Westonka looks back, forward to close school year

As the school year draws to a close in Westonka, a flurry of assessments, ceremonies, and the beginning of summer facilities projects are on the horizon.

Mark Femrite, assistant superintendent for Teaching and Learning, reported at the May 6 school board meeting that the district has concluded state testing and is now conducting assessments in math and reading used by the district to measure students’ academic growth from fall to spring.

He also shared that Mound Westonka High School is wrapping up Advanced Placement (AP) tests in 12 subjects. Enrolled students have the opportunity to earn college credit by attaining a qualifying score and experience firsthand the rigor of collegiate coursework.

Additionally, he provided an update on the district’s professional development plans regarding Minnesota’s Reading to Ensure Academic Development (READ) Act. The district is administering two different programs: Consortium on Reaching Excellence in Education (CORE) and Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS). Two separate cohorts will begin in mid-May and mid-June, respectively, and continue to receive training through the 2024-2025 school year.

Femrite also seized the opportunity to highlight the recent successes of several student groups, including MWHS art students as well as DECA and Tonkabots participants.

The Minnesota State High School League Visual Arts Festival took place on April 26 and MWHS had 18 entries. Eleven students received Superior ratings and five received Excellent ratings.

Femrite also underscored DECA’s success at the International Career Development Conference held April 26-30 in Anaheim, Calif. Forty students competed in events focused on different aspects of business and several Westonka students placed in the top 10, including a first place finish by Olivia Adam and Gabriella Larson for their project on the Eli Hart Playground.

Another group that recently had success on the international stage is the MWHS Tonkabots robotics team. They participated in the FIRST Worlds Championship in Houston, Texas from April 17-20 along with 600 other teams from 16 countries and 48 states. In terms of rankings, they placed 168 out of 3,474 teams worldwide. The Tonkabots then went on to compete in the Minnesota State High School League State Robotics Competition on May 5 and earned the championship trophy as part of an alliance with two other schools.

Another agenda item included an update from Superintendent Kevin Borg on upcoming bond projects. The board accepted bids for all of the projects at its April 15 meeting.

The security updates are taking place at the Westonka Early Learning Center, Hilltop Primary School and Shirley Hills Primary School are expected to start in June and include adding lockdown capacity, intrusion resistant glass, door alerts and notification lights.

At MWHS, site preparation for the new tennis courts began over spring break. Construction of the 12 new tennis courts (with six courts also lined for pickleball) will begin mid-June 2024 and will continue throughout the fall. That project will wrap up in spring 2025 and the current tennis courts will remain operational until the new courts are finished.

Along with that, a bus garage project will be getting underway in June and is expected to be completed in the fall of 2024. Maintenance updates include replacing electrical switchgear, exterior and interior lighting with LEDs and tuckpointing on the exterior of the garage. Additionally, the district will be paving the drive south of the transportation building and reorganizing the transportation lot, because part of the current footprint will be taken by the tennis courts.

Bidding for the Grandview Middle School main office relocation project and related security updates is scheduled for fall 2024, as is the bidding for the high school additions, renovations, security and maintenance projects at MWHS.

In other updates, a parent shared with the board that her son, set to graduate this year, faced a challenging academic journey, leading to him being two years behind schedule. She cited issues with school staff as reasons for his temporary withdrawal. Although he won’t attend the graduation ceremony on May 29 due to lack of close friends, she stressed his resilience in returning to school and overcoming obstacles and expressed her gratitude to professionals Dr. Emily Rustman and Lisa Bonk for their support.