Our Mission St Croix Preparatory Academy will develop

Our Mission St. Croix Preparatory Academy will develop each student’s academic potential, personal character and leadership qualities through an academically rigorous and content rich educational program grounded in a classical tradition.

Upper School Enrollment 2009 -2010 125 2010 -11 165 2011 -12 225 2012 -13 282 2013 -2014 325

Upper School Enrollment NOW Class of 2014 76 SENIORS Class of 2015 75 JUNIORS Class of 2016 90 SOPHOMORES Class of 2017 87 FRESHMAN

Upper School Class of 2014 76 SENIORS Class of 2015 75 JUNIORS Class of 2016 90 SOPHOMORES Class of 2017 87 FRESHMAN

Inspiring Great Thinkers Mission: Academic Potential It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer. ~Albert Einstein Through Academics, Leadership, and Character Development

Inspiring Great Thinkers College Admissions Expectations Type of College Admission: Freshman in Examples GPA Typical AP/Honors ACT/ Expectations SAT Highly Selective 10% of class Ivy League, Carlton, William and Mary 3. 75 28+/ 1220+ 4+ courses 4 to 5 exams Selective 25 % of class UW-Madison, UM-Twin 3. 0 Cities, MIAC, St. Olaf, Lawrence, Gustavus, St. Thomas 24+/ 1110+ 3+ courses 3 -5 on exams UM-Morris, UMD, UWStout, UW-Eau Claire, UW-River Falls 2. 0 21+/ 990+ N/A 18+/ 870+ N/A Traditional 50% of class Liberal Usually accept all Normandale Community students College, De. VRy, 1. 0 Open All accepted Diplo ma Century, Rasmussen Through Academics, Leadership, and NONE N/A Require Characterd Development

College Board. Advanced Placement Taking the courses is best preparation for success in college – better than getting a 3, 4 or 5 on exam. Concurrent Enrollment where AP unavailable 13+ CB approved courses, 3 more on deck, all teachers have attended training or will be attending training 5 Yr trend summary handout

Inspiring Great Thinkers SCPA College Readiness by ACT 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 SCPA College State College SCPA English State English Algebra Composition Through Academics, Leadership, and Character Development

Inspiring Great Thinkers SCPA Class of 2015 Academic Proficiency 90 80 70 60 50 40 Exceeded 30 Met 20 10 0 SCPA Math. State Math SCPA Reading State Reading Through Academics, Leadership, and Character Development

Testing Philosophy • Multiple measures on the dashboard: One of the dashboard gauges we watch • Test scores are still used as gatekeepers for student access to college entrance and course access…therefor student test prep benefits the student in the long run • Accountability? • Window Dressing • Standardized tests are not always helpful for individual student diagnostics in curriculum

Mission Classical: Writing and Rhetoric to Communicate & Understand Lower (K-4) Middle (5 -8) Upper (9 -12) Grammar Most Some Logic Some Most Some Rhetoric A Little Most

Inspiring Great Thinkers Rhetoric Stage in the Classical Triviuum Students will learn how to communicate and defend their ideas and engage in classic persuaive argumentation. “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. ” ~Aristotle Students will participate in Paideia Seminar in every one of their classrooms. "Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something. “ ~Plato Through Academics, Leadership, and Character Development

Inspiring Great Thinkers Upper School Testing Grade Test Required? Purpose 10 th NO Is student on track for a college ready score on the SAT? College Credit or Better College Placement Indicates Minimum Proficiency for Graduation Pre-SAT PSAT 10 th – AP Exams NO 12 th 11 th State By State Reading and Math Test 11 th ACT ($) Recommen ded 11 th SAT ($) Recommen ded For College Admissions Through Academics, Leadership, and Character Development

Inspiring Great Thinkers Mission: Character is higher than intellect. A great soul will be strong to live as well as think. Ralph Waldo Emerson Through Academics, Leadership, and Character Development

Carrying Out the Mission: Character v. Plato believed children should be raised to fall in love with virtue v. Advisory - why and what good character looks like v. Service Requirements for all v. Service opportunities for all that are not required v. Expectations in class and through policies v. Personal Conduct and modeling

Identify Model and Convey Traits • • citizenship, courage, honesty, integrity, perseverance, respect, responsibility, compassion, • self-control, and • service.

Advisory Same 12 -14 students each year Starts with Daily Announcements Helps us maintain the small school feel Minimizes distractions from regular instructional day • Individualized weekly grade checks T-S demonstrate good habits and show we care • Weekly tutorials give students an opportunity to practice self advocacy • Weekly Service/Choice days give students a chance to practice leadership and community building • •

Advisory Weekly Schedule Week MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY 1/3 Character Lesson Character DIscussion Tutorial Individual Grade Checks Service Project 2/4 College Prep Lesson College Prep Tutorial Activity Grade Check Choice Day Communicate home week 5 for D/F grades

Advisory Grades • Portfolio Assignments within each quarter from character and college prep work • End of Year Presentations • Service Hours • Pass/Fail • Required for Graduation

Inspiring Great Thinkers SCPA Service Hours Year Hours Required Presentation at the End of the year Credit 9 th 10 Required in Advisory . 25 10 th 10 Required in Advisory . 25 11 th 10 Required in Advisory . 25 12 th 20 Required in Advisory and . 75 Welcome to the SCPA Public Through Academics, Leadership, and Character Development

Inspiring Great Thinkers Activities and Club Participation of the SCPA Class of 2015 Two- Thirds or 55 of SCPA’s ninth graders are involved in extracurricular activities, averaging two activities per students, including…. . Archery, Football, Lacrosse, Ski Club, Soccer, Basketball , Cross Country, Tennis , Golf , Baseball, Volleyball, Track, Debate, Speech, Theatre, Band, Orchestra, Choir, Softball, Lego League Through Academics, Leadership, and Character Development

Our Mission St. Croix Preparatory Academy will develop each student’s academic potential, personal character and leadership qualities through an academically rigorous and content rich educational program grounded in a classical tradition.

Inspiring Great Thinkers Leadership “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other. ” John F. Kennedy Through Academics, Leadership, and Character Development

Inspiring Great Thinkers Student Engagement in Extra Curricular Activities is Important Involvement in extra curricular activities helps students be more successful in their school experience Colleges and future employers like to see that students are involved in their community and are well balanced; extra curriculars help to evidence this on the student record. Through Academics, Leadership, and Character Development

Nuts and Bolts

DIVISION MEETING SCHEDULE 2013 -14 (17 Meetings • • • Wednesday, September 11 th Wednesday, February 12 th Wednesday, September 25 th Wednesday, February 26 th Wednesday, October 9 th Wednesday, March 12 th Wednesday, October 23 rd Wednesday, April 2 nd Wednesday, November 6 th Wednesday, April 16 th Wednesday, November 20 th Wednesday, April 30 th Wednesday, December 11 th Wednesday, May 14 th Wednesday, January 15 th Wednesday, May 28 th Wednesday, January 29 th

Early Release • For athletics: – Each Week you get a list from Rich – Football players assigned to study hall last period – Use Midterm Dates – Be proactive! • For every day jobs/activities: – By signed permission only, forms in US office – Students with Zero Hour = Automatic Early Release after Pd. 6…must leave campus with own transport

2013 -14 Bell Schedule

Important Emails • facilitiessupport@stcroixprep. org • techsupport@stcroixprep. org • purchaseorders@stcroixprep. org

What Not to To Wear: SCPA Student Edition • • Uniform Guidelines Modesty Guidelines Spirit Wear Days Non-Uniform Days Coupon Days Holidays Bucket of Alternatives Dates sent via invitation in outlook

Communication Protocol • If there is an issue, it should be directly dealt with personto-person, face-to-face. • Therefor, I and the counseling staff direct students and parents to talk to teachers first before I will be involved with an issue. Most of the time, the issue resolves itself. • This should be the case when you have issues with each other and myself as well. I have an open door. I listen. Often times, when we hear one another’s perspectives, it clears the air completely or leads to a resolution in everyone’s better favor. Failure to share concerns and discuss worries and fears, will exacerbate the problems rather than resolve them and lead to errors in conclusions about how others must be thinking and what may happen and why things may be happening.

LOGOS • On the resource drive there is a SCPA Styleguide folder with the correct school logos (new navy and gold tones, Lion looking to the right). As you're creating documents/forms, updating documents, etc. please use the logos in that folder. • We have a complete styleguide defining logos, colors and fonts nearing completion that we'll share with you soon. In the meantime, please know those logos are available and if you have any questions please let me know. • Thank you. • -Monica

Grass Kill and Chemicals • • • • It appears staff members have been pouring chemicals and in the grass outside classrooms. The grass has been killed in these areas and will need to be replaced. The practice of dumping chemicals into the grass after demonstrations and experiments will stop immediately. Thank you for your attention in this matter. Keith Potter Facility Director St. Croix Preparatory Academy 4260 Stagecoach Trail N Stillwater, MN 55082 Direct dial 651 -395 -5907

The Wind • What my father means to me. ” Ellie Davenport talked about how her dad has helped her cope with scoliosis and how she developed a web site for other girls with scoliosis (gotscoliosis. com). She added that through windsurfing together, her dad taught her to “adjust her sails”. Here’s an excerpt from her essay: 
“Through windsurfing, he taught me how to get through hard times. When I was learning, I would get tired and bored; I wanted to quit. But he always said, “We are not leaving until the wind becomes your friend. ” So we stayed. I complained. On more than one occasion, I got blown to the middle of the lake only to become stranded. Dad would sail out to me and sail us both back to shore; back to safety. No lectures, no guilt, just love. Finally, one day, I mastered how to use the sail, and the wind stopped being my adversary. It was my new best friend.

Inspiring Great Thinkers “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark. ” Michelangelo Through Academics, Leadership, and Character Development

• Q-comp rubric usually does NOT factor into a termination decision. • Appraissal score may or may not be correlated with a termination for performance; it is dependent on the performance issue. • What IS always correlated is the progressive plan so the employee is aware of the situation and has time to and information to address their situation. This may be an area where we can discuss what additional resources to provide teachers who find themselves on a progressive plan.

School Lab Room 223 New Wireless Printers All Mobile Labs have brand new wireless printers. This means that students don't have to change wireless networks to print. (All mobile lab computers/printers are on their own "SCPA-Student" network. ) All student labs will also be able to print to the big printers (student print code is 223) Labs Are Reserved With SCPA Google Calendar Go to www. google. com/a/stcroixprep. org. You should see all 4 Mobile Labs (and the two computer labs) If not, let me know. One Mobile Lab 3 Laptop Needs a New Battery I don't have time right now to get this fixed or replaced, but it's on my list. Let me know if you have any questions. Chad Olson

To Function Together as a Team Focus on Results Accountability Commitment Face Challenge Trust (Communica tions)

• I will be direct but discreet when there is a performance issue. I will listen. I will coach. I will have an open door. I will not lower standards for you or students or your colleagues. I will want the best for the whole team. When there is enough growth to benefit reward for the students in a quick enough time (6 -18 months) then I will be decisive.

needed, and the timeframe in which it is needed. Facilities requests will be compiled by Carrie Hamm and communicated to Keith Potter for prioritization and completion. Emergency requests will be communicated to Keith as quickly as possible. Technology Requests. For technology requests/assistance, send an email to techsupport@stcroixprep. org. The email should include your name, location needing service, a short explanation of the service needed, and the timeframe in which it is needed. Technology requests will be compiled by Sara Bodin and communicated to Chad Olson for prioritization and completion. Emergency requests will be communicated to Chad as quickly as possible. Some of the reasons for this change are: · At times Keith and Chad are working on projects that prevent them from immediately responding to requests. This process will ensure that Keith and Chad receive your request in a timely manner.

• Remember tomorrow • Celebrate today • Pursue tomorrow – Why are we here? Provide a choice in education for academics character and leadership.

At Will Does not Mean At Risk QCOMP Rubric Director Observations/ EOY Appraisal Progressive Plan

Year to Year Job Determination • Enrollment in total; in electives (try to notify in Spring; can change up or down over summer) • IF it is performance related, multi-step progressive plan model: – Informal, verbal redirection from the director (usually more than once in the form of coaching) – Explicit Verbal “Warning” – Explicit Written Warning – Written Performance plan for growth that is reviewed in HR with HR and the Director – Failure to meet goals of the performance plan in the set time frame will result in job termination

• . • This year, Upper school enrollment is its largest ever at 325 students. We ended our year last year with 282 students which was our largest ever. This will be our fifth and largest graduating class ever. SCPA's first high school graduates ail graduate from college this year. • As of last week, all of our new teachers now are familiar with the adoption curve. They too can understand what is meant by the phrase, Upper school is almost across the chasm. Great work everyone! Welcome to the newbies! The students are coming back and bringing their friends AND they are telling them it is hard work here…but they say we care. I heard these sentiments about all of us in the 2013 graduation speeches as well. • This is the spirit with which we teach, hold the students to high standards of character and conduct, as well as rigorous academic standards while showing them that we do it because we care. And it does not hurt to let them know we can have some fun while working hard. • I look forward to touching base with each of you today! As I observe you working together, I am excited for the teaching our students will learn from this year!