By Rich Larson, News Director
Yesterday, Governor Tim Walz called on the State Legislature to pass his proposed Summer Learning Plan. The program would send money to school
districts around the state in order to enhance their summer offerings. The governor said that the money is in hand from the federal government, and it is important for legislators to make this plan a priority so schools can make accommodations for it.
Northfield Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Matt Hillmann said that, while it would be nice if the legislature could come to an agreement on summer funding, Northfield already has many of the programs that the governor is calling for in place. State funding or no, he said, the school district is moving forward with the programs they have offered all along.
One important difference in the programming being offered, is the start date. Hillmann said there will be two sessions for the Credit Recovery Program – which is what he said everyone thinks of as standard summer school – with the first session beginning in early June. But the Summer Enrichment Programming will begin in late July this year. Those programs are offered by the school for students that qualify in several ways, and are used to accelerate their academic careers, and, as Hillmann put it, eliminate or reduce the “summer slide” experienced by many students.
Because of the Covid-19 pandemic and the way many students dealt with distance learning, summer school programs this year have been characterized as keenly important to recovery and development for a large number of students. Dr. Hillmann said, yes, this summer is important, but it will not completely fix the situation.
“It is not the magic be all, end all. We know that we’re going to have to continue to work in the fall, and subsequent falls, to continue to accelerate student learning for the different kind of learning that we did during the pandemic. So, we are focused on having a quality summer school program.”
Dr. Hillmann said the programming will be offered based on what the district can staff. Some of that will be based on the funding – if any – that comes through the Legislature. But he also said that due to the heavy workload brought on by the pandemic, many teachers will be in search of a break. He said he believes the district will have the staff they need, but the exact number has yet to be determined.
Tourism in Northfield takes a hit, expected to bounce back
This week is National Travel and Tourism Week, and Northfield Chamber of Commerce president Lisa Peterson made a presentation to the City Council last night asking the council to acknowledge the occasion with a resolution.
As president of the Chamber, Peterson also oversees the Northfield Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, and she presented the council with numbers that show the toll the Covid-19 pandemic has taken on the tourism industry in Northfield.
Peterson said between the pandemic and the loss of the Archer House, the city lodging tax revenue was off by 62% in 2020. And, she said, the problem continues to persist. In what would be considered a normal year, the city would have collected, on average, about $30,000 in lodging tax by May 1st. But so far, the city has only generated $14,000 in 2021, leaving a gap of nearly 67%.
However, Peterson said, there is reason to feel optimistic.
“We’ve had over 250 requests for Visitor Guides and information since January. This is a dramatic increase over last year, as we only had 104 total requests for all of 2020. And in 2019, we had 317, so we are well going to hit that mark.”
The council declared May 2-8 as Travel and Tourism Week in Northfield, passing the resolution unanimously from the consent agenda.
New public sculpture will honor indigenous people and Northfielders together
And Northfielders will soon see a change in some high-profile public artwork.
The Straight to the Heart sculpture by Hastings artist Dale Lewis that has stood at the corner of Highway 3 and Third Street since late last year is about to go on a tour of the state. It will be permanently replaced by Wanbli Mitakuye Oyasin/We are all Related, a sculpture by Lakota artist John Sterner of Marshall, Minnesota.
The fifteen-foot-tall statue of an Eagle in flight will include a plaque bearing the City’s Land Acknowledgement Statement.
Sterner said his sculpture offers a common symbol for everyone who has lived on this land.
“I chose a sculpture of a simplified eagle to represent the Dakota and Lakota people. The eagle represents so much to the original stewards [of this land]… For the current inhabitants of Northfield the eagle represents truth, justice and the American spirit.”
The new sculpture will be put in place by the end of the summer.
