By Kris Goracke

Reporter

Glacial Hills Elementary ended the school year on a high note, with accolades for a job well done.

The school recently received the 2024 Minnesota Charter School Innovation Award for its ability to increase student learning opportunities. Director Jodee Lund wrote in their application, “As the realm of education has become more challenging, Glacial Hills Elementary has only looked for avenues to renew and focus on the love, joy, and excitement of teaching and learning.” 

The award recognizes Glacial Hills’ innovation in promoting learning opportunities while supporting their staff by providing time out of the classroom to develop curriculum and collaborate with their peer teaching staff. “One challenge identified by the staff was the time constraint and the demands of creating an innovative curriculum for our students,” said Lund. 

To address these demands, the staff brainstormed and got creative. “Because of our size, our staff fills many roles within the school,” Lund explained. “We knew if we wanted to support our staff and provide our students with the best, we needed a plan to allow teachers the time to work on curriculum without creating teacher burnout.”

With this mindset, the school adopted a change in their schedule. “Offering new classes is fun and exciting, but curriculum development takes time and support. To address this time constraint, we devised a scheduling strategy where two of the four special classes are taught every other Wednesday in a block schedule. Kindergarten through second-grade teachers teach on one Wednesday’s schedule, and our third through sixth-grade teachers teach on the other. This allows our teachers to have every other Wednesday off to build the curriculum and meet as a professional learning committee,” stated Lund.

The Wednesday Fulfill classes cover horticulture, wildlife, outdoor recreation and wellness, art, and STEM. The new schedule, which costs the school nothing, provides many benefits for both instructors and students. These benefits include learning life skills, exposure to various curricula, and increased attendance rates and test scores on the MCAs.

Besides the Fulfill classes on Wednesdays, students participate in SOAR Time on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. “SOAR Time offers students seven monthly courses that last three weeks for 30 minutes each. These courses, driven by student voice, help students explore interests, discover passions, connect with community members, and become lifelong learners,” said Lund. “This year, we used most of this time to design and build the outdoor learning center. However, we still found the time to offer classes such as Unconventional Sports, Kitchen Ambassadors, Yearbook, Gardening, World War II, and Construction I,” Lund explained.

The second award the school received was the Action for Healthy Kids Recognition Award. This award recognizes the implementation of nutrition education activities that connect the classroom, cafeteria, community, and home for students and parents/guardians. 

The school’s nutrition education is integrated into various classes and programs such as EmpowerU, Young Roots I: Horticulture and Wildlife, Young Roots II: Outdoor Recreation and Wellness, and the Kitchen Ambassador program.

The Kitchen Ambassador program actively involves third—through sixth-grade students in promoting healthy farm-to-school initiatives. Students learn the principles of a balanced plate, enabling them to create farm-to-school meals throughout the year. They begin by planning complete meals using local food sources, utilizing resources like the Minnesota Grown Directory to connect with nearby farmers.

“Our students, the true ambassadors of change, are actively involved in the Kitchen Ambassador program. They oversee hydroponic gardens, identify and dry herbs, and harvest fresh produce for the school kitchen. This hands-on approach educates them about nutrition and agriculture. It empowers them to engage in sustainable and healthy food practices year-round. Their initiative is truly inspiring,” said Lund.

As a recognized school for this award, the kitchen staff will participate in the Healthy Meals Summit in Las Vegas in October.