyers lost to St. Thomas Academy, “I don’t know what it’s like to have two eyes.”
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posted Feb 28, 2012, 6:47 AM by Joshua Lindquist
posted Feb 15, 2012, 8:54 AM by Joshua Lindquist
The following schedule is subject to change due to the Minnesota state shut-down and resulting delays. The MCA Math online assessment dates were not available at the time of this printing and will be placed on the district web site and school calendars. The Little Falls Community School District sets the GRAD Reading and Math Retest schedule within the Minnesota Department of Education defined window. The GRAD retest windows are the first Tuesday through Wednesday of the following week each month beginning in October. Students are not eligible to retest every month and may be subject to completing remediation coursework prior to retesting. The Little Falls High School will communicate specific GRAD retesting information throughout the school year as needed.
Download PDF of 2011-12 Testing Schedule |
posted Nov 14, 2011, 5:59 AM by Joshua Lindquist
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updated Nov 16, 2011, 5:39 AM
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The Little Falls Community School District is pleased to report that it made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in 2011. As required by federal No Child Left Behind legislation, the district continues to be identified as a district that "Needs Improvement" for one more year. A district must meet AYP for two consecutive years to no longer be in the "Needs Improvement" phase.
The notification attached below is the annual AYP Notification for 2011-2012. |
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