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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Area school districts consider collaboration agreement

Marcus White
Posted 11/20/18

REGIONAL— Area superintendents and teachers were set to meet Tuesday (after the Timberjay’s early holiday presstime) in Chisholm to consider a proposal to create a broad-reaching collaborative …

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Area school districts consider collaboration agreement

Posted

REGIONAL— Area superintendents and teachers were set to meet Tuesday (after the Timberjay’s early holiday presstime) in Chisholm to consider a proposal to create a broad-reaching collaborative agreement between several Iron Range school districts.

Under the proposal, students from the St. Louis County, Ely, Chisholm, Mt. Iron-Buhl and Mesabi East districts would be able to cross-enroll in classes at participating school districts, if they weren’t available at their own school.

The plan would, in theory, increase opportunities for students to access vocational courses as well as advanced classes not offered at their individual campus. The plan could also affect how schools choose to use post-secondary enrollment options (PSEO) if the schools can offer advanced classes through the proposed agreement.

“The plan comes from discussions on how to better meet the needs of the students in the four (ISD 2142) high schools we have,” Superintendent Reggie Engebritson said.

Engebritson, who serves as a joint superintendent with both St. Louis County and the Mt. Iron-Buhl districts said she’s reached out to schools across the region to see if the districts could benefit from a collaborative agreement.

“This is exploratory to see how we can help students,” Ely Superintendent Kevin Abrahamson said. “We’re not doing this to reduce staff or replace staff but look at the options of what we have to share and offer more than we offer currently.”

How exactly the plan would work is still up in the air, with Engebritson proposing that scheduling could be worked around the St. Louis County School’s flexible Wednesday schedules.

The use of interactive video and online coursework are also on the table. Both Engebritson and Abrahamson also proposed a school bus network that would connect the region’s schools.

It’s the unknowns of the plan, however, that are not sitting well with at least one St. Louis County board member.

“We need to remain cognizant that it can water down curricula,” said Chris Koivisto, who represents the Babbitt-Embarrass area.

“When you’re going into partnerships we might not have control or oversight of the curriculum we want. We don’t know what their process is. It’s not that it’s bad, it’s just that we don’t know.”

Koivisto, who is also an instructor at Vermilion Community College in Ely, said he favors offering more choice to students, but worries some of the proposal’s specifics will either be ineffective or too costly for the districts to take on.

“Online always sounds good, but a face-to-face class is always more valuable,” he said. “You can find data going in both directions, and everyone has their own opinions. As a teacher I feel face-to-face is more valuable.”

He added that he worried the district would overstep union contracts by having teachers teach and provide out-of-district pupils with services not included in their own agreements.

Engebritson, however, has said every high school student in each of the districts will have the opportunity to speak up on concerns with the agreement.

The region’s educators will be sent a survey to gather thoughts on the project.

“We can emphasize our strengths and share them with others and in turn get some help with areas where we are weak,” Abrahamson said.

He added that the districts are also planning to pursue funding from the IRRRB to cover costs of transportation and technology needs in the schools.

The proposal comes on the heels of an agreement between Virginia and Eveleth-Gilbert schools to pursue an agreement to create a shared campus to diversify their own classroom offerings.

Engebritson said an agreement the size of the one she was proposing had never been attempted in Minnesota.