The Park Rapids School Board on Monday, Jan. 22 approved a calendar for the 2024-25 school year.
According to this schedule, school starts Tuesday, Sept. 3 and ends with an early out Friday, May 23, 2025, and graduation on Sunday, May 25.
Scheduled breaks include staff development days on Sept. 23, Nov. 27, Jan. 20, Feb. 28, March 24 and April 21; statewide teacher meetings Oct. 17-18; Thanksgiving break Nov. 28-29; winter break Dec. 23-Jan. 1; no school Friday, Feb. 21; and Easter break Friday, April 18.
The 2024-25 school year features a total of 168 student-contact days, divided 57-54-57 between the three trimesters.
The school board also increased staff members’ reimbursement rates for meals during school-related trips, such as conferences.
Business manager Kent Fritze said the current rates – $7 for breakfast, $9 for lunch and $15 for supper – hadn’t changed for 10 years or more. Noting that these amounts don’t cover a lot today, he recommended increasing the rates to $10, $10 and $25 respectively.
School board member Dana Kocka made a motion to approve the recommended rates.
Board member Colter Diekmann said he felt the lunch reimbursement rate is still a little low.
Fritze explained that most of the time, “the big issue comes with the supper.”
“It’s hard to lunch for $10 anymore,” Diekmann replied, “but it’s better than it was.”
Kocka’s motion passed 6-0.
Superintendent Lance Bagstad told the school board that at their Feb. 5 meeting, they will award bids for the Century School remodel and will tour high school facilities under construction.
Century School Principal Mike LeMier said the recent seventh- and eighth-grade parent-teacher conferences were among the busiest the school has had in a long time. He said teachers are especially reaching out to the parents of students who are failing classes or who have behavior or attendance issues or a significant change in their grades.
LeMier said they’ve added support for eighth graders who failed a class in the first trimester. “For a lot of them, it’s study habits and skills,” he said.
He said Century staff continues to work with county partners to develop a comprehensive truancy plan – “what next steps can we take after the school has exhausted their steps.”
High school principal Jeff Johnson said the student council toured the PRoject 309 facility improvements and is helping name some of the rooms.
Johnson said school counselor Wyatt Sanford has met with seniors to discuss scholarships and graduation. Also, 10th and 11th graders were having a career conversation this week with community experts.
Johnson reported on behalf of Activity Director Jeremy Nordick, noting that the speech team is getting going, starting with a meet Saturday in Pequot Lakes. Also, the one-act play team will perform at subsections Saturday in Pillager.
Community Education Director Jill Dickinson reported that the Century Adventures after-school program has an average attendance of 120 students.
In a progress report on PRoject 309, Facilities Director Alan Vanderstad said the Community Ed and high school offices are being framed out, and the district and PAWN Special Ed offices have had drywall installed. “It’s moving quickly,” he said.
PAWN Director Eva Pohl reported her leadership team is meeting the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) on Jan. 29 to discuss the state’s new monitoring process. In the following days, the MDE will spend half-hour sessions monitoring “what are the celebrations, what are the strengths, what are our areas of needed improvement, what are our concerns and how can they help us,” she said. “It’s about helping us strive to be better.”
Director Jill Stevenson reported that two additional students enrolled Monday in the Park Rapids Area Virtual Academy (PRAVA).
She said PRAVA parent-teacher conferences went well and showed that parents of online students are highly engaged in their education.
Transportation Director Jack Johnson reported his department is hosting a substitute driver class during the coming month.
Also, he said, they are close to purchasing a used lift-gate bus. “We currently run two in our district, and one is getting a bit tired,” he said. “We do have a very good buy lined up for that in the next few weeks.”
