October 2021
It’s been a minute, eh? Holy wah. It feels good to be back though. Publishing these posts twice a month felt unmanageable so here we are now at once a month and it feels much better. Be on the lookout here too for a digital version of the world renowned Polar Bear Press. Coming to a burt.school website near you!
If you haven’t been out to the School Forest recently, you should probably take a ride out there. Thanks to our friends at the Alger County Road Commission, the Grand Marais Chamber of Commerce, the Burt Township Offices and our very own Tim Swift we have a brand new parking lot and trailhead pavilion. This all just in time too since the school was just donated a whole set of top of the line trail building tools by “folks in our community.” The School Forest bike path is continuously being improved as will be the rest of the hiking and biking trails on our lovely property. Non-motorized accessibility is the name of the game.
Trail crew putin’ in some work with the new trail tools.
The School Forest now has a parking lot and trailhead pavilion
I am so happy to announce that Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations in Marquette and Alger county have been steadily declining over the last couple of weeks. I’m really trying not to get my hopes up but this couldn’t have come at a better time since basketball season is right around the corner and I truly do not believe in playing basketball in masks. Not only that, LMAS health department just announced a Covid-19 booster shot clinic for anyone in Grand Marais on Wednesday, November 3rd between 10-1 at the community center. I highly encourage and strongly suggest everyone consult their doctor about getting the Covid-19 vaccine. With Pfizer shots becoming available for children aged 5-12 soon, I am hopeful that we can pull out of this pandemic soon.
Those who are eligable for a Covid-19 booster.
As you know, I’ve been working since day one on improving access to mental health resources for our students. Now that the school year is fully under way, I wanted to provide a quick update on what we’ve been able to accomplish. The multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) is made up of three tiers in which all students receive level one support, some students receive level two support, and a few students receive level three support. Jen Irvine is our level one student support specialist that is launching our social emotional learning (SEL) program so that all of our students can freely and openly express their thoughts and feelings. Amy Baranek is our level two behavioral specialist from MARESA who provides additional support to teachers and students that need a little extra help. Ian Warnsley is our level three licenced telehealth therapist who provides individualized sessions to those who need it the most. With this fantastic team of people, we are able to dial in our mental health resources to really hone in on each student’s individual needs.
Jen, Amy, and Ian, the MTSS team
I’ll finish now with a little bit about what I’ve been doing outside of the district. The Marquette-Alger Regional Education Service Agency (MARESA) recently held a three day community forum to kickstart their strategic planning process. I attended all three days and Louis Justman attended two on behalf of the Burt Township School District. Through our work, the following priorities were identified:
1. Expand Early Childhood Education/Implement Robust Mental Health Services
2. Expand and Increase Utilization of CTE Program(s)
3. Provide a Targeted Menu of Professional Development
4. Implement MTSS with Fidelity
5. Facilitate Passage of Special Education Millage
More than anything, I was able to take away a certain level of understanding for how to create a strategic plan which is something my board has shown great interest in. I look forward to utilizing the things I learned at the MARESA event and hope to apply them to our own strategic planning process.
