Tuesday, February 19, 2013
The adopted 2013-2014 capital budget includes $1,367,000 in planned expenditures.
At a Feb. 11 Wayzata Public Schools board meeting, board members reviewed and unanimously adopted the 2013-14 capital budget. According to school board documents, when it comes to the operating capital fund, Wayzata Public Schools officials expect to see $1,381,853 in revenue come in next year. Of those dollars, the board allocated roughly $1.3 million to various capital projects. In comparison with capital dollars spent during the 2012-13 school year, about $55,000 more will be spent on facilities including building projects. Where will money be saved? School board documents show that while about $21,886 was allocated for leasing costs related to the Zamboni, next year, the district won’t plan on that expenditure. In the 2010-11 school …
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Annalise Munnich was recognized at a recent Wayzata Public Schools board meeting.
Wayzata Public Schools Superintendent Chace Anderson announced that Gleason Lake Elementary School teacher Annalise Munnich is the district’s employee of the month. According to school board documents, Munnich has been a teacher with the district for 11 years and works on many professional committees at Gleason Lake. “Annalise is a kind, patient and calm educator who has been instrumental in designing a high quality all-day kindergarten experience where students are engaged in exceptional learning opportunities,” Anderson wrote in school board documents. “Her enthusiasm for teaching and her engaging personality is evident in the relationships she forms with students.” Anderson said that students are motivated to learn in Munnich’s class, …
Monday, February 11, 2013
Patch wants to know what you think about the decision to purchase land for a possible expansion.
In a closed meeting on Jan. 28, District 284 school board members discussed details about the purchase of land that would allow Wayzata Public Schools to accommodate increased enrollment. About 3,200 students attend Wayzata High School. But within the next seven years, school board members say that the school will see an enrollment increase of about 500 students. In a Jan. 16 article, Patch reported that the school board is looking at purchasing between 13 and 37 acres of the golf course land near the high school. Theoretically, an addition would be made to the school, taking up playing field or parking space, and the golf course land would provide the additional space needed. Brenda Cassellius, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of …
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
A Wayzata Public Schools study found that fifty percent of Wayzata parents say their teen “lacks energy” possibly due to early school start times.
At a Jan. 28 meeting, Wayzata Public Schools board members reviewed a study that said more than half of Wayzata High School students have difficulties “waking up and getting moving” in the morning. This lack of energy could be due to the school’s early start time. According to school board documents, Wayzata High School’s 7:30 a.m. start is the earliest start time in the Lake Conference. Edina High School has a “0 hour” period from 7:30-8:25, which students can optionally attend. Minnetonka High School has the latest school start time in the conference with classes beginning at 8 a.m. “One challenge that exists in modification to school start times is in accommodating for the busy lives of students and their families,” Superintendent Chace…
Friday, February 1, 2013
The free event will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 2 at Wayzata Central Middle School.
For the 17th year in a row, Wayzata Public Schools parents will gather for a half-day event at Wayzata Central Middle School where they’ll learn about future plans for the district. The event is put on by the PTA and PTO liaison committee, Wayzata Public Schools, Communities in Collaboration Council and the Wayzata Family Learning Center. Parenting District Liaison Committee president Karen Arkesteyn said that unlike past events, this year, the parenting forum will feature a group of district officials who will review what’s happening in Wayzata schools, and how growth may impact the district in the future. A panel of five people--including Superintendent Chace Anderson, Director of Technology Wade Phillips and Executive Director of …
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Even though Minnesota uses tougher measurement standards, Wayzata High School and Robbinsdale Armstrong High School rates are still better than most.
The good news? National graduation rates are better than they’ve been since 1974. The even better news? Plymouth students are graduating at a rate that surpasses both national and state standards. The National Center for Education Statistics released a report recently that found that the nationwide four-year graduation rate was 78.2 percent for the 2009-10 school year. According to the Minnesota Department of Education, Wayzata Public Schools' most recent rate, which is for the 2010-11 school year, is 89.8 percent. Click on the PDF to the right to read the full report. In total, Robbinsdale Area Schools falls behind with 73.2 percent of the district's students graduating, though that's up from years past. However, when it comes to …
Friday, January 25, 2013
The reassignment of elementary school boundaries will cause some new middle school students in various neighborhoods to see change.
In December and January, Wayzata School Board members made changes to enrollment boundaries to both elementary schools and middle schools. School board presentations show that boundary decisions were made to better match students to facilities that can handle various capacities. During their Dec. 10 meeting, school board members approved elementary attendance area modifications--a decision that culminated after months of review and discussion. According to the Wayzata Public Schools website, all changes will take effect during the 2013-14 school year. Main reassignments include: After reviewing middle school capacities, on Jan. 14, the school board decided to hold off on making boundary adjustments but did decide to make administrative …
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
The Wayzata Youth Hockey Junior Gold Team is currently using the new space.
After approaching Wazyata Public Schools about needed updates to the locker rooms in the ice arena, Wayzata Youth Hockey teams are finally using lockers that suit their needs. Wazyata High School varsity hockey players will also be able to use the newly improved space. At a Jan. 14 school board meeting, Superintendent Chance Anderson thanked the Wayzata Youth Hockey Association for the group’s donation to the community’s ice arena. The association provided $15,324 to help provide new flooring and lockers designed for hockey equipment. Wayzata Public Schools building and grounds staff helped paint and install the lockers over the summer, and staff continues to work together with Wayzata Youth Hockey to main the community asset. “We’d like …
Thursday, January 17, 2013
The University of Minnesota Law School study says open enrollment causes more segregation in Robbinsdale school district, but shows that white students are over-represented in Wayzata.
When it comes to open enrollment, more white students seem to be leaving Robbinsdale schools and moving to other districts, like Wayzata, leading to greater segregation between white and minority students, according to a University of Minnesota Law School study published Friday. The study found that open enrollment increased segregation in the metro region overall between 2000 and 2010, with 36 percent of open enrollment classified as segregative in the 2009-10 school year. By contrast, just 24 percent were integrative. The rest were race neutral. “Open enrollment allows parents a wider choice in matching a school’s programs to a child’s needs and creates clearer competition between schools that could encourage innovation or improvement,” …
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
A projected increase in enrollment at Wazyata High School has board members and the City of Plymouth talking about an expansion.
Today, roughly 3,200 students attend Wayzata High School. But within the next seven years, school board members say that the school will see an enrollment increase of about 500 students--making for cramped quarters at the high school. A larger student population has board members thinking about ways to accommodate 3,700 kids. Throughout the fall, school board members entered into conversations with the owner of the nearby Elm Creek Golf Course--the only available land near the school that could accommodate a potential expansion. Executive Director of Finance and Business Jim Westrum said that the district is only looking at purchasing between 13 and 37 acres of the golf course land. At a December Wayzata Public Schools board meeting, …
Dave Haas
3:39 pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
The challenge the board faces is a big one. They are stuck between start times, and busing constraints. According to Dr. Anderson and Jim Westrum, they can't reduce the number of tiers of busing, due to contraints from First Student (ie Number of Buses, Number of qualified drivers, and retention rate). So they have to stick with 3 tiers - one early, one middle and one late. Currently all of the … more ›