School year off to smooth start

MONTICELLO — School got off to a smooth start in the city last week, with educators wearing red T-shirts proudly proclaiming “We are Monticello” there to welcome students as they headed off buses and back into classrooms.

That included Superintendent Eric Olson, who made it to four out of five buildings on the district’s first day of school last Wednesday, Sept. 4, including the middle and high school, Little Mountain Elementary and Eastview Education Center.

The next day, Sept. 5, he was planning to hit the last building, Pinewood Elementary, to check in on how things were going there.

There was a palpable buzz and high energy as nearly 600 students streamed into Little Mountain Elementary School for their first day on a bright and sunny morning, with the first tinge of fall chill in the air.

“It’s a great start to the morning,” Olson said, thrilled that the weather had cooperated. “I never like when it rains on the first day.”

Carrying colorful new backpacks in every shade of the rainbow, and many also sporting smiles, the first- through fifth-graders were warmly greeted by teachers and staff, who offered plenty of high-fives and hugs.

“There’s nothing like the first day of school, and we get to experience that every year,” said school social worker Jen Simon. “There is just something about the excitement on the first day of school.”

In addition to welcoming the district’s approximately 4,300 students, Olson said the 2024-25 school year also brings 58 new employees into ISD 882. That includes 35 new teachers, one new administrator and more than 20 non-certified staff members, such as cooks, custodians and secretaries.

The new faces aren’t the only change. The school year also includes an adjustment in start times, something that’s been in the works for about two years.

Under the new schedule, kindergarten instruction begins at 8 a.m. with the school day coming to an end at 2:10 p.m.; Pinewood and Little Mountain elementary school classes begin at 7:50 a.m. and go until 2:20 p.m.; high school and middle school begins at 8:15 a.m., with the high school day ending at 2:55 p.m. and the middle school day over at 2:50 p.m. In addition, instruction at the nature-based school begins at 8 a.m. and ends at 2:10 p.m.

The changes result in the school day being trimmed slightly. Kindergarten and nature-based school days are reduced five minutes each day and 10 minutes at the elementary schools, 19 minutes at the middle school and 24 minutes at the high school.

District administrators spent the past year establishing a calendar that reflects the change, Olson had said, explaining that overall instructional time at the schools is not being reduced over the course of the school year.

“We have instructional minutes to meet,” Olson had said of the state-mandated hours of instruction a student must receive during the course of the year.

The superintendent last week said it was too early to really tell how the start changes are affecting things, but it seemed to be working out so far.

Little Mountain Principal Nicole Croteau noticed that it seemed like more parents than usual were dropping off their kids, and posited that it likely had to do with the new start time, since many would now be able to do drop-off before heading into work.

Overall, Croteau said she was pleased with how the first day of school was shaping up. “It went great,” she said. “It went smoother than we expected for sure.”

The district has planned two Town Hall meetings specifically to discuss the new schedule and related transportation concerns, both at the middle school auditorium, with one in the evening and one in the morning. The first will be held Tuesday, Oct. 1 from 6 to 7 p.m., while the second will be Wednesday, Oct. 2 from 7 to 7:45 a.m.

Goals for the year

Superintendent Olson said the district’s goals for the school year include improving student test scores, increasing family engagement and lowering absenteeism, along with continuing literacy, math and science advancement.

The district has set a specific attendance goal going forward, Olson explained.

“We have an attendance goal of all our students being in school 90% or more,” he said, adding that “attendance equates to success after school.”

Olson also said this year will include much new training for educators, particularly in the “Science of Reading,” which is a state mandate, in recognition that there is a scientific approach to teaching students to read, along with mastering reading comprehension.

“Our teachers and early childhood educators are receiving extensive literacy skills training that are grounded in research-proven methodologies,” Olson wrote back in January, in introducing the concept.

It’s all part of the Minnesota Reading to Ensure Academic Development act, known as READ, which was passed in 2023. A large part of the state’s $70 million investment in READ will support teachers and retrain them on the science of reading.

“It’s an 18-month training for all of our elementary teachers, along with special ed and reading teachers for middle school and high school,” Olson said. “It’ll take all of this year and next year to get through that.”

“I think it’s been a big undertaking for teachers,” he said, adding, “I think we’re on the right track.”

The state’s literacy goals also align with the district’s community-wide Rally to Read initiative, which aims to ensure every child reads proficiently by third grade.

Olson said more Rally to Read events are planned for this year, with the first to take place either late this month or in early October. Details will be released on that soon, he said.