New Club Hones Old-Fashioned Skills

Bridgewater Community School students craft their first letter to their Spring Creek friends!

In an increasingly digital world where electronic communication is the default for today’s elementary students, kids at the Bridgewater and Spring Creek Elementary Schools are learning how to connect the old-fashioned way — by writing letters in a pen pal club. 

Erin Hall, a first-grade teacher and Community School volunteer at Bridgewater, came up with the idea and reached out to her counterpart at Spring Creek, first-grade teacher Mairin Born. 

“Kids don’t get mail like we did when we were kids, so part of the fun of this club is teaching what a letter looks like — the stamp spot, the sender spot,” Born said. “I also think that mail is kind of magic when you’re a kid. Some kids haven’t received mail before, and it’s a fun way to get them engaged in writing that seems fun and not like a job.”

The Pen Pal Club promotes literacy in a fun package, giving students the opportunity to practice using headings, forming good sentence structure, as well as the important tasks of editing and revising. Students are encouraged to write “happy letters” to help form new friendships with students from other schools whom they may not have met. Community School students also send delightful prizes with their letters, such as origami frogs for Valentine’s Day that said, “Hop-ping you’re having a great Valentine’s Day!”

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Youth Gather for Data Summit

Eighty student leaders from Northfield and three other school districts — Faribault, Tri-City United, and Waterville-Elysian-Morristown — gathered at Carleton College in December to discuss data related to graduation rates, school connection, mental health and well-being, and substance use. Substance use and school connection data came from the Minnesota Student Survey, and graduation rates and ACT participation rates came from individual schools.

Carrie Duba, PreK-12 systems and instructional coach with Northfield Public Schools, said the main purpose of the Achievement and Integration Data Summit is to elevate student voice. She noted that districts gather a lot of data about students. The youth-led summit gives students a chance to see the data for themselves, and it gives district personnel the chance to learn from the students’ different perspectives and ideas.

“The students take it seriously,” Duba said. “They look at the data and are deeply involved in conversations about it.”

This was the third time the summit has been held with students from all four districts. Participants spent the morning in mixed-district groups analyzing data and focused particularly on the experiences of students of color and economically challenged students. In the afternoon, they focused on their specific districts. The youth looked at data related to the achievement gap and brainstormed ways to address and close the gap.

Bright Spot: Professional Learning Communities Share Strategies and Results

All 79 Professional Learning Communities within the Northfield Public Schools participated in an end-of-semester “Gallery Walk” on Feb. 8. At each building, members of the PLCs shared information about the strategies they are using to help students meet their goals, and what measurements they are using to gauge their success.

This was the first time the district has held this type of event. Each participating staff member was asked to provide feedback to at least five different PLCs through a Google form, and more than 1,500 forms were submitted. The feedback will be shared with the PLCs to help them continue to implement strategies throughout the school year that improve student learning.

“It is essential that our teachers have an opportunity to share their PLC work with colleagues,” said Superintendent Matt Hillmann. “The Gallery Walk was an efficient and fun way to share successful strategies and areas for growth and to learn from each other.”

Northfield City Council to Receive

Youth First Report

HCI staff members Meleah Follen (Youth Engagement and Northfield Community College Collaborative Director) and Sarah Lee (Rice County Chemical and Mental Health Coalition Director) will present an update on Youth First efforts to the Northfield City Council on March 7 at 6 p.m. The presentation will include highlights from the work in 2022 by Northfield Youth on Boards, Northfield YouthBank, Northfield Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention (N-ASAP), the Northfield Community College Collaborative (NCCC), and Opportunity Reboot. Follen and Lee will also discuss program goals for 2023.

Youth First is a partnership between Healthy Community Initiative, the City of Northfield, and Youthprise.

Northfield Promise has been recognized as a Systems Change community by the national StriveTogether network. StriveTogether is a national movement with a clear purpose: help every child succeed in school and in life from cradle to career, regardless of race, ethnicity, zip code or circumstance. In partnership with nearly 70 communities across the country, StriveTogether provides resources, best practices and processes to give every child every chance for success. The StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network reaches more than 14 million students, including more than 8 million children of color and over 6 million children experiencing poverty. The network spans 30 states and Washington, D.C.