April 2022

If you’ve ever worked at a school, you know that the end of the school year is always crazy.  No matter how hard you plan, things always creep up on you.  Whether it’s testing, field trips, meetings, athletics, special schedules, or graduation there never seems to be enough time in the day to take care of everything.  That’s where the support staff shines bright.  Support staff are the unsung heroes of education, the people behind the scenes who never seem to get the true recognition they deserve.  This superintendent’s corner is dedicated to the members of the Burt Township School District support staff who help keep the school afloat.

Mark Harbaum came in half way through the year to fill a desperately needed aide position.  He hit the ground running and has been invaluable to the success of our lower elementary school classroom.  Mark didn’t know it when he started, but he’s a natural with the kids.  He never imagined he’d be back so soon after he graduated. Mark is always positive and upbeat, even on days when he’s admittedly tired from chasing kids around.  We appreciate Mark’s help this year a ton.

Mark Harbaum

Jen Irvine came to us to shore up our mental health support.  Her background as a social worker with credits towards a degree in education fit perfectly with our drive to provide additional mental health resources to our students.  Social emotional learning (SEL) is a major driver for us this year and without Jen, we would not have been able to provide these subjects nearly as much attention.  In addition, Jen enrolled three of her children in the school and they’ve been an absolute fantastic addition to our already awesome elementary school population. Go Polar Bear Cubs!

Jenny Irvine

Jane is not a lunch lady, she’s a chef.  Like, legit, Jane is a chef – she graduated from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Las Vegas, Nevada.  She makes sure our school gets a hot (or cold) breakfast every morning and then serves us up home cooked lunch every afternoon.  Not only that, Jane is running a “Girls Who Code” club after school as well as a mileage counting program through Building Healthy Communities.  In the summer Jane also helps with maintenance and grounds, including working in our raised bed gardens.  Our school is so small, for Jane to take on these extra responsibilities shows just how dedicated she is to the physical success of our students.

If you don’t know Olivia, you don’t know Burt Township School District.  Seriously, she’s the first person you talk to when you call the school.  Olivia’s many titles include but are not limited to office manager, data and budget processor, and ice pack giver.  The school definitely runs through her.  She’s so much more than just a secretary.  When kids are having a bad day they often end up in Olivia’s office and they always seem to leave in a better mood.  Let us also not forget, Olivia is organizing the Polar Bear 5K that’ll take place in Grand Marais on July 10th so sign up now!

Jane and Olivia

A strong athletics program starts and ends with a dedicated athletics director.  Since taking on that role, Devin Lawrence has done nothing but grow our athletics program after it had recently been on life support.  Credit to Devin for learning on the fly in his first year as athletic director.  He came in late and had to play catch up with scheduling, coaching, and sports planning.  We were able to offer soccer, basketball (both little kids and varsity), co-ed volleyball, and likely also golf.  Devin is so dedicated to athletics, he’s even volunteered his time to do lunch recess in the gym to make sure our kids get an extra 20 minutes of shoot around time every day. Our program went from zero to hero and Devin was there every step of the way.  Or should I say, he was there every mile of the way since he is also the de facto transportation coordinator.

Devin Lawrence

Which brings me to the legend among us, our transportation director Lou Bailey.  What can be said about Lou that hasn’t already been said about Lou?  The guy wants to see our school succeed as much as anyone.  Lou retired once and then came out of retirement to drive the bus and keep our school alive. He still continues to do so.  Lou is like clockwork, waking up before day break every morning to turn the lights on at the school and get the bus going for pick up. Then, he’s there right there at the front door waiting to take the kids home at 3:30 for drop off. All this while still finding time to grant wishes and deliver gifts on Christmas. Legend.  You da man, Lou.

Lou Bailey

Last but certainly not least is Gary McCormick.  This is Gary’s last year with the district and we are both sad to see him go but happy that he’ll get to enjoy more free time in his semi-retirement.  Gary has been keeping our school tidy and working properly for over a decade and deserves mountains of credit for the success of the school and the school grounds.  I’d love to have a ceremony to acknowledge his contributions to this school but Gary’s such a modest fellow, that’s not something he’d enjoy.  So instead, I will say here, thank you Gary from the bottom of my heart for everything you’ve done for the Burt Township School District.  Thank you so much.

Gary McCormick