Huskie Howl

Fall 2016

From the

Albany Area Schools Community Newsletter

District

The physical changes in our school district are what seem to be the focal point and topic of discussion. This is great! These improvements
are important in securing our entrances and expanding opportunities for our students, staff, and community. However, what I am most
proud of as we end the first month of our school year is the work within the walls of our facilities.
At the heart of our work is preparing students for the next phase of their learning. The next phase may be entering kindergarten,
moving to the next grade level, and ultimately being college and career ready. As each school closely examines the progress of its students,
I am impressed with our results in reading, math, and science.
One of our school district goals is to support teachers in their work to be innovative. This means encouraging teachers to take risks as
they create learning opportunities that are new and better for our students. Many of our teachers have been reading The Innovators
Mindset by George Couros to help us empower learning, unleash talent, and lead a culture of creativity. Preparing students for what
lies ahead is an exciting journey.
When reflecting on all of the positive things taking place in our schools, I also reflect on this important truth: none of this could happen
without the support of our families and community. Thanks for seeing the value of our schools and working with us to create an amazing
place to live and learn.

Superintendent Greg Johnson

gregjohnson@district745.org
320-845-2171 x5050
Follow me on Twitter @gregjohnson2283

facilities update

District Building Project Update

Comes in $1.6 Million Under Budget
So many exciting things are taking place with our facility project. With all of our bid packages in, we are $1.6
million under budget. Funds have been set aside as a contingency for unexpected costs that may develop with the
project. In the weeks ahead, the school board will be discussing options for reinvesting these funds in our schools.
Avon Elementary and Albany Elementary have the hardware installed
to secure their main entrances. We are working on a few technical
issues and hope to have functional, secure entrances this month.
Parents and guests who visit our elementary schools will enter through
the main entrance, use the visitor management system to alert office
personnel, and be buzzed into the main office to sign in.
The seven-room addition to Albany Elementary continues to make
progress (see photos below). This addition will be completed by
January 1. Beginning in January, our district office staff will occupy
this space at Albany Elementary so renovations can begin at the
secondary school.

Boar
to D d
Rein iscuss
vestm
ent
Opti
ons

The drone photo depicts the new layout of our parking lots and bus
zones. This change has gone very well. Any visitors to the school
will use the south entrance, while the west entrance is designated for
buses, staff, and students. Once construction is completed next year, we will recoup 45 additional parking spots.
A large number of transitions will take place this spring and summer in all Albany Area Schools. As soon as the
school year ends on May 24, 2017, we will begin the process of moving many classrooms to new locations. This
includes early childhood programming, kindergarten, grade 6, science classrooms, and others to accommodate our
new facilities.

Photo courtesy of Grant Kulzer

district news
District Selected
to Participate
in Q Comp Program
This past July, Albany Area Schools received notice that the
Minnesota Department of Education had approved the districts Q
Comp application. The application was then formally approved by
both by the teachers union and school board, clearing the way for
its implementation. The Albany Area School Sistrict now joins over
80 other school districts in the state participating in this program.

School District Hosts

George Couros, Known as
The Principal of Change

On October 31, Albany Area Schools had the distinct

pleasure of hosting internationally known author
and speaker George Couros. Couros, a champion of
innovative teaching, learning, and leadership, has worked
with schools and organizations around the world.

What exactly is Q Comp? In 2005 the Minnesota Legislature,

through a bipartisan agreement, passed the Quality Compensation
law (better known as Q Comp). It is a strictly voluntary program
that enables local school districts and teacher representatives to
create and collectively bargain a plan that fulfills the laws five
components:

Career Ladder/Advancement Options

Job-Embedded Professional Development
Teacher Evaluation
Performance Pay
Alternative Salary Schedule

As an approved school district, Albany Area Schools will

receive over $400,000 of funding to meet the Q Comp goals. As
Superintendent Greg Johnson notes, The primary goal of Q Comp
is improving student achievement. This is the most important work
we do in our schools. Q Comp will allow us to enhance professional
development in our district by increased teacher leadership and
providing additional opportunities to collaborate.

During his visit, Couros addressed the Albany Area

Schools staff and representatives from five area school
districts in a three-hour morning session, and then led
a two-hour session that afternoon with the Albany Area
Schools building leadership teams, staff development
team, and innovation team on how to ignite and
manage innovative change. Mr. Couros is the author of
the landmark book, The Innovators Mindset: Empower
Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity.

Congratulations to Dana Amdahl and Lori Habben, who were

selected as the districts Q Comp advisors
PA G E 3

district news

Welcome to Amy Notch,

Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Director
Growing up on a farm near Cold Spring taught me essential lessons that drive
my learning philosophies today. Life on the farm with my parents and four
siblings taught me the values of dedication, persistence, and community. The
lessons I learned growing up in central Minnesota serve as foundations for
the way I work with students, parents, teachers, and administrators at Albany
Area Schools. I am excited to serve as the director of curriculum, instruction,
and assessment in the district at a time when innovation is creating quality
opportunities for all who are served by our school district.
I spent 15 years of my career as an English teacher in Kimball. For the last
two years, I served as the director of student achievement in Milaca. My
role at Albany Area Schools is one of service to students, parents, teachers,
and administrators. From coordinating state and federal testing schedules
to researching and providing support in curriculum discussions across the
district, my job pushes me to research what is best for learners, to shared
that research with parents, teachers and administrators, and to support
those efforts with quality educational resources. I am excited to be a part
of a district where success is a tradition. It is my goal to build continuing
opportunities for success for all learners, extending the proud tradition of
exceptional education in the Albany Area School District.
Amy Notch
Curriculum, Instruction,
and Assessment Director

Albany School Board Appoints

Student Representatives

Albany Area School Board student representatives are non-voting board members serving as liaisons between their
fellow high school students and the governing body of the school district. Serving in this role for the 2016-17 school
year are seniors Olivia Maus, Emily Winkels, and Emily Johnson. As school board representatives, these high school
seniors provide valuable insight and support to the school boards understanding of student needs and perspectives.

Albany Area High School Launches

Work-Based Learning Program
Albany Area High Schools new Work-Based Learning Program is designed to enrich a students learning through real-world applications.
It is also an opportunity to showcase a students talent for future employment and to build his or her resume. The program is designed
to give credit to students for significant practical work experience, one that allows them to apply concepts and technical skills learned
in the classroom to the world of work.
Last spring high school juniors applied to participate in the program and 11 were selected. These seniors are now working in various
businesses throughout our community Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday of each week during their 4th block class. On Wednesdays
they are in class with Mr. Stromme, our work-based learning coordinator, studying a host of topics ranging from workplace safety to
personal communication skills in the workplace.
Here are the 2016-17 first semester Work-Based Learning interns (pictured l-r) and their work location:

Grace Keck, Albany Elementary

Mackenzie Sand, Lake Country Veterinary Service
Emily Brausen, Mother of Mercy/Campus of Care
Spencer Notch, Albany Chrysler
Megan Stroeing, Albany Elementary
Emily Winkels, Blattner Energy
Travis Ramacher, Albany Chrysler
Jacob Swenson, Central Minnesota Credit Union
Emily Johnson, Albany Elementary
Mitchell Klaphake, Midsota Manufacturing
Devin Rausch, JT Electric

High school seniors interested in participating in this program 2nd semester are encouraged to see Mr. Stromme or their high school
counselor for further information and an application.

District Teachers Dig Into the Data

This fall Albany Area Schools

K-11 teachers, under the guidance
of Amy Notch, director of
curriculum,
instruction,
and
assessment, met in grade-level
teams and by department to closely
examine STAR and Minnesota
Comprehensive Assessment (MCA)
data as well as test specifications
(the scenarios being tested, how
they will be tested, and how often
they will be tested).
All
teachers
have
student
achievement as their primary goal.
Collaborating with colleagues to
examine student test data helps
our teachers better understand
what all students need to meet
state academic standards and how
we can work as a district to exceed
those standards.
PA G E 5

safety & security

Stepping In to Help:
Matt Gannon, School Resource Officer
Since September 2015, Albany Area Schools has been fortunate to have Albany police officer Matt Gannon serving
in the role of school resource officer (SRO), working in our school district four to eight hours a day. As Officer
Gannon noted, he spends approximately 85% of his time at the high school, where he is busy meeting the needs of
its students and staff.
This summer Officer Gannon
attended the 2016 National
School Safety Conference
in Anaheim, California, a
conference which he said was
the most informative, helpful
school safety conference
I have ever attended. His
primary takeaways from the
conference were the following:
(1) a heightened awareness
of what is really occurring
in the lives of our students is
essential to providing the help
they need
(2) the safety and security of
our students and staff begins
with the building of supportive
relationships.
As an SRO, Officer Gannon works closely with teachers, administrators, and school counselors to maintain a safe
and secure learning environment. While he certainly makes a point of connecting with as many students as he can
on a daily basis, his time, as he notes, is best spent positively engaging students who are hurting and/or isolated.
Students who are hurting, for a variety of reasons, are the ones most likely to be having trouble in school. I want
to help them. My focus is not on punishment, but rather support, he says.
Research shows that the work of school resource officers has been instrumental in reducing the number of student
discipline problems and incidents of school violence. Our SRO, Matt Gannon, looks for the good in all of our
students, and having found it, uses it to help them become happier and more productive in and out of the classroom.
Thank you, Officer Gannon!

A Sc
e
From ne
O
Scho ur
ols

leadership
Albany Area Schools Building Leadership Teams:
Focused on Boosting Student Achievement
In 2013, the Albany Area School District adopted a site-based, shared decision-making model. Each of our district school sitesthe
Early Childhood Center, Avon Elementary, Albany Elementary, Albany Area Middle School, and Albany Area High Schoolis led by
a building leadership team, composed of the school principal and several teachers elected by their peers. This team works together to
provide a process for school improvement, the ultimate goal being improved student achievement.
Building Leadership Teams (BLTs) have three primary responsibilities in their school: goal-setting, communication, and professional
development. They meet regularly to plan for school improvement, keeping their focus on specific building goals, which are closely
aligned with school board goals. BLT members, believing that professional growth leads to improved student achievement, work hard to
make sure that all staff members are committed and supported in their efforts to help all students learn.

Early Childhood Center BLT

(top left pictured l-r): Sue
Jenkins, Katie Radeke, Sheila
Kost, Cassie Nentl
Avon Elementary BLT (top right
pictured l-r): Carole Braschayko,
Renee Nelson, Sue Jenkins, Anne
Strack, Corey Harmon

Albany Elementary BLT (pictured l-r): Joan Eibensteiner, Ann

Schultz, Kim Koehn, Sara Friedrichs, Sharon Navratil
Albany Area Middle School BLT
(pictured l-r): Paul Conrad, Dan
Anderson, Kelly Klasen, Casey
McGuire, Carrie Schmitz

Albany Area High School BLT

(pictured l-r): Al Amdahl, Jeanne
Bruns, Jen Hiltner, Amy Spohn,
Tim Wege (not pictured)

Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
St. Cloud, MN
Permit No. 2382

ISD #745
Albany Area Schools
30 Forest Ave.
Albany, MN 56307

******ECRWSSEDDM******
POSTAL CUSTOMER LOCAL

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