7 minute read
Noteworthy
from Edina August 2021
ALL THINGS NEW
Meet Edina Public Schools’ new superintendent Stacie Stanley.
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BY ANGELA JOHNSON
DR. STACIE STANLEY is the incoming superintendent of Edina Public Schools. Previously, Stanley was associate superintendent in Eden Prairie. She’s also worked in the BurnsvilleEagan-Savage school district as director of equity and integrated support services and as director of curriculum, assessment, instruction and support services. She was a principal at two Roseville schools and was a teacher in the East Metro Integration District. Stanley has a bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the College of St. Catherine and a doctorate of education from Bethel University where she teaches educational measurement and assessment to doctoral students.
What was your favorite subject in school? Math; and since I was good at mathematics, I was encouraged to become an accountant, but I liked to talk too much. Instead, I came into education through occupational therapy and found my love in teaching math as a middle school math teacher.
Describe the purpose of your job. Building relationships as a connector to bring community members together around a common purpose and ultimately to ensure that kids are learning at a high level in a physically and psychologically safe environment.
What are your hobbies? Reading and taking walks with my husband of 32 years. I also love spending time with our grandchildren and seeing the world through their eyes.
What books do you remember from school? Like many Minnesota girls, I grew up loving Laura Ingalls Wilder and the Betsy-Tasy Society. When my children were in school, we loved Why Mosquitos Buzz in People’s Ears.
Who is a hero in your life? My mom, who is not living right now. She taught me tenacity and to be myself and remain authentic no matter what, which is why I didn’t become an accountant. She also taught me that problems are there to be solved and that I don’t need to have all the answers; that it takes a village and that there are many villages. Her spirit is with me all the time.
What are you most excited for in the upcoming school year? Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I’m excited for the energy and excitement that come with a more “typical” school year. Edina is an amazing community and I can’t wait to get to know the teachers and principals that I consistently hear are outstanding.
We wish Stanley and all EPS staff and students a wonderful 2021/22 school year.
ART
For Your Collection
Artwork recommended by the Art Girls.
ARTIST: Emily Frank TITLE: The Secret SCALE: 30x30 Acrylic on Canvas
“Blue skies smiling at me, nothing but blue skies, do I see.” These song lyrics by Ella Fitzgerald feel so appropriate as we soak in these last days of summer sunshine. This beautiful abstract painting by Minneapolis artist Emily Frank, feels all-encompassing of beach days, summer winds and blue skies all year long.
Contributed by The Art Girls; artgirlsmpls.com @art_girls_mpls Art Girls Minneapolis
READ
Back to School
Author details an 1800s snow day.
Raina and Gerda Olsen were born in Norway in the 1870s. As small children, they immigrated to Nebraska with their parents when their father was given 160 acres of land by the United States Government. In their mid-teens, both girls become schoolteachers in one-room schoolhouses. Raina is a gifted teacher while Gerda struggles to emulate her older sister. She feels like she lives in Raina’s shadow. Each sister boards with a farm family, which for Gerda is also a struggle. On January 12, 1888, after weeks of horribly cold weather, the morning breaks to an uptick in temperature. The young teachers and their students leave behind their coats and mittens to walk the miles to school in shawls and sweaters. In her novel The Children’s Blizzard, Melanie Benjamin captures the haunting chronology of events of that day and how it was experienced by her characters: teachers, children, Omaha newspapermen and bartenders. The land itself becomes a character. This is an incredible book, deeply researched and wonderful reading.
Contributed by Maureen Millea Smith, a librarian at the Edina Library and a Minnesota Book Award-winning novelist.
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AWARDS
Edina Rotary Supports Educational Achievement
College scholarships were awarded to two class of 2021 EHS graduates.
This past May, the Rotary Club of Edina presented $1,500 scholarships to two Edina High School 2021 graduates Divya Danthuluri and Allison Koester. These Edina grads were shown to exemplify the Rotary motto of “service above self.” They also participated in Rotary programs such as Camp Enterprise, Camp RYLA, fall ethics seminar, Vocational Ethics Day, youth exchange, Edina Rotary Global Scholars or the Interact Club of Edina. Danthuluri plans to attend the University of Wisconsin to study biomedical engineering or public health and Koester will attend Cornell University to study physics. The scholarships were presented at a local scholarship breakfast organized by the Edina Education Fund.
For more information about the Rotary Club of Edina’s scholarship program, contact Jennifer Bennerotte at jbennerotte@edinarotary.org
CITIZEN OF EDINA
Emphasis on Education
Local philanthropist lives out her values.
Maxine Wallin is one of Edina’s foremost community philanthropists. A librarian by training, she values education and founded Wallin Education Partners with her husband Win in 1992. What started as a scholarship program for 14 students has grown into a nonprofit offering scholarships with a support framework, creating a nationally respected college completion program. Uniquely, the first scholarships targeted “C” students because the Wallins recognized that while cost was a barrier to college access, there was also a dearth of scholarships aimed at those who weren’t earning top grades. The focus started at South High School in Minneapolis and now offers scholarships to students from 38 Twin Cities-area high schools.
Wallin valued her time at the University of Minnesota where the family name graces the Wallin Medical Biosciences Building and the Wallin Research Center in the Andersen Library. With a 75-year span of community philanthropy and volunteerism, she’s won accolades including the Katherine Phelps Lifetime Achievement Award (2013) for her work in the Junior League of Minneapolis; and, along with Win, received the Edgar M. Carlson Award (1997) from Minnesota’s Private Colleges.
Wallin has enjoyed working for a cause, hearing the speeches, attending the breakfasts and serving alongside others on the Edina Community Foundation Board of Directors and on the boards of the Hennepin County Library Foundation, the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches, Presbyterian Homes, the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library, the Junior League of Minneapolis, Planned Parenthood and the Minnesota Orchestra.
Contributed by the Edina Community Foundation; edinacommunityfoundation.org
SIP “Genießen”
The German word for enjoy, savor, relish …
Grüner Veltliner (groo-ner veltlee-ner) is an herbaceous white wine from Austria and if you don’t already love it, summer is a great time to sample it. It’s a no-brainer for folks who turn to Sauvignon Blanc, as they share a brightness and citrus fruit character, almost always being produced in a very dry style.
There are two distinct styles of Grüner Veltliner. One is bright, fresh, peppery and almost spritzy; the other is weighty, almost honeyed and serious. Save the latter for fall and lean into the former at barbecues, picnics and those remaining summer lake days. We love Barbara Ohlzelt Gruner Leader which illustrates its drinkability in liter bottles.
Grüner Veltliner shines with a wide variety of dishes thanks to its spicy character but it reaches a peak paired with the Austrian classic Wiener Schnitzel.
Contributed by Sarina Garibović, a certified sommelier and owner of Ženska Glava, a woman owned and operated wine and spirits events business; zenskaglava.com
JIM VANDERVELDE
YOUR TRUSTED NEIGHBORHOOD REALTOR®
