Last week, the Northfield Public School District learned that it will be the recipient of a grant that will offer opportunities to diversify its
faculty.
The district will receive a $288,000 grant from the Grow Your Own program. According to the State Department of Education website, the Northfield School District, as a grant recipient “must use at least 80 percent of grant funds to provide tuition scholarships to enable district employees or community members affiliated with a district, who are of color or Native American and who seek a teaching license, to participate in the teacher preparation program.”
Northfield Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Matt Hillmann said the model asks the student to find as much financial aid as they are able to secure, and the district will make up the rest of the tuition, and possibly offer a stipend as well. Dr. Hillmann said they estimate the $288,000 will allow them to support 15 people through the process.
The program has been in development for a few years but was just authorized by the state legislature this year. Hillmann said the other districts receiving grants puts Northfield in strong company.
“The school districts who received this grant are school districts like Minneapolis Public Schools, St. Paul Public Schools, St. Cloud Public Schools, there’s a consortium of school districts near St. Cloud, the Freshwater Education District, and Northfield public schools for what they call the Adult Pathway.”
The students who receive the aid from the school district are not guaranteed a job with the district after they graduate, Hillmann said, but they will receive an interview. The important aspect of the program is that it creates more teachers of color for an ever-diversifying statewide student body.
“We have to make sure that we have a staff that reflects more of our student population,” said Hillmann. “We know that when kids see themselves in the faculty that serves them, that’s a really important thing for their future voice.”
Hillmann said the district only received word about the grant a few days ago, and he is unsure when they will begin to implement the program.
Elliott pleased with changes in mental health and chemical dependency approach
Over the last few months, members of the Rice County Law Enforcement Community have expressed concern over the tone of the conversation about policing in today’s society. Northfield Police Chief Mark Elliott has said his fear is that the negativity will be an obstacle to recruiting quality people into his profession. However, he said there has been some good to come out of the national discussion as well. In particular, he said, is the effort being made to change how Rice County is responding to mental health crises and chemical dependence.
Elliott said the changes being made have long been discussed, but the pace of change has increased. Working with the Rice County Director of Social Services Mark Shaw, Elliott said a concerted effort is being made to bring help to people with mental health problems, and not ask law enforcement to be the sole responding entity to mental health calls. The Rice County Chemical and Mental Health Coalition, which includes law enforcement, social workers, and medical professionals is taking a holistic approach to treating mental health and chemical dependency issues, which very often overlap. He said the county is looking for gaps in the system and how to address those gaps, and how to better care for people dealing with these issues, even while the rest of the state is praising Rice County for the way it is dealing with chemical dependency.
“The work that the Rice County Chemical and Mental Health Coalition has done on opioids has really become the gold standard in Minnesota. The state has asked to look at our model and use it as a statewide rural model for opioid response. So, we’re really excited that there are a lot of things going on right now in our community to bring more local resources for those folks who need help right here in their own back yard.”
Elliott said the actions being taken are the result of different efforts converging at one time. The public is asking for better strategy in dealing with these issues, law enforcement has been looking for better ways to handle these emergencies, and the mental health community has long known that attitudes toward mental health have had to change. All of those efforts, he said, are driving the move to a different model.
The next step, he said, is at the legislative levels. Elliott and others are talking to state legislators about funding and making more change at the state level.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Northfield Chief of Police Mark Elliott can be heard here
City to discuss changes to rental licensing program
After surveying landlords and renters last year, the city of Northfield is considering changes to the municipal rental licensing program based
on the feedback received from the survey.
All interested and concerned parties, including apartment managers, housing partners and renters, are invited to attend a series of informational meetings next week to learn about the proposed changes.
Separate meetings are scheduled for each stakeholder group, but the same information will be presented at each meeting. After the presentation, there will be time for questions and answers. Attendees are encouraged participate in open and honest conversation.
The first two meetings are virtual, with one for apartment managers, and another for interested community members and housing partners. The third meeting is an in-person meeting for all renters in Northfield. A Spanish interpreter will be present. Children are welcome.
The meeting for landlords and managers will be Tuesday from noon to 1pm. The virtual presentation will be broadcast on the City of Northfield website under RentInfo.
The virtual meeting for interested community members and housing partners is Thursday from 3-4 pm. The meeting for renters is Friday night, December 3rd, from 6-8pm, at the Greenvale Park Elementary School cafeteria.
A recording will be available to watch on Northfield Public Broadcasting and the city website for those any community members who are unable to attend.
For all the pertinent information about the Rental Licensing Program meetings, click here
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
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