eduSpeak

Should Central and Denfeld students be forced to attend the same graduation ceremony when their student populations are blended next year? Who will serve on the school’s student government? How many dances should be held?

All of those questions and more were addressed in the district-wide Student Transition Team’s presentation to the Duluth School Board Tuesday night but we didn’t have room to include the information in the newspaper.

The complete document developed by the 30-member student group, which articulates in detail how the district should handle the switch from three to two high schools, is posted on the Duluth school district’s web site.

Tell me, what do you think about their ideas?

Students from Grant and Nettleton Elementary schools got a preview of a Haiti benefit concert today that’s open to the public tonight.

The traditional Afro-Haitian roots music group Bonga and the Vodou Drums of Haiti performed at both schools this af-ternoon to the delight of students, according to Steff Heilig, principal at Nettleton and Grant.

“It was a very engaging performance,” Heilig said. “There was a lot of clapping to rhythms and inviting kids up to play the drums. The students were wide-eyed and on track with them 100 percent.”

The group will perform again tonight for a Haiti benefit concert at 7 to 9 p.m. in the Mitchell Auditorium at the College of St. Scholastica. Attendants are asked to make a free-will donation at the door with all proceeds going to relief efforts in Haiti. Doors open at 6:15 p.m.
 

Several Northland teachers have been nominated for this year’s Minnesota Teacher of the Year award and I’m going to try and introduce you to a few of them before the list gets whittled down next month. First, allow me to introduce you to Clare Chopp, the orchestra teacher at Denfeld High School and Morgan Park Middle School. She has been a teacher for over 20 years and was nominated for this year’s Teacher of the Year award by a former student. I asked Clare to answer a few questions about her teaching career and what it feels like to be honored by this recognition. Her answers are below.

Q. Why did you become a teacher?
A. When I was in grade school I had some great teachers as well as an Aunt and an Uncle who were great teachers and I wanted to do that. I have been lucky to have had many wonderful teachers over my schooling. Things changed over the years as other careers took hold but teaching was always there in the back of my mind and ever since junior high I have been helping other string students to improve. I guess I was practicing for the job all along.
Q. What do you love most about your job?
A. I love to see students excited about music and what it does for our soul. I love to see them work hard at something difficult and overcome the challenges and I love to be able to watch the maturity and growth that takes place over the years as you get to know them.
Q. What makes you a unique teacher?
A. I don’t know that I would call myself unique. I am passionate about my music and what I do. I am very involved outside of school in the music world, spending time teaching privately, conducting one of the youth ensembles, playing in symphony, and being a union steward and officer to the musicians union; and students see that passion and involvement. They also see that I care about them and will not let them ‘hide in a corner’ or ‘slip through the cracks’ if they are with me. I demand a lot of effort and positive attitude; expect respect and give it back. I treat students like people that matter and they appreciate that.
Q. Who nominated you and why?
A. Former student Ringo Kienitz nominated me for this award. She mentioned me being a mentor, role model, and someone who was well liked and respected and spent time going out of my way helping students even outside the classroom. She was very flattering of me actually. I felt honored. She and other students think very highly of me and I am pleased that they feel that I have been such a positive influence on their lives.
Q. How does it feel to be nominated for this award?
A. I am honored and humbled to be recognized. I do not go out of my way to try to earn recognition; I simply am who I am, doing what I do best and trying to be a positive impact on students. There are many great teachers out there and it is nice to be acknowledged from time to time. I certainly am not a ‘perfect’ teacher and I am always trying to find ways to be better and more effective in what I do; but I always try to love what I do and pass that passion on infectiously to my students.
 

With all the attention focused on Red Plan Plus these days, people may have forgotten about Plan B, the first alternative facilities plan developed by Let Duluth Vote that emerged well over a year ago. 

The plan, which calls for keeping three high schools open and eventually adding middle schools to the sites, received a positive review and comment from the Minnesota Department of Education several months ago and has been in limbo ever since.

The positive review means the Duluth school district is required to put it up for a nonbinding referendum, but School Board members have been reluctant to hand over the cash necessary to pay for it.

In November board members rejected a request 7-0 to allow district staff to take $100,000 out of fund balence to help pay for the vote. Administration will be going back to them with the same request on Tuesday.

"Ultimately we are going to need to do a vote on this at some point so we will have to keep going back to [the school board] until we get this approved," said Bill Hanson, the district’s business director.

It’s hard to say how members will come down on it this time around. Both members Ann Wasson and Judy Seliga-Punyko spoke out against it at the district’s business committee meeting Monday but new member Art Johnston, who helped write Plan B, is pushing for the vote.

If it’s approved, the district can start trying to schedule a date for the vote to take place. Hanson said certain rules and regulations prohibit the district from doing it any earlier than April so it will still be awhile before anything happens on this front.

Even if the plan is approved it probably won’t change anything because of the four-person majority of red plan supporters on the board.
 

I am working on a story about the displacement of teachers that will take place in the Duluth school district later this year as the district continues consolidating schools under the long-range facilities plan.

I am hoping to get teachers, parents and students to weigh in on the impact of this process, known as the Big Fill. If you or someone you know will be affected by the change, please contact me via email at shorner@duluthnews.com or by phone at 723.5342.

I am hoping to run this story this weekend so I need to hear from people quickly. Thanks in advance for your help.