Northfield Promise Back-to-School

August/September 2018

By the Numbers - Reading Scores Improve

Through the hard work of local kids, educators, and families, 3rd grade students in Northfield saw a significant increase in their reading proficiency. According to the recently released 2018 Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments, 63.9% of Northfield 3rd graders were proficient in reading, up from 57.1% in 2017. This reverses a five-year decline! While there is significant progress still to be made, this is exciting movement in a positive direction!

BRIGHT SPOT

Shining the light on great work underway around the Northfield Promise benchmarks!

Move 5 Kids

When each child can read at grade level by the end of 3rd grade, they have gained an essential component of ongoing academic success. This reading goal is among the academic goals in Northfield Promise’s efforts. It is also tied to a recent award from the S trive Accelerator Fund . The goal of Move 5 Kids is to provide targeted resources and support to kids who are at risk of not being proficient. Click here to see exciting results >

EmpowHER

Igniting surprise and wonder in young women through sport and adventure.

Partnership is a key component in the newly developing program EmpowHER. As you might guess, the program is aimed at young women. With a goal of “igniting surprise and wonder in young women through sport and adventure,” the program sent its first group of middle school girls out to the Boundary Waters this summer. Learn more about this amazing opportunity and how it came to be.

Career Exploration Day - A Great Success!

The theme of Career Day 2018, Think Outside the Box , offered an opportunity for Northfield students to explore career possibilities, some of which they’d never previously heard about. Held on May 15, the event attracted 63 professionals , representing 42 business and post-secondary partners . Student attendance was robust with 645 middle school students and 340 high school students participating. For Superintendent Matt Hillmann, “ The highlight is seeing kids asking questions of people who love their jobs and hearing the answers from them. We have people who are passionate about what they do in life and willing to share that with students. ”

During the event, students had opportunities to talk with local individuals representing a wide variety of career opportunities. As part of Northfield Promise’s cradle-to-career scope, the day allows students to explore an assortment of vocations.

Learn more here and check out the video below!

National Designation for Local Literacy Efforts

Summer brought good news to Northfield Promise’s reading improvement efforts when Northfield became the first Minnesota community to join the national Campaign for Grade Level Reading. This project connects the other literacy programs aimed at helping children become more skilled readers, an essential skill in achieving the benchmarks of Northfield Promise’s cradle-to-career goals. Learn more >

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Northfield Promise exists to ensure all children in Northfield reach their full potential.

Northfield Promise has been recognized as being in the Sustaining Gateway of the national Strive Together network , a group of communities working to improve education success for every child through a data-driven, collective impact approach. Northfield is one of fewer than 45 communities nationwide to have achieved this distinction.

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