Starting Strong: student success stories from MinnCAN

November 3, 2014 by Blandin Foundation Posted in Vibrant Rural

Last month MinnCAN spotlighted four rural Minnesota schools in their recent report, Starting Strong: Pre-K through 3rd grade success stories from across Minnesota.

Vision, collaboration and leadership were three key elements in each featured school. With alignment as the goal, read how each school rallied their resources to make lasting positive change.

Deer River: King Elementary School

“It’s no secret: King Elementary School posts tremendous academic results for its 525 students, and ranked third in 2013 for Native American student performance among all elementary schools in Minnesota.”

Read how King Elementary has utilized a data-driven approach to improve teacher effectiveness.

Winona Public Schools

“Upon hearing experts and peers acknowledge the huge impact early childhood education can have on students’ success in K-12th grades, they decided to start a comprehensive birth-to-grade-three (or BG3) alignment initiative back home.”

Read how the BG3 initiative has turned around student readiness at Rollingstone Community School.

Pelican Rapids: Viking Elementary School

“When Viking Elementary School, a PreK-6th grade public school in Pelican Rapids, 20 miles north of Fergus Falls, was identified as a focus school by MDE, educators decided to completely revamp PreK-3rd grade instruction.”

Read how Viking Elementary has engaged with  families to further understand all students’ needs.

Proctor Public Schools

“Proctor’s early childhood educators know that it’s not enough for kids to be ready for school: schools also need to be ready for kids.”

Read how Bay View Elementary School has redesigned the school and initiated conversations across the greater community.

Is your local elementary school making positive change? Tell us how below!