Thanksgiving week has come and again this year, we take time to pause and reflect on the blessings in our lives that we are thankful for. Marshall Public Schools has a lot to be thankful for, including the high levels of community support that enable us to continue to connect with our community youth each day as we work to prepare each learner for success. We are thankful for the children that you share with us and for the gift each of them is to our community. There is always a lot going on in our schools; I want to share a few updates with you again this month.

We’ve recently reviewed some annual information regarding the water usage at the high school using the irrigation system, where we continue to use the pump house and pond to provide water. This irrigation system was especially helpful this year, as we installed new sod on the football practice field. This year alone, the school’s savings in using this pup and the pond over purchasing water was nearly $47,000. Over the past six years of using this system, we’ve saved taxpayers over $412,000 in utilities costs.

Our Project Success After School Program for K-6 started in mid-October. Teachers provide re-teaching, new instruction, Social-Emotional Learning, and life skills in this program. Our program coordinator provides a theme for each month of instruction along with fun activities for teachers; and students have this opportunity to pick up missed skills in an encouraging and fun learning environment.

Third and fourth graders at Southview Elementary have been participating in Book Battles, where they create teams of four and read through the list of books that are created by our media specialists. The teams then go up against other teams to try and answer as many questions about the books as they can in a trivia type competition.

Southview recently had the first of two all-day training sessions for their implementation of the Building Assets, Reducing Risks (BARR) program they have received a grant for. Two teachers from each grade along with the SEL teachers and building administration attended a training put on by our BARR Coach and learned how this can help us better align systems and be more efficient in managing individualized student needs in instruction, intervention, and enrichment for academics, attendance, and behaviors. The middle school training is also scheduled to happen in the near future, as they have received the same grant and both sites will be piloting their programs this year.

Southview Elementary has invited Kao Kalia Yang, a Hmong American writer, filmmaker, and teacher, to visit the school. She will read one of her children’s books to the entire student body as well as take part in a Q & A session. This event will take place in the Middle School Theatre so we can accommodate our entire student body along with our staff.

Students at the middle school continue to work on the Kindness Closet, a project where the life skills and some social skills classes are work on skills with organizing, cleaning, stocking, and helping staff and families find items in the Kindness Closet. Some of our students with special needs are paired with their general education peers to help make meaningful connections. Students are learning empathy, patience, and the ability to work with others who are different than themselves.

The High School has been implementing BARR for about five years now, and we regularly review student academic performance data as one gauge of the impact this has on our system. At the end of the first quarter, our review reveals that students are doing well when compared to last year. We specifically look at the percentage of students passing their classes at 3-week, 6-week, and end of term grading periods. Our data shows that the percentage of students passing their classes in all grades improved over the 3-week and six-week grading periods.

The Marshall Honor Society hosted the annual blood drive at the end of October. Almost 70 MHS students and staff signed up to give blood.

Our new Career and Technical Institute has opened, and students are now attending classes at the new location. Current courses offered are in certified nursing assistant, auto brakes and steering, auto engine performance, and advanced welding. Many opportunities still exist for any individual or business who would like to learn more about partnership opportunities with this programming. Anyone with questions about that can visit our website or call the school at 507-537-6922.

Again, I thank you all for your support of our schools, students, and staff. We’ve talked a lot this year about “growing our future together” and know that your support comes in many forms, and we couldn’t accomplish all the great things happening here without working together in education.

— Jeremy Williams is superintendent of Marshall Public Schools