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Keeping students safe in the classrooms

As the hot summer winds shift to cool fall breezes, it is hard to believe we’re wrapping up the first quarter of the year. Our fall activities are completing up their seasons and winter activities will be starting soon. As the seasons shift and we find ourselves doing more indoor activities, I do hope we’ll be able to maintain the sense of normalcy in the buildings that we’ve had this fall. I think we’re all coming to terms with the fact that COVID likely isn’t going completely away anytime soon, and we continue to monitor our safety and mitigation protocols for effectiveness as we work to keep our kids in their classrooms safely.

Our school nurses are doing a great job again this year and are working extremely hard to keep up with everything. We were able to access some ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funding through MDE (Minnesota Department of Education) to hire additional nursing aide help that has been very beneficial.

Working with our nursing team, we’ve identified a struggle with the process around COVID testing. While we’ve been encouraging both staff and students to be tested, it is hard for an asymptomatic person to be out of school while they wait for the results.

We were recently able to access some rapid tests that are now accessible to our students at each location. They can take these test kits home to complete, and in minutes will have results. This will help families with identifying the difference between actual COVID symptoms and other similar symptoms.

Recognizing principals

October is National Principals Month. We have some of the best here in Marshall; our team of building principals works tirelessly to help ensure a positive learning environment for our students, staff, and families. A principal not only handles daily attendance and discipline issues that come up at the sites, but they also work with teachers to ensure the instruction, interventions, and enrichment activities provided are aligned to standards and are individualized to meet the needs of each student. Please join me this month in saying “Thank You” to our principals:

Brian Jones, Principal Marshall High School and MATEC

Travis Frazee, Assistant Principal Marshall High School

Amanda Pederson, Assistant Principal MATEC

Paula Wolter Mattson, Principal Marshall Middle School

Corey Boe, Assistant Principal Marshall Middle School

Peter Thor, Principal Southview Elementary

Amanda Grinager, Assistant Principal Southview Elementary

Darci Love, Principal Park Side Elementary

Tiffany Teske, Assistant Principal Early Childhood and Park Side

Need substitutes

One of our biggest challenges this year is in our need for substitutes to keep things going when our regular staff person is out. We have a need for substitutes in all areas, including not just teachers, but paraprofessionals, custodians, administrative assistants, nurses, and classroom aides as well.

Anyone with an interest in subbing or is interested in learning more about what it is like to be a substitute can call the District Office during regular business hours at 507-537-6924 and ask for Kate.

Substitute positions are great for people with active schedules. It allows you to pick the days and times that work best for your schedule. We’d love to visit with you about this opportunity.

— Jeremy Williams is superintendent of Marshall Public Schools

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