During their meeting on Monday night, the Northfield School Board heard a presentation from Hope Langston, the District’s Director of Instructional Services, and Sybil Betsinger the District’s Indigenous Cultural Liaison giving an update on the district’s indigenous culture initiative to help the faculty and staff better understand Native American culture, and the indigenous culture specific to Minnesota.
Cultural competency training is required for all teachers in Minnesota, and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Matt Hillmann said the district has put a priority on giving faculty and staff a good understanding of every culture represented among Northfield students.
On the February 19th Professional Development Day, two members of the Prairie Island Indian Community, Paul and Broderick Dressen, spoke to the members of the district faculty discussing indigenous culture and how it is represented in Minnesota’s public schools. Hillmann said the message delivered by the two gentlemen was very well received, with some faculty members remarking on how they specifically can improve their relationships with indigenous students, and others saying they learned more in a two-hour presentation than they had in entire college courses.
Later this month, 27 members of faculty and staff will attend a full day workshop presented by the Mdewakanton Sioux community to introduce a variety of ways to teach Native American topics in K-12 classroom settings featuring Native American authors, artists and educational experts.
Hillmann said there are 65 Northfield public school students who identify as indigenous, representing 16 Native American tribes, mostly from the six tribes of Minnesota. The district has convened an Indigenous Parent Advisory Committee for several years, and they are always looking for better ways to make every student feel accepted and supported.
“So, some really good things about expanding our understanding of local indigenous culture. We think it’s important for kids to know that we are interested in their culture, and we want to know what we can do to support them.”
Hillmann said programs like this are natural extensions of the school district’s vision to prepare their students for lifelong learning with good critical thinking skills.
Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention getting creative in messaging
On the weeks when there is not a City Council meeting, Northfield Mayor Rhonda Pownell likes to take some time to highlight a city program or initiative, and this week she put the spotlight on the Northfield Alliance for Substance Prevention. The city commission, nicknamed Northfield ASAP, is an 11-member board featuring four youth members.
Meleah Follen, who, through Healthy Community Initiative is the Director of the Northfield Community College Collaborative, is the city’s liaison to Northfield ASAP said a commission like this one is unique. There are many communities who do not put an emphasis on creating a safe and comfortable space for youth, but Northfield has chosen to make that a priority. Mayor Pownell agreed wholeheartedly.
“For a community like ours to really take youth growth seriously over their younger years is uncommon. Trying to impact and encourage, trying to be there to mentor and guide in really productive ways like in prevention is a great way to do that.”
Follen said, while the commission will do some legislative advocacy, Northfield ASAP’s prime mission is prevention through information.
Using data collected from the Minnesota Student Survey, which is conducted every three years by the State Department of Education, and from the Federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Follen said Northfield ASAP created the Most Campaign. The program delivers messages through posters and other media reminding students that most of their peers don’t use alcohol, tobacco, or drugs. She said one of the busier times of the year is coming in the spring, with prom, graduation and grad parties. She said they refer to it as “Celebration Season,” and students will be conducting the Be Safe, Be Sober Campaign asking their peers to sign a pledge to stay sober throughout the various events.
Information consumption has changed over the past twenty years, and Follen said they have had to get creative in the way they deliver their messages.
“If you go into a bathroom, you’ll see posters up that have information about calling 911 when someone’s in trouble, or how to use Naloxone or Steve’s law, or the Social Host Ordinance. And that’s something that Northfield Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention does. We call it the Stalls Campaign. So, when you’re in those bathrooms, you get that information.”
For more information on the Northfield Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention, visit their page on the Northfield city website at northfieldmn.gov.
Historical Society hopes to feature, honor more legendary Northfielders
After taking the past two months to reorganize and regenerate, the Northfield Historical Society Museum will re-open today with a brand-new exhibit focused on a true Northfield Icon.
Historical Society Executive Director Sean Allen said one of his goals is to focus the museum exhibits on more Northfield-specific topics. He called creating an exhibit focused on former Northfield News editor Maggie Lee to set things in motion a “no-brainer.”
For 68 years, Maggie Lee was Northfield’s top journalist. She started with the paper as a reporter in 1944. In 1954, she became the News Editor of the paper, and in 1967 she was named Editor-in-Chief, a position she held until she retired in 1985. Even in retirement, she still worked for the newspaper, writing columns until her health gave way in 2012. She passed away in 2013.
Allen said most of the people in Northfield today who remember Maggie think of an elderly lady who would make the rounds through town dressed in purple and collecting cat figurines. But she was a groundbreaking presence for women in journalism, and Allen said her accomplishments continue to inspire a younger generation.
“You know we’ve had Elleeanna Gisvold, who’s a sophomore at Luther College. She’s a local kid who came back for her J-term to be an intern and help with this exhibit, and she didn’t know anything about Maggie Lee. She’s 20 years old, and she just fell in love with Maggie. Just with the whole thing. She was really excited and did a great job. She really helped us flesh out parts of Maggie’s life that I knew nothing about.”
Allen hopes that this will be the first of many exhibits about legendary Northfielders that had lasting impact on the community.
The Northfield Historical Society is open today from 10am to 5pm. Admission is $5 for adults and $4 for seniors. Students and children are free.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
