- Dassel-Cokato Schools
- Planning Process
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On Monday, March 7th, Dassel-Cokato Schools began the process of re-initiating the referendum work put on pause two years ago.
In 2020, the district hosted a series of community groups in which a package of bond projects was presented to the school board. Unfortunately, the pandemic stopped that progress from moving forward, yet many of the needs have not gone away. CTE is still a primary focus, but as two years have passed, we want to make sure we are addressing and assessing all potential facility needs.
As a professional courtesy, we wanted to take time to appreciate the efforts dedicated by the original community group members. The past two years have shifted the abilities and capabilities of education, so while we wanted to validate their work, we also wanted them to be the first to hear that the district is going to be seeking additional insight and feedback from community stakeholders to identify any potential additional needs.
Helping to facilitate this process are team members from our new partnership with SitelogIQ, a facility planning, design, and management company. As part of this partnership, SitelogIQ is conducting a comprehensive facilities assessment while at the same time facilitating community groups to learn about, understand and help identify district needs. This process will ultimately become the project plan designed to fit our educational goals and facility needs. Upon completion, it will be presented to the school board for approval in order to bring a referendum to the voters.
The official launch of this planning process will be initiated on March 22nd with the first of two community engagement meetings. Prior to this meeting, SitelogIQ will be hosting a staff engagement discussion to explore future ready learning spaces, school finance and staff roles during engagement and referendum events.
Community and Staff Meeting Summaries and Group Work Results
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March 7th - 2020 Community Group Meeting
Created by Community Engagement Team Members of SitelogIQ
We had a great conversation on March 7th with the original community group assembled in 2020 to look at the school district’s facilities. This was both to honor the previous work of this group and provide some historical perspective to our new facility partners, SitelogIQ.
After reviewing the history of the work done in 2020, SitelogIQ outlined what the process will be going forward to gain an updated understanding of what the community believes are the important factors for student success over the next 10-20 years, and what potential changes/updates to our facilities will need to be to support this work.
SitelogIQ conducted an activity called “Brag-Worry-Wonder-Bet” to focus the group on their thinking about school and the School District. The group explored what they brag, worry, and wonder about, and what they would bet on for the future of our school district.
- It is clear this group has much to brag about. Strong academics and extracurricular programs, along with high student achievement were common themes. Dedicated, caring and talented teaching staff, and strong community involvement were also featured. The DC area also offers a safe place to live and raise a family.
- One repeated topic in the worry category centered on communication. The group hopes effective messaging can be utilized to inform the greater community regarding the work ahead and to help voters make an informed decision if there is a referendum. Other worries include the economy; what potential tax increase community-members are willing to tolerate; remaining a desirable and competitive school district; sustaining growth; and attracting/retaining high quality teachers.
- The group wonders if the community has the capacity to fund potential projects and if they are ready to potentially support a bond referendum. Wonder and worry intermix at times as groups discussed the economy, the future of education on the heels of a pandemic, and how future technology will impact teaching and learning.
- The group bets, whatever happens, the community will continue to be involved and the district will remain strong. The kids will still come to school, they’ll be ready to learn, and the one constant is going to be change.
SitelogIQ outlined the agenda for two community engagement meetings with opportunities for others in the community on March 22nd and April 5th that includes an expanded look at:
- What do students in Dassel-Cokato need for success in the next 10-20 years?
- How do we best serve our local communities and economy with what we do in school?
- What opportunities do we have in our facilities to support our work with students?
- How does MN school finance work and what does that look like in Dassel-Cokato?
- What are the funding options we have for project work?
- What is the potential impact to local taxpayers of completing projects in our schools?
- How do we best communicate with our broader community about the discussions happening?
CLICK HERE TO VIEW “Brag-Worry-Wonder-Bet” COMMUNITY MEMBER GROUP WORK
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE MARCH 7TH COMMUNITY GROUP INTRODUCTION
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE MARCH 7TH CTE BUILDING TOUR
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE MARCH 7TH WORKSHOP - 2020 COMMUNITY GROUP MEMBERS
- It is clear this group has much to brag about. Strong academics and extracurricular programs, along with high student achievement were common themes. Dedicated, caring and talented teaching staff, and strong community involvement were also featured. The DC area also offers a safe place to live and raise a family.
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March 22nd - Community Engagement Meeting
Created by Community Engagement Team Members of SitelogIQ
The Community Facility Group met on Tuesday, March 22nd in the high school media center, bringing together members of the previous 2020 facility group and new community members to the process. The group took time to learn, explore, and understand what we are doing in our schools to help students be future-ready for their lives post-graduation and discuss the impact of our facilities in that work. More specifically, the group embarked in discussion in the following areas:
Process
The Community Facilities Group reviewed the process that would bring together input from a variety of sources within the school community for School Board consideration in determining a direction forward for the District. In addition to their work as a community group, they understood that input from teachers and support staff, engineering and architectural professionals, financial consultants, and State educational and building code requirements would also be provided to the School Board for consideration. The group understood that while there is much for the School Board to consider, community voice is very important.Strategic Plan
The Community Facilities Group took time to review the 2018-2023 District Strategic Plan, including the mission, vision, beliefs, and goals of the district. Small groups then reviewed the specific goals in the strategic plan and discussed how school facilities helped in achieving those goals. (See attached for group output in this area.)Future-Ready Schools
The Community Facilities Group then spent considerable time in a discussion and evaluation of how the world is changing, and more specifically, how schools have changed since many of us have been in school ourselves. Much of the discussion focused on the impact of technology and how this impacts our students’ lives and what it will mean for their future after graduation. Through this understanding, we were able to have conversation regarding the skills our students need after high school and how school facilities impact the ability of the School District to best prepare students. Small groups had an opportunity to talk about projecting what our reality is in 2040 and what students need to succeed in 2040. (See attached for group output in this area.)Potential Projects
After having discussed the District’s strategic plan and what future-ready schools possibly look like in Dassel-Cokato, the group turned their attention to the specific facility projects that have been previously discussed in past efforts. Small groups reviewed the projects and evaluated how well they aligned with the needs of the District today and for the future. (See attached for group output in this area.) All of this work leads to the Community Facilities Group being able to provide specific feedback to the School Board regarding priorities that should be considered when determining the direction forward for the District. It will also provide an opportunity for feedback to the School Board regarding some of the specific project opportunities that are available and should be considered.CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE STRATEGIC PLAN GROUP WORK
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FUTURE-READY SCHOOLS GROUP WORK
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE POTENTIAL PROJECTS GROUP WORK
*Due to an unforeseen technical error, videos of the March 22nd meetings are not available.
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April 5th - Community and Staff Engagement Meetings
Created by Community Engagement Team Members of SitelogIQ
The Community Facility Group met on Tuesday, April 5th in the high school media center. At this second meeting, the group built upon the knowledge and exploration they did at the previous meeting to explore priority areas and project opportunities in the district. Community members spent the majority of their time working together in groups to brainstorm and discuss project opportunities that would benefit students in the particular area they were working on.
The evening began with a brief review and overview of the process being undertaken to provide input to the school board to consider when defining the referendum. After the review, Superintendent Mark Raymond took time to review the basics of MN school finance and how school funding affects the Dassel-Cokato Public Schools. This included outlining the funding mechanisms the school board may be able to use to complete projects in the district.
After the review on school funding, Superintendent Mark Raymond then took some time to review information that had recently been presented to the school board regarding the infrastructure and building systems. SitelogIQ, the engineering partner helping the district, recently completed an engineering study that indicated potential project opportunities in several areas, including the heating and ventilation systems in the Middle/High School building and energy savings projects.
The group then reviewed examples of what other school districts have been doing to capture project opportunities and make improvements in several areas, including:
• Career and Technical Education (C.T.E.) and other career pathways
• Common spaces (i.e. Library-Media Center and Commons)
• Classroom spaces
• Student support spaces, including school entryway and office spaces
• Building infrastructure and systems
After reviewing these examples, participants self-selected into one of the areas outlined to brainstorm and discuss potential project opportunities that related to their area. After brainstorming and discussing, the groups identified several of their top priorities that benefitted students, staff, and the community and that the school board may want to consider. Each small group presented their ideas to the full community group with a short explanation as to why they believed the projects were important for consideration.
Each participant was provided several stickers that they were able to place on the projects they believed were their top priorities. Each project was scored based on the number of stickers it received, which allowed a ranking of the project areas and the individual project opportunities developed by the community group.CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE STAFF GROUP WORK
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE STAFF ENGAGEMENT WORKSHOP
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POSTED April 22, 2022
Dassel-Cokato Schools will be hosting an Open House on the evening of Thursday, April 28th where people can move between stations, view current spaces and the plan options, ask questions and provide feedback. The evening stations will include facility infrastructure needs (ex. boiler), CTE (metals, woods, ag., FACS, MS industrial tech), HS Science, collaborative spaces, HS entry, HS Media Center, and elementary needs.
POSTED April 29, 2022
The Community Open House, hosted on April 28th, was very successful with more than 80 community members attending throughout the evening. Stations were set up to allow people to move at their own pace, view project plan options, view current spaces, leave feedback and ask questions of both staff and SitelogIQ team members.In the coming week, both project plan options and the feedback collected will be posted below. The board has a workshop meeting this coming Monday to begin reviewing plans and options. Areas being considered include infrastructure needs (ex. replacing the boiler), Career and Technical Education, HS Science, a secure high school entrance, collaborative spaces like the HS media center/commons, and some physical/functional needs within the elementary schools.POSTED May 3, 2022
Below are potential project plans created to meet the unique needs of our buildings and students. Mixed in are comments left by community members during the Open House event hosted on April 28th.
These project plans, as well as additional infrastructure needs, were presented to the school board for consideration on May 2nd. The school board is working to determine the final scope of the bond for the August 9th referendum. Details will be forthcoming as they develop. Please continue to check the website as information will be added continuously.
POSTED May 10, 2022
On Monday, May 9th, the school board voted to authorize Superintendent Raymond to submit the proposed project plans to MDE for "review and comment" . The amount of the bond is not to exceed $17,900,000 and will address infrastructure and facility needs to include CTE, high school science, further securing the high school entrance, MS Industrial Tech and FACS, new boiler, replacing windows, replacing some of the existing air handlers, and supporting pilot projects in the elementary schools.