Washington County school briefs: Foundation bolsters special-ed efforts in Forest Lake

An occupational therapy team that works with special-education students in the Forest Lake Area Schools is using iPads to strengthen district teaching efforts and aid student performance.

The iPads were purchased with a $1,199 grant from the Education Foundation of the Forest Lake Area (TEFFLA), a nonprofit group created three to four years ago by community members and parents, district spokesman Ross Bennett said.

Vicki Zachar, a member of the occupational therapy team, said in a news release that videos were being "used to teach students how to act, interact and react appropriately in school and community settings."

The team records student activities and edits out any undesirable skills or behaviors so students "can see themselves performing successfully, at a higher level than they currently perform," the district's news release said.

Bennett said TEFFLA is assisting the district by purchasing items such as classroom Smart Boards and by helping cover field-trip costs.

Students at Afton-Lakeland Elementary in the Stillwater Area Public Schools wrote songs with a Nashville songwriter and worked to solve a fictional crime last month, thanks to grants from the Partnership Plan.

Lois Sortedahl, who teaches fourth- and fifth-grade students, brought in songwriter and producer Jeff Dayton, a Stillwater native, to demonstrate the art of song structure on a Monday morning. He then stayed around to work with students as they fine-tuned song ideas.

The week ended with an "Afton Idol" performance.

During the same week, Jan Erickson, a fifth-grade teacher, introduced students to a crime at an opening assembly. Then students used lab analysis as well as critical thinking and collaborative skills to try to solve the crime.

The activity was overseen by an educator from the Science Museum of Minnesota.

Sortedahl and Erickson secured funding for the activities through grants from the Partnership Plan, an educational fund for the school district.

Kathy Romero, a language-arts teacher at Crosswinds Arts and Science School whose candidacy for the 2013 Minnesota Teacher of the Year award made her the subject of a recent Star Tribune story, failed to advance to the semifinalist round.

Two of them — Paul Christensen, a math and language-arts teacher at Mahtomedi High School, and Barb Halbrehder, a physical education teacher at Tartan High School in Oakdale — remain in the running. They're among 39 semifinalists selected recently by a panel of 35 community leaders.

The selection panel is expected to meet again in late March to select about 10 finalists for the annual honor. The Teacher of the Year is to be named on May 5.

Students at Newport and Red Rock elementary schools raised more than $2,000 for the American Heart Association during recent "Jump Rope for Heart" events, the school district reported.

As an incentive, Newport Principal Aaron Krueger agreed to do something "fun and crazy" if students and staff members met a $2,000 fundraising goal. They exceeded that figure by $224.70 — and then taped Krueger to a cafeteria wall Feb. 14.