(03/01/2024) The Anoka-Hennepin School Board has a tradition of recognizing the academic, athletic and artistic accomplishments of students. Over time, the School Board began having conversations on ways to celebrate additional “wins” for students as a way to recognize focused and intentional work made by students and their support systems to improve.
The district found ways to gather data using the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP), Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA), CogAT and ACCESS tests to identify the top five percent of students that made significant growth over the past school year in the areas of math, reading, and language acquisition. Growth was measured by comparing performance on two of the same assessments in any of the three examined areas. These students are awarded certificates at the school level, and those with the highest growth at each school have previously been invited for School Board recognition at an Anoka-Hennepin School Board meeting.
For the first time, the district moved this opportunity for recognition to a larger-scale event, to allow families to gather with school and district leaders to solely focus on the academic achievements of these students.
- Students identified at Andover, Anoka and Champlin Park-area elementary and middle schools, and River Trail Learning Center were recognized Tuesday, Feb. 6 at Anoka High School.
- Students identified at Blaine and Coon Rapids-area elementary and middle schools and Compass programs were recognized Wednesday, Feb. 28 at Blaine High School.
“We know that gathering this data and organizing these recognition events are time consuming and sometimes difficult, but as a board, we are very grateful for the participation by students and families and the results of these efforts,” said Cory McIntyre, superintendent of Anoka-Hennepin Schools.
“Working with district administrators to study academic data, the School Board is using this platform to honor the determination of students that made significant academic growth over the course of a school year,” said Dr. Mary Wolverton, associate superintendent of elementary schools.
