Schools face daunting changes even before classes start

Nowhere is Minnesota's changing education scene more obvious than in Anoka-Hennepin schools. The district -- the state's largest, with 38,500 students -- ushers in the 2008-09 school year as a community under transformation.

Enrollment is dropping, resulting in millions of dollars lost in state funds. Administrators and principals are retiring in droves. Enrollment of minority, low-income and non-English-speaking students continues to increase. Although voters approved part of a referendum request in November, hard financial times could be just around the corner.

"There are a lot of pieces coming together at the same time," said Mike Sullivan, the school board chairman.

Such is the convergence of forces of change that the district has set up a committee called the Discovery Team to plot a course for the future.

At a time of unprecedented change, administrators and experienced principals are retiring at an unprecedented rate. The timing -- a matter of demographics -- is affecting districts across the state.

Roger Giroux, Anoka-Hennepin superintendent for 13 years, will retire Dec. 31. That's just the beginning.

The district is losing its associate superintendents for K-12 curriculum and instructional support, elementary education, and secondary education to retirement. The director of building and grounds is retiring. So are the directors of employee services and special education. The director of student services resigned.

District officials say such positions are being filled capably from within, with a sprinkling of outside hires. "While that is daunting and frightening in some regards, it represents an opportunity to freshen the view and the conversation and solutions that might be required," said Sullivan.

But something will undoubtedly be lost.

"Whenever you lose top leadership like that, you lose a certain amount of institutional memory," said Tom Miller, a Coon Rapids parent and co-chairman of the Discovery Team.

Financial challenges

Anoka-Hennepin leaders were relieved in November when voters approved $44 million a year in funding over the next five years. That leaves the district in good shape for now, said Dave Buck, the district's director of financial services. But the district forecasts a net loss of 664 students this year, which translates to $4.2 million less in state funds.

Buck said the district is forecasting continued declines for the next four or five years. Even if the Legislature allocates a 2 percent funding bump for schools next year, the district would still face having to make $10 million in cuts in the 2009-10 school year, and an additional $15 million in 2010-11.

Even as enrollment declines, percentages of students who are minority, non-English-speaking and poor increase.

"It certainly has changed from a school where 99 percent were white -- that was 15 years ago -- to a school with a wonderful blend of ethnicities and races," said Bonnie Johnson, principal of University Avenue Elementary School in Blaine.

Districtwide, the racial minority population has risen from 7 percent in 1997 to 19 percent in 2007, and the percentage of low-income students has increased from 16 to 22 percent. And 100 homeless children were identified in the district in April, marking 25 to 30 more than at the same time in 2007.

These statistics all pose challenges. This year, 23 of the district's 47 schools didn't meet testing goals required by the federal No Child Left Behind law. That's more than any time in the past, said Johnna Rohmer-Hirt, district director of research, evaluation and testing.

Rohmer-Hirt noted, though, that district scores in reading, writing and math are climbing.

Changes in the classroom

The focus of an Anoka-Hennepin education continues to change. Three more schools have been added to the nine that are turning fourth- and fifth-grade teachers from generalists into subject specialists who teach as a team. District officials and principals hope such changes will pay off in improved student performance.

Also, a district committee will look at changing the high school block plan, which divides a day into four periods, rather than the more conventional six or seven. Sullivan said committee members wonder whether the four-period day is the best way to get students ready for state tests.

While the pace of change might seem daunting, some say change in the schools is more commonplace than it might seem.

Giroux, the superintendent, said such periods can be constructive.

"You're always going to be in a period of flux somewhere," he said. "What happens is leadership and teachers have chances to renew. ...You get a fresh perspective, perhaps, on some problems you haven't visited for a while."