Communication with communities is key

Happy New Year! Not everyone gets to start over “new” twice in one year. I would call this time of year the “bread and butter” of our school year. From now through April we are hoping for very solid and uninterrupted instructional learning time. 

We need help from our parents on this one. As a parent, one of my girls tried to stay home from school almost every day she attended elementary and junior high school. She was a wonderful actress and sometimes it was tough not to give in to her dramatics. 

However, I stayed firm because I knew the research, which says: 

o Absence from school is often the greatest single cause of poor performance and achievement; 

o Attending school regularly helps children feel better about school and themselves; 

o Regular school attendance patterns encourage the development of other responsible patterns of behavior; 

o Students who develop an “on the job” attitude toward school will be more desirable to future employers. 

Eventually, she gave up but not until around ninth grade. 

We have been working hard to improve our district communications with our communities.  With so many choices for accessing information, we want you to know the best places to get the information you need about our school district.

o Our website (www.isd2170.k12.mn.us) is being revamped to better serve you.  You will start to see the transition to our new website next week.  Please be patient with us.  It will take a while to transition all our previous information and links to the new website design. 

o Our facebook page (www.facebook.com/staplesmotley.schools) is updated frequently with pictures of daily activities and events from all our schools. 

o The Staples World works diligently to offer a wide variety of information about our schools on a weekly basis. 

o The Cardinal Chronicle (our quarterly district newsletter and calendar) was recently sent to each home in our school district. Did you receive yours? If not, call our district office 218-894-5400 and let us know. 

Each of our schools and many of our classroom teachers send out individual school communications directly to families. If you have a student in one of our schools and are not receiving your school newsletters/announcements, contact your school office as soon as possible. 

If you have suggestions or comments about our district communications, contact our district office at 218-894-5400.  We’d like to hear from you!