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Northfield Public Schools

State Reporting

In accordance with 2013 Minnesota Statute, section 120B.11, a school board, at a public meeting, shall adopt a comprehensive, long-term strategic plan to support and improve teaching and learning that is aligned with creating the world’s best workforce. The school board must transmit an electronic summary of its annual report to the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Education each fall.

The report summary must include:

  • A summary of progress toward improving teaching and learning and striving for the world’s best workforce (specifically, progress toward closing the achievement gap); all students ready for kindergarten; all students in third grade achieving grade-level literacy; all students attaining career and college readiness before graduating from high school; and all students graduating from high school.
  • Information about best practice strategies that were implemented and that are showing evidence of impacting closing the achievement gaps and working toward creating the world’s best workforce in Minnesota.

World’s Best Workforce Report to MDE for 2022-2023

Community Reports

An initial plan of the report is first presented and approved by the Northfield Board of Education at its first meeting in November. The documents below, included for the last three years, were reviewed at the presentations to the school board.

World’s Best Workforce Report for 2023-2024

World’s Best Workforce Report for 2022-2023

World’s Best Workforce Report for 2021-2022

World’s Best Workforce Report for 2020-2021

World’s Best Workforce Report for 2019-20

World’s Best Workforce Report for 2018-19

World’s Best Workforce Report for 2017-18

World’s Best Workforce Report for 2016-17

World’s Best Workforce Report for 2015-16

World’s Best Workforce Report for 2014-15

World’s Best Workforce Report for 2013-14

District Plan

The district begins with a strategic plan, that includes a mission and six core strategies. The mission of Northfield Public Schools is to deliver educational excellence that empowers all learners to participate in our dynamic world.

The district’s advisory committee, Northfield Forward, bases its work on supporting the District’s Strategic Plan, keeping its annual goals broad and wide in scope.

Guided by the strategic plan goals and Northfield Forward’s annual goals, each of our schools and programs develops an annual Site Improvement Plan, that includes school-wide student achievement goals, school climate goals and action plans to support the achievement of each of those goals.

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) in each school or program base their work on and generate SMART (specific, measureable, attainable, relevant, time based) goals from their site improvement plan, Northfield Forward’s annual goals and District Strategic Plan Goals. Evidence of Practice (EOPs) results from each PLC, including activities and progress toward meeting student achievement goals, are shared with staff, parents and the community at the end of each semester.

Links to each of these plan elements are listed here:

World’s Best Workforce and Northfield Promise

A collaborative effort by the district and city, county and community agencies, called Northfield Promise, connects and aligns resources, programs and community members. Northfield Promise works toward measurable results on 10 benchmarks, throughout each child’s life, that are tightly aligned to WBWF goals.

The video below explains how the district and community work together through the Northfield Promise initiative to align with goals set by the state.

Watch Video

Identified Needs Based on Data

List and describe the district’s identified needs and the data each need was based upon here.

From Early Childhood Screening, MCAs, MAP, DIBELS, EXPLORE, PLAN, and ACT data as well as high school credit completion and graduation rates, we have identified the following needs – increase proficiency in reading, mathematics, science at the elementary and secondary levels for all students, reduce the readiness and achievement gaps between White non-Free Reduced Price Lunch (FRPL) and identified FRLP and English Learners (EL) subgroups, increase credit completion and graduation rates for high school students.

Support Category – Students

Describe the support being offered to students to meet the goals here.

Preschool student needs are addressed through Early Learning Scholarships, Bridges to Kindergarten, Family School, Reading Corps and flexible grouping. Elementary student needs are being addressed through flexible grouping for reading and mathematics; Regular curriculum review and revision; iPad technology available on a daily basis to support and individualize instruction; Response to Intervention (RtI) support; Positive Behavior Intervention Supports (PBIS); Multi Tier Systems of Support (MTSS); special education and English Learner instruction; Reading and Math Corps; Accelerate Northfield (AN); Connected Kids Mentoring Program; After school and summer Targeted Services programming.

Secondary student needs are being addressed through differentiated courses for language arts, mathematics and science; team taught science offerings; 1:1 iPad technology available 24/7 for individualized student instruction, research and collaboration; 9th Grade Academy and 10th Grade Seminar; Tackling Obstacles and Raising College Hopes (TORCH) Program; High School Area Learning Center (ALC) and Middle School ALC instruction; After school and summer Targeted Services and independent study; special education and English Learner instruction; Where Everybody Belongs (WEB) and Link transition programming; After school and summer programs; Connected Kids Mentoring program.

Support Category – Teachers and Principals

Describe the support being offered to teachers and principals to meet the goals here.

Implementation of comprehensive principal development and evaluation system; collaborative planning for new comprehensive teacher development and evaluation system; comprehensive teacher and principal professional development program; weekly job-embedded professional learning communities (PLCs) for all teaching staff and monthly administrative PLCs; Access to and training for effective use of technology for instruction and collaboration offered during the school year and throughout the summer; Access to academic data analytics software and support from District Assessment Coordinator; RtI and PBIS coaches, and Cognitive Coaches for support in instructional planning, implementation and reflection; Collaborative responsibility for development of site improvement plans, including SMART goals, activities, benchmarks and evaluation strategies.

Support Category – Systemic, Building or District

Describe the support being offered at the systemic or district level to meet the goals here.

Weekly job-embedded Professional Learning Communities (PLCs); Staff training and professional development for licensed and non-licensed staff; contingency funding to address unexpected staffing needs; access to personal technology; academic data analytics software; Support from Teaching and Learning division for curriculum development and implementation; Resources and collaboration from the District Assessment Coordinator, RtI and PBIS coaches, and cognitive coaches for planning and reflection; Collaboratively developed and implemented Site Improvement Plans and Site Progress Reports for each building and program including SMART goals, activities, benchmarks and evaluation strategies.

Best Practice Strategies and Action Steps

Describe district strategies and action steps incorporated to address student achievement goals here.

Development and implementation of long-range District Strategic Plan strategies; Development and implementation of annual Northfield Forward goals; Development and implementation of annual Site Improvement Plans (SIPs) for each building and program to include two to three SMART goals per site based on District Strategic Plan, Northfield Forward goals, data review, activities, benchmarks, achievement targets and annual Site Progress Report; Development and implementation of 81 PLC SMART goals based on Northfield Forward and SIP goals with Evidence of Practice (EOP) progress report provided to the staff, board and school community each semester; ongoing presentations of goals and data in World’s Best Work Force (WBWF) report to the board, supplemental Board reports on SIPs, PLCs, and other district/building initiatives, and posting of all presentations to the district website.

Current Student Achievement Plans

Describe current student achievement plans here.

Site Improvement Plans; PLC achievement plans; School Readiness Plan; RtI, PBIS, and MTSS implementation plans; Literacy by Third Grade Plan; Title I Plan; Title II Professional Development Plan; Title III English Learners Plan; Principal Development and Evaluation Plan; Teacher Development and Evaluation Plan; Student Transition to College and Career Readiness Plan; Targeted Services Plans; Individualized Education Plans (IEP); Northfield Promise Action Team Plans

Key Indicators of Implementation Progress

List and describe key indicators of progress here (implementation and/or outcome data).

Site SMART Improvement goals, Action Plans and Site Progress Reports; PLC SMART improvement goals and end of semester Evidence Of Practice (EOP) reports; Title I, II and III annual reports; Northfield Promise Action Team Reports; Assessment Reports; Academic data analytics reports; credit completion; graduation rate

Broad Outcomes Impacted

All Students Ready for Kindergarten

Describe the established goals and results in ensuring all students are ready for kindergarten here.

Community Services early childhood goals and progress report from Site Improvement Plan; Early Childhood PLC Smart Goals and end of semester Evidence Of Practice (EOP) reports; Early childhood standards/curriculum development; 4 Star Parent Aware certification process. SMART goals, data, and/or information related to this outcome can be found in the specific links listed here:

All Students in Third Grade Achieving Grade-Level Literacy

Describe your established goals and results toward having all students in third grade achieving grade-level literacy here.

Literacy by 3rd grade goals and plan; RtI problem solving and intervention data; Title I SMART goals, data, and/or information related to this outcome can be found in the specific links listed here:

Closing Achievement Gap(s)

Describe your established goals and results in closing the identified achievement gap(s) in your district here.

Site Improvement Plans and Progress Reports; PLC Smart Goals and end of semester Evidence Of Practice (EOP) reports; FRPL and EL segment goals and results; HS 9th Grade Academy and 10th Grade Seminar credit completion data; HS TORCH goals and results; Targeted Services goals and results; Northfield Promise benchmarks and annual report to the community.

While Northfield Public Schools continuously worked to address the achievement gap, specific goals will be set, moving forward, based on recent legislation. SMART goals, data, and/or information related to this outcome can be found in the specific links listed here:

All Students Career and College-Ready by Graduation

Describe your established goals and results in ensuring all students are career and college-ready before graduating from high school here.

Northfield Middle School 8th grade conferences; EXPLORE; PLAN; ACT scores; TORCH goals and results; Work Force Development initiative; Counseling PLC SMART goals and end of semester Evidence of Practice (EOP) report. SMART goals, data, and/or information related to this outcome can be found in the specific links listed here:

All Students Graduate

Describe your established goals and results toward all students graduating from high school here.

Northfield High School Site Improvement Plan and Progress Report; PLC SMART goals and end of semester Evidence of Practice (EOP) reports; 9th Grade Academy and 10th Grade Seminar; TORCH program goals and progress report. SMART goals, data, and/or information related to this outcome can be found in the specific links listed here:

Contact Information

If you have any questions or would like more information about the Northfield Public Schools World’s Best Workforce report, please contact Hope Langston, Director of Instructional Services.