During the recent Big Lake School Board meeting, the board heard updates from Big Lake Online and the Middle School, and heard about a possible new project for the high school called “Big Lake Sandbox.”

Open Forum

Ashley Schabillion sang praises for the schools and the board. She thanked the board for not longer requiring those speaking at open forum to declare their address to the audience (address is still required to be turned into the board chair.) She then thanked all of the teachers in the district for their dedication to in-person learning. She especially thanked staff at the Liberty Elementary School, who make an effort to make sure students are safe and excited for the school day as they are dropped off by parents in the morning, even in the incredibly cold temperatures of the last few weeks. Finally, she thanked the PTO for bringing the Sky Dome Planetarium to the students and letting them have that experience. 

Big Lake Online Update

Keri Neubauer, administrator for Big Lake Online, gave an update for the online school. The school has students who take classes online full time or as a supplement to in-person classes or an apprenticeship program. 

Currently enrolled in the program are 51 elementary students, 49 middle school students, and 232 high school students (this includes those students who are taking supplemental courses. 

Staff has had a difficult time connecting with students who are not originally from the district. Students and parents from outside of Big Lake (such as St. Cloud) don’t reach out to staff and have the same connection families originally from the district do. Some students from outside the district also do something known as “school-jumping.” This involves signing up for a series of online schools in order to avoid truancy. They do not engage in the course material, but so long as they are enrolling in a new school their home counties don’t really step in. BLO has dropped about 12 students that were not engaging in their courses, and have made an effort to speak with families and home districts of the students to find a way to find an appropriate solution for the situation. Other problems involve students procrastinating in their courses and trying to catch up at the last minute. Staff are trying to help these students establish consistent study habits in order to make sure the students don’t fall behind in their coursework.

Staff is considering requiring students to require an in-person orientation in order to increase program success for the students who have not attended online school before. 

Middle School Update

Mark Ernst, principal for the Big Lake Middle School, gave an update for his school as well. 

The school had a rocky start as students and teachers transitioned back into being in-person full time. Staff thought the hybrid model the school was using would transition nicely to an all in-person model, but it didn’t. Staff had to take a hard look at some of the systems in the school and adjust accordingly. For example, the issuance of  hall passes was cut down from 300 to only 85. And students who went to the cafeteria during WIN time (study hall) were encouraged to instead seek out teachers for classes where they need extra help instead, therefore cutting down on the overcrowding in the cafeteria.

SEL and literacy practices in the school seem to help keep students engaged. 

Sandbox

Several staff members and teachers came up with an idea for “Big Lake Sandbox.” This would effectively be an active excavation site at the northwest corner of campus, alongside Eagle Lake Rd. High School students would be given the opportunity to work with construction machines at this excavation site. A classroom component would teach students safety on the construction site, maintenance of machines, and excavator theory. 

Staff plans to speak with the owners of the houses that would neighbor the site. They stated there will be no early morning or late evening excavation. 

Sponsors for the program would lease equipment to the schools for the students to use. The school will need to pay for PPE, fuel, and some other items. 

The presenters and the board members spoke about the skill that goes into being an excavator and the income opportunity for the students who get training and have experience right out of high school. 

In Other Business,the Board:

• Heard the monthly finance update;

• Agreed to form a multi-school cooperative for boys’ and girls’ lacrosse teams;

• Reviewed bids for air conditioning work;

• Heard a brief update from the student liaison.