STAKEHOLDER SURVEY: Offers opportunities for 2023-2024 school year

look at if there are some different things we should be looking at or asking in the future.”

Family survey

Of the 675 families that completed the survey, most have a student enrolled at the middle school (37.9%) or the high school (36.3%), followed by Rice Lake Elementary (16.1%) and Blue Heron Elementary (14.1%).

Some highlights of the survey:

• 82% said they “strongly agree” or “agree” that their student looks forward to going to school.

• 89% feel that their family’s culture is respected.

• 88% said they “strongly agree” or “agree” that their student is appropriately challenged academically.

• 83% “strongly agree” or “agree” that their child knows at least one adult at the school with whom they can share success and concerns.

• 87% of respondents feel that teachers are available and provide assistance to their student when needed.

Student survey

Of the 1,220 students in grades 3-5 who took the survey, most attend Blue Heron Elementary (29.4%), followed by Rice Lake Elementary (25.7%) and Golden Lake Elementary (16.8%): 37.4% were in fifth grade, 33.9% in fourth grade and 28.7% in third grade.

Some highlights of the 3-5 survey included:

• 95% said they “strongly agree” or “agree” to feeling safe at school.

• 81% said they like being at school, while 19% said they didn’t.

Girls Lacrosse

Centennial defeated Coon Rapids 20-0 on Monday in their next-to-last conference game and finished with an 11-9 win over Rogers on Wednesday. Against Rogers, Ella O’Hearn netted three goals, Lillian Brausen and Anna Jarpy two each, and Callie Cody, Noelle Hemr, Kayler Whiteworth, and Kylie Bergwald one each. Centennial tied for third place among 12 teams. The top five teams were Maple Grove 12-0, Champlin Park 11-1, Centennial 9-3, Andover 9-3, and Armstrong 7-5. The Cougars take a 9-3 record into Section 7A starting June 1.

BOYS

Golf

Centennial held seventh place among 13 teams in the Northwest Suburban Conference with six of seven meets done. The finale was held Thursday (after press deadline). Their top finishes have been fourth place once and fifth place twice. Hayden Frank, a senior, leads the Cougars with a 36.1 average, followed by junior Harper Searles 37.4, freshman Cooper Daikawa 38.2, junior Tanner Youngbauer 38.9, senior Hunter Ubel 39.1, eighth-grader Brady Zins 39.4, senior Peyton Blair 39.5 and junior Kaden Flint 42.4. Centennial’s section tournament will be held May 30-31 at Bunker Hills.

BOYS LACROSSE

Centennial beat Rogers 16-4 in their final conference game Wednesday evening. The Cougars finished third among 12 teams in the Northwest Suburban.

• 97% said they “strongly agree” or “agree” that their teacher teaches in a way that helps them learn.

• 95% “strongly agree” or “agree” that their culture is respected by other students.

Of the 2,118 students who took the survey in grades 6-12, 58.9% of students attend the high school and 41.1% attend the middle school. Nearly 20% of the students who completed the survey were in ninth grade, followed by 17.8% in 10th grade and 16.5% in eighth grade.

Some highlights of the grade 6-12 survey included:

• 85% said they “strongly agree” or “agree” to feeling safe at school.

• 55% said they like being at school, while 45% said they didn’t.

• 86% said they “strongly agree” or “agree” that their teacher teaches in a way that helps them learn.

• 92% “strongly agree” or “agree” that their culture is respected by other students.

One area the district wants to dive further into is the question about whether students like attending school.

“There is an opportunity there to get groups of students together, share the survey results with them and find out what’s going well, what things could be improved so we understand the nature of where they are coming from,” Holmberg said.

One area the superintendent was particularly pleased with was the fact that students feel connected to the adults in the buildings. “That’s important.

You want kids and staff to have a strong connection because that is key to learning; you can’t learn if you don’t have that connection,” he said.

Staff survey

Of the 299 staff members who took the survey, 67 work at the middle school, 66 work at the high school, 30 work at Blue Heron Elementary, 26 work at Centerville Elementary and 25 work at Rice Lake Elementary.

Some of the highlights of the staff survey included: outs. Jordan Lemire was 2-for-4 with a double and knocked in three runs, giving the senior first baseman 26 RBI’s for the season. Also punching two hits were Celsi Burn (two RBI’s), Peyton Corbin, Adrianna Thomas, Allison Hemming (two runs), and O’Connell.

• 86% said they “strongly agree” or “agree” that their direct supervisor or building principal is visible and accessible.

• 90% said they “strongly agree” or “agree” that their direct supervisor or building principal listens and follows up on their concerns.

• 88% said they are proud to be associated with Centennial Schools.

• 90% said they regularly use data to make informed decisions and improve their practice and student learning.

Director of Public Information and Community Outreach Krista Bergert explained that each of the surveys also included an open-ended question at the end. She said the district is currently going through those responses to identify key themes that will also be included in planning for the 2023-24 school year.

Managing Editor Shannon Granholm can be reached at 651-407-1227 or quadnews@presspubs.com.

Baseball

Will Whelan led Centennial to a 2-1 win over Anoka in their Northwest Suburban Conference finale on Tuesday. The Cougars finished 8-4 in the NWSC, tying for third place among 12 teams. Champlin Park was champion with a 10-2 record. Whelan threw four shutout innings (no hits, four walks, six strikeouts), picking up his fifth win against one loss, and knocked in both runs with a double. Aidan Lieser finished with three innings (one run, three strikeouts). The Cougars (12-9 overall) will start Section 5AAAA on Monday.

Track

The top three teams were Maple Grove 11-0, Armstrong 10-1, and Centennial 9-2. Four teams tied for fourth place with 6-5 records. The Cougars take a 9-4 overall record into Section 7A starting June 1.

Softball

Centennial won its Section 5AAAA opener, over Irondale 9-2, on Tuesday. The Cougars (12-8) played Champlin Park on Thursday (after press deadline). Riley O’Connell threw a three-hitter with 10 strike-