Arcadia This Week 4/15/2024

Hello, everyone!

Today’s newsletter includes:

1. Board Meeting and Q&A

2. Teens and Sleep Article

3. Camp Amnicon Trip (one spot left)

4. Arcadia Gear Online Store

5. Upcoming Events

Board Meeting and Q&A

I am hoping that you have all had a chance to read my message from April 5th regarding the FY25 budget, and the budget cuts that would set the school back on a sustainable path. Keeping in mind that no position is expendable, and every member of the staff contributes something unique and valuable, this has been a very difficult conversation. As detailed in my previous message, the recommendation is to cut a 1.0 FTE world language position, and a 1.0 FTE middle school only position, in addition to a part-time administrative staff member.

I had mentioned in that newsletter the possibility of me making a video going through the budget to justify the cuts, but the feedback I’ve gotten suggests that the community understands the need for cuts. What people are really wanting to know is: What will the middle school program look like with the proposed cuts? 

Since we were going to need to make changes, we also worked to address some of the challenges that have arisen in the past around the middle school program. For example, in the past, it was difficult to place and support a student who was ready for a level of math higher than that of their grade level. Writing had been moved into the project work time (PWT) curriculum and out of the language arts curriculum, though there was not always agreement on what that meant. There wasn’t enough time for classes like social studies, which have a number of standards to cover, but which also require some time for thinking and processing to understand the material at a more meaningful level. There are also new requirements around physical education for every grade in middle school.

As we have started discussing possible plans for next year, we have worked to create a middle school program that fixes these problems without substantially disrupting the existing high school schedule. 

Here is a proposed schedule:

Some things to notice:

1. Project work time (PWT), which would no longer need to cover the writing standards, would move to one period either every other day, or every day. (Still discussing–room for input, here!) Projects would likely be more independently driven, since that PWT time would not be tied to state standards for a particular subject. 

2. English language arts and social studies would both become every day classes.

3. Science would stay every other day. Arcadia students already tend to do exceptionally well in science.

4. Middle school students would have at least two art classes, at least one physical education, and at least one health class over the course of the year.

5. Math classes would all occur during one period, providing us with significant flexibility in placement for students that goes beyond grade level, and allowing for more push-in support for students in special education.

In other words, we created a schedule that addresses each of the known problems. There are more details I could potentially share, but I am concerned that this is getting quite long! If you would like more specific details, please email me your questions, OR…

Come to a Question and Answer (Q&A) session with me (Laura) on Tuesday night, 4/16, at 5:30pm, prior to the board meeting, either in person or online!

Budget Cut and MS Program Q&A with Laura

Tuesday, April 16 · 5:30 – 6:00pm

Time zone: America/Chicago

Google Meet joining info

Video call link: https://meet.google.com/psv-cwxw-jmk

Or dial: ‪(US) +1 252-491-1171‬ PIN: ‪616 690 820‬#

Teens and Sleep

With the MCAs in the next few weeks and the mid-quarter not too far away, it seems like a good time to remind all of Arcadia’s teens about how important it is to get good sleep at night. Here is a link to an article from the Sleep Foundation on teens and sleep: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/teens-and-sleep

Arcadia Gear Online Store

Here is a link to the Arcadia Online Store:

https://arcadiaschool2023.itemorder.com/shop/home/

Orders can be shipped to you or you can pick them up at Star Sports and Apparel in Faribault. 

Camp Amnicon Trip

For those who are new to Arcadia, the past couple of years, we had grant money that allowed us to run six canoe trips in collaboration with Camp Amnicon and take students at no cost. We controlled the curriculum, while Amnicon fully outfitted the trip (camping gear, canoes, meals, guides, etc.). Arcadia will still control the curriculum on this trip. :)

I had enough people express an interest in an Amnicon trip that I decided to move forward with scheduling one. This would be July 21-26, and a Flambeau River Ramble trip, which can accommodate students in grades 6-12, and includes flatwater and some riffles and small rapids (whitewater) at the end. It's a good introduction to whitewater canoeing without being overwhelming--even if you've never canoed before!

Here is a link to the trip description: https://amnicon.org/project/flambeau-river-ramble/

We would need to raise $5000 to fully fund the trip, and up to ten people can go. 

The trip is almost full–we have ONE spot left! Please email Laura if you are interested in joining!

Upcoming Events

4/8: MCA Testing begins (and continues throughout April)

4/11, 4:00pm: Arcadia Finance Committee (online): https://meet.google.com/vsb-nrqc-zuj

Or dial: ‪(US) +1 502-373-0319‬ PIN: ‪351 249 136‬#

4/16, 6:30pm: Arcadia School Board Meeting (in person or online): https://meet.google.com/hyf-amke-zsx

Or dial: ‪(US) +1 470-205-9841‬ PIN: ‪722 962 113‬#

4/19: Midterm (midterm grades reported on 4/26)

5/2-5/4: Spring Play (Clue)

Sincerely,