Fallen Heroes Football Game - 10/11/2024

Hearing the American Legion members lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance every Monday morning over the loudspeaker is a highlight at the start of every week.  It serves not just as a ceremonial tradition, but as a way to connect us with the people who serve our country and an anchor to our communities.  

Recently, we hosted the 3rd annual MN Fallen Heroes Football Game (MNFHG) against Glencoe-Silver Lake.  A Wildcat win is always a great feeling, but an even better feeling comes when we honor and remember our veterans and service-men and service-women who have paid the ultimate price for our freedom and safety. We are thankful that each year we have been able to share this incredible event with another school and community by including our opponents in the Fallen Heroes program.  If you haven’t had a chance to experience this event, please consider attending next year.  It humbles you to see two communities come together to remember how great our nation is and all the sacrifices people have made for generations to protect what we have.

This year, the MN Fallen Heroes event was also featured in the Star Tribune, allowing for statewide exposure. Several schools across the state have now reached out to NLS expressing an interest in hosting similar events.  It is an honor to have a connection to this event and the Ryane Clark Heroes Project and NLS Educational Foundation who worked tirelessly to create, organize, and promote something that has created ripples throughout the state.

Humbly Submitted,

Jamie Boelter

New London-Spicer Superintendent

Read Act Legislation - 8/29/2024

As the new school year begins, students and teachers alike are brimming with enthusiasm, ready to dive into new challenges and opportunities. There’s palpable excitement in the “warm, sweaty, humid” air - words used by our students and staff to describe the first day back in the buildings. Segue: In future articles, I will update the community on our de-humidification, roofing, asbestos removal, and piping repair projects. 

Among this year’s new challenges will be a focus for training our PreK - 4th grade teachers on the science of reading as required by the State of Minnesota through the Read Act Legislation which was passed during the 2023 session. Future years will focus on required training for select 5th-12th grade staff members.   

In Minnesota, teacher training for the science of reading has become a focal point in improving literacy education. The state has embraced a comprehensive approach to ensure that educators are well-versed in evidence-based practices that support reading development. This training emphasizes the importance of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, all grounded in scientific research about how children learn to read.  

Our teachers will participate in training and courses during upcoming staff development days that cover the latest findings in cognitive science and effective instructional strategies, equipping them with practical tools to enhance reading instruction in their classrooms. 

This approach not only supports individualized learning but also fosters a more systematic and consistent method of teaching reading across the state. 

Thank you all for your continued support for our students and staff members as we embark on a new school year.

In Education,
Jamie Boelter, New London-Spicer Superintendent

OpenAI. ChatGPT-4. OpenAI, 27. Aug. 2024 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming schools in numerous ways.  It’s enhancing personalized learning by tailoring educational content to individual students’ needs and learning styles.  Additionally, AI-driven tools are streamlining administrative tasks, such as grading and scheduling, freeing up educators to focus more on teaching.  Moreover, AI is enabling predictive analytics to identify students who may need extra support or intervention, ultimately improving academic outcomes.  However, there are also concerns about privacy, equity, and the potential for AI to exacerbate inequalities if not implemented carefully and ethically.

“Write about how AI is affecting schools,” is what I typed into ChatGPT to generate the paragraph above. ChatGPT is just one of thousands of AI tools available.  I promise, the rest of this article is coming from my own brain.  

Throughout the school year, I have attended several educational sessions on how AI is and will be ingrained into everyday life.  Schools will not be immune to this revolution.  As an organization, we have already been planting seeds with our staff during staff development days as well as utilizing our technology leaders to prepare.

There are many AI tools that specifically cater to education.  We are currently investigating these options first as tools for teachers.  Preparing students to use AI tools appropriately must also be integrated into the educational experience.

In a world where AI is becoming increasingly integrated into our daily lives, the future holds promises and challenges.  As we navigate this ever-evolving landscape, it’s crucial to approach AI development with foresight, ethics, and a commitment to harnessing its potential for the betterment of humanity.  Only through responsible innovation and thoughtful regulation can we ensure that AI remains a force for good, empowering us to tackle the complexities of tomorrow while preserving our shared values and humanity.  - - I lied, I ended up using AI to break my writer’s block for the last paragraph. 

In education,

Jamie Boelter, New London-Spicer Superintendent  

As a fairly new Superintendent, I have been learning a ton! Minnesota has one of the most complicated education funding systems in the nation. Our district has a lot of projects in the works. I want to take a moment to share updates regarding those projects, including how the projects are being funded. 

The state provides schools with funding by putting the money in certain “buckets” which are coded for specific types of expenditures. The projects I have listed below do not affect our general education fund balance, but are projects designed to provide a better learning environment for staff and students, provide long-term facilities planning and updates, as well as add security and safety measures.         

Maintenance and Building Upgrades Project

Funding Source: Long Term Facility Maintenance Bonds and Local Tax Bond sales triggered by School Board authority, and a splash from the Booster Club.  

This will be the biggest project over the next couple of years. This project will also prepare the old cafeteria in the basement of the middle school to be used as a multipurpose fitness area, creating a more equitable space for our female and special education students. The Booster Club will be involved in helping to fund this space as well.  

The project scope includes all buildings in the district and will focus on roofing repairs, pipes, asbestos removal, dehumidification and heating upgrades. The bulk of this work will begin the summer of 2025 and finish the summer of 2026. Detailed timelines will be communicated once the bidding for the projects is completed this summer. Staff should be aware that our summer programming will be affected during this time and not our regular school calendar. I have been working with the building leaders to brainstorm alternative spaces for summer. Information about this project can be found on our school website: https://www.nls.k12.mn.us/facilityplanning    

Solar for Schools: Installation of solar panels on the HS/MS and PW Roofs

Funding Source: The district qualified for a Solar for Schools grant through the state of Minnesota. This grant will pay for the entirety of the project.

The project scope includes installation of solar panels on the HS/MS roofs as well as the Prairie Woods roof.  Prairie Meadows is already a part of a solar garden program and is powered through a different power company - which is why Prairie Meadows did not qualify for this particular grant. The solar panels are projected to help the district save over $1million in utility costs over 20 years.    

Fob System: Installation on outside doors of all buildings

Funding Source: Capital Funding from the state of Minnesota.

The new fobbing system will add security for all our buildings. Completion of this project has been slower due to the contractor’s slower than expected progress, but should be done in the near future.

Softball Shed: Replacing the outdoor classroom that has been used for storage for our softball and baseball teams as well as summer recreation programs 

Funding Source: Bernick’s Grant and Booster Club
Many years ago, when the district no longer needed to use outdoor classrooms, one of the outdoor classrooms was moved near the softball field to be used as a storage shed. This building is falling apart and is infested. We are waiting to hear if we will be awarded a grant to tackle this project. If awarded, the district will partner with the Booster Club to create a storage area, concession stand, and possibly bathrooms to replace this dilapidated outdoor classroom/softball storage shed.  

My hope is that this information gives a better understanding of the behind the scenes for our district’s upcoming projects. As always I am available to your questions by phone, email or appointment. 

A favorite conversation piece when I visit my father-in-law is his 1977 two-door Chevy Corvette Coupe.  He bought it about 8 years ago to fulfill a dream to own one as well as something to tinker on in his garage.  All the grandkids have gotten a ride, along with a commemorative picture on the fridge that they always admire when visiting grandma and grandpa in Clara City.  The two oldest grandkids have already discussed using it for prom.

In conversation with my father-in-law, he admits he knew he had a project on his hands when he bought it.  Over the years, he’d tell me about the tires he had to replace and a new brake system with new brake pads and brake lines.  He also changed the carburetor from an air pressure vacuum system to an electric system.  The list goes on and on, but he did what he had to do to keep this beauty on the road.  The memories and experiences far outweighed the cost and time put into fixing it.     

On July 1, 2023, I was given the keys to the NLS school district.  Rather than being handed the keys to a sweet 1977 Coupe, my keys open the doors to our buildings. The memories and experiences of our staff and students filling the halls and classrooms steer my days.  However, in my conversations with my Buildings and Grounds Director, I can’t help but notice the similarities between the upkeep of a classic car and school buildings.  Pipe, roof, boiler, heating unit, and air handling repairs have become common, prompting the district to do two buildings studies; one by Bradbury and Stamm and the other by SiteLogIQ.

Both reports confirmed, many of our systems and equipment in our 1963, 1968, and 1993 buildings and additions are well beyond life.  Tests of our CO2 levels in classrooms are above recommended amounts.  Just like a car built in 1977, buildings can only be fixed so much before parts need to be replaced.  I want to applaud our custodial staff and buildings and grounds personnel over the years for extending the life of systems and equipment invested in by our stakeholders.  

In clear transparency, the district does not have enough money to fix and upgrade our systems and equipment to modern code.  As a public school, we access money through Long Term Facility Maintenance funds, Capital funds, Voter Approved Levies, General funds and Board Approved Levies.  Given we receive just over $600,000 per year in Long Term Facility Maintenance, just over $500,000 a year in Capital and have a General Fund balance slightly over $400,000, this leaves us quite short of the funds needed to take on “under the hood” projects.  In the coming months, the school board will be investigating ways to address these issues.  The goal is to protect community assets and provide an exceptional learning experience for our youth.

Conditions of car brakes, tires, and carburetors aren’t known until you take a look under the hood.  When driving by or walking through school buildings, one does not see the pipes, air handling units, boilers and roofs unless you also take a look behind the walls and into the ceilings.  One may only see a classic car to envy. 

To honor our school board members past and present during School Board Recognition Month, I want to say thank you.  Currently, our school board members are Board Chair, Lucinda Dahlberg, Vice Chair, Mark Peterson, Board Clerk, Susan Lange, Treasurer, Jeff Vetsch, Darryl Nelson, Laura Nelson, and Del Brouwer. 
My career started as an English teacher, and being in education my entire career, it took me a few years to understand all the commitments of a board member.  Needless to say, being a board member is more than two meetings a month. Our board members spend many hours serving on a variety of additional committees including but not limited to; Buildings and Grounds, Labor and Transportation, Finance, Executive, Advisory, High School League, Policy committee and many more! A detailed rundown of our school board’s involvement in school and local committees is located on our website (www.nls.k12.mn.us/schoolboard).
Again, thank you to our past and present board members who have put in countless hours looking out for our future.
Sincerely,
Jamie Boelter, NLS Superintendent