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Greetings!

The 2004-2005 school year is underway! I'm excited, the staff and students are excited, and things are going well. We are looking forward to another great year of serving children and families in Blaine, Spring Lake Park, and Fridley.

As this is the first time I am writing a column of this type, let me introduce myself and my school district. I am Dr. Don Helmstetter, now in my eighth year as superintendent of Spring Lake Park School District 16. Most of our 4,500 students hail from the three cities and many neighborhoods of Spring Lake Park, Blaine, and Fridley. When the district was first named, a majority of students were from Spring Lake Park; today, almost 60% come from Blaine, about 18% from Fridley, and about 22% from Spring Lake Park.

In Chamber meetings, at the grocery store, or even at church, I often hear references to "the school district." While I would like to think that they are all referring to the Spring Lake Park School District, I know that they are actually talking about the ten-times-larger Anoka-Hennepin School District (which has now surpassed both Minneapolis and St. Paul in sheer size.)

Here is a little more about "the school district" –Anoka-Hennepin (District 11)-- and "the other school district" –Spring Lake Park (District 16). Our budget is roughly one-tenth the size of Anoka's. We have four elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school, and we have about 300 students in each of our classes. That compares to about 3,000 students per grade at Anoka-Hennepin. District 11 is recognized as being fiscally prudent and academically sound and we’re proud to have them as our "big brother." Nevertheless, we like to think that our school district is the perfect size. We've been described as "small in size, extra-large in opportunity," and we're proud of that description.

This fall, we begin what will be an extended celebration of 50 years as a school district. Our slogan? Fifty years of excellence. Fifty years of pride."

Why an extended celebration? In June 1954, the Board of County Commissioners merged Common School District 47 (Spring Lake Park) with Common School District 60 (part of Fridley) and Common School District 6 (a portion of Blaine). This newly merged area became known as District 47. So, 2004 marks the 50th anniversary of this merger.

School Board action on September 24, 1957 officially made the name our number Spring Lake Park Independent School District 16. In addition, 1957 is the year of the first graduating class of our high school. So, 2007 marks the 50th anniversary of the "District 16" name and the first graduating class.

Our students continually demonstrate extraordinary achievements throughout the school year. Our district boasts international champions in our Opportunities for Emergency Care program and national rankings by middle school students in the WordMasters language arts competition as well as a sixth place nationally in the Middle School Continental Math League. Our second grade academic team placed first in the nation in both the Social Studies Olympiad and the National Geography Challenge and another team earned a second place finish as well.

The list of national, state, and conference academic championships could go on and on, and we invite you to learn more about our academic, fine arts, and athletic successes at our website. It is soon to have a new look, so keep visiting.

There are significant challenges facing our district and most others. Among them are efforts to narrow the achievement gap among our students. We are eager to accept these challenges and live up to our school district purpose statement: "High expectations. High Achievement. For All. No Excuses." The success of our students reflects our emphasis on positively impacting the "whole" student, and it also reflects our emphasis of reaching and helping every student to improve and succeed.

If I am invited back for future columns, I will tell you more about our plans for improving student achievement and about how our staff is working to accomplish this. I would also tell you about student successes, enrollment growth, our plans for the future, and any topics about which community members have questions.

It's an exciting time to be a part of this school district. We've been a district for 50 years, but the district is a young fifty-years-old; eager to tackle the future with energy, vision, and hard work on behalf of all of our students.