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Lee Graves SFHS Science Teacher, ISTE Conference Presenter
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From June 27 until July 1, Melissa Denning, Becki Baker and Lee Graves represented Independent School District 15 (ISD 15) at the International
Elementary school principal retires Angie Hylen SFES Community Relations Coordinator
When school buses return in the fall and the sound of children fills the hallways, St. Francis Elementary School (SFES) will resume without the gentle guidance and strong leadership of Principal Kathleen Kohnen. Students and staff will no longer hear her voice on the morning announcements or see her smiling face in the halls as she directs students quietly to their lockers after lunchtime, while accepting numerous hugs. Kohnen retired at the end of the 2013-14 school year after serving as principal for 16 years at SFES. Kohnen began her career in education as a teacher, serving in the Robbinsdale, Anoka and Centennial school districts for a combination of 21 years. She went on to earn a master’s degree in administration and was a principal in Pine City and St. Cloud before coming to ISD 15. Kohnen has led SFES through many changes throughout the years. She oversaw the transition from a K-3 to a K-5 building, when St. Francis Intermediate School dissolved into the three elementary schools in the district. In later years, when space became an issue, she managed the school as it split to be housed on two campuses. She led students and staff
Kathleen Kohnen Submitted Photo
as mandated standardized testing became an integral part of education. She has guided the school through changes to help students be prepared for learning and life in the 21st century, including the installation of SMART Boards in each classroom, the integration of computers and iPads and the transition to a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) school. In 2012, Kohnen was named the Principal of the Year award from Minnesota Association of Educational Office Professionals. Among her most treasured accomplishments is the Reward School status that SFES has received from the state of Minnesota for the past two school years. Minnesota recognizes the top 15 percent of schools in the state each year as Reward Schools, based on proficiency and growth on
standardized tests, along with other measures of academic achievement. Among staff, Kohnen is known for her high standards for behavior and academics. She studied test data and met with individual grade level and specialist teachers to make sure that no students fell through the cracks. Kohnen also fostered a quiet, respectful atmosphere throughout the school, making sure that students were able to learn in a calm, safe environment. Teachers and administrators from other districts have toured SFES and talked to Kohnen to glean pointers on how to create a positive school climate. Among students, Kohnen is known for her frequent, calm presence throughout the building. She has been the smiling lady with the thick, white hair encouraging them to “be kind to one another from their hearts.” Every day Kohnen repeated the mantra on the morning announcements, “At SFES, we work hard and we are always, always kind to one another.” Each day she signed off the morning announcements with the responsive cheer, “It’s a great day to be…” and the student response, “GREAT!” could be heard echoing down the halls. Read about new principal Ryan Johnson on page 2.
Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) in Atlanta, Georgia. This year’s conference had over 16,000 attendees with 67 nations represented. ISTE is a nonprofit organization serving educators and education leaders and serves more than 100,000 education stakeholders throughout the world. Professional networking is one of the key parts of the ISTE conference, providing teachers the opportunity to network with other professionals who are using technology in similar ways. The ISD 15 teachers were able to meet innovative teachers from around the globe, sharing and learning new strategies and techniques from fellow attendees. Sessions were held covering a wide variety of topics, including technology integration and implementing new strategies, along with opportunities for participants to experiment with new technologies in the classroom.
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Along with the presentations were poster breakout sessions where participants could learn about new strategies and ideas that were presented in a less formal setting. This allowed for participants to ask questions of the presenters and get more in-depth information about topics covered. Denning, Baker and Graves were selected from thousands of presentation proposals, sharing teaching strategies implemented this past year with students in their classrooms and parents. Denning is an early childhood family educator and Baker is a speech language pathologist at the Lifelong Learning Center. Graves is a science teacher at St. Francis High School. Denning and Baker presented a lecture and poster presentation on partnering with parents to support children’s early learning at home and at school using Blogger and Facebook. They created short videos to connect Continued Page 3
Becki Baker and Melissa Denning attended the ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) conference in Atlanta, Georgia June 27-July 1, representing Independent School District 15. Their presentation, Flipping for Inclusion: Partnering with Parents Through Technology in Preschool, was selected from thousands of proposals. Over 16,000 educators attended the conference. Submitted Photo
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Teachers represent ISD 15 at global conference
a division of Independent School District 15 Community Education | St. Francis, Minnesota
August 2014 | Volume 22, Issue 1
Begins on PAGE 7
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August What’s Inside Schools in Action..........................................2 Community Education............................ 12 School Board Highlights......................... 16 Community & Business........................... 18 Sports & Outdoors.................................... 27 Life.................................................................. 29 Meetings & Events..................................... 31