Red Lake County Central Elementary School

MESPA Home > Honors > Minnesota Schools of Excellence > 2007-2008 Validations > Red Lake County Central Elementary School

Randy Pederson, principal

2007-2008 MESPA Minnesota School of Excellence
Oklee and Plummer Public Schools, ISD #627 and 628

“The teaching and support staff here go beyond the call of duty in their preparations to educate our students. Their passion goes to the very core of their being."

Randy Pederson is the principal of RLCC Elementary School. The RLCC Minnesota School of Excellence Leadership Team included committee chairs: Dan Brustad (math teacher, grades 5/6), Standards and Assessment; Becky Brandt (special education teacher, grades 3-6), Parent and Community; Penni Nelson (classroom teacher, grade 2), Curriculum and Instruction; and Connie Bishop (reading teacher, grades 5/6), Professional Development.

RLCC Elementary School is home to 184 students who originate from Oklee ISD#627 and Plummer ISD#628. The Oklee and Plummer school districts operate under an academic pair-and-share agreement, retaining the independent status of each district while sharing students and staff. The staff agrees that each child who walks through the school’s door is special, so they want to take every available opportunity to embrace these children and meet their needs.

The mission of RLCC Elementary School is to give students every educational opportunity in order to prepare them for an ever-changing world. The staff strives to provide the needed instruction and activities to accomplish this. All staff are members of one of the school’s four task forces and are involved in making decisions that affect the school and student achievement; working together collaboratively allows them to see each other as partners, drawing on each other’s strengths. As principal of the school, Pederson has introduced a style of leadership that prioritizes instruction, moving away from the long held belief that a principal “manages.” He is creative with his suggestions to the staff as individuals and as a team.
The practices employed by teachers and other staff at RLCC Elementary are innovative and collaborative. For example, the school’s “Edu-Playtional” room is a joint venture between the S.M.A.R.T team (Boost-Up), paraprofessionals, and special education staff. It is used to encourage students who need an outlet periodically to focus and do their best. “We are willing to try anything non-medicinal to move on behalf of students whose behaviors might be labeled as ADHD,” said Pederson. He added that an eight or nine minute session in the ‘Edu-Playtional’ room can produce a physiological flush, releasing dopamine in the brain that produces a calming effect on the student and returns them to normal classroom activities. The room also houses the “David Machine” which is a neurotechnological (Auditory Visual Entrainment) device that stimulates brain activity to accomplish the same calming effect on students.
An additional example of the staff’s innovative thinking is Mrs. Angel Bergeson’s “Books on the Bus” program. Bergeson teaches reading in the instructionally leveled third and fourth grade band and was awarded this grant through Education Minnesota for $3000.00 to initiate the program. “Many students of our students at RLCC Elementary have close to an hour bus ride in the morning and afternoon,” said Bergeson. She added that the grant was written specifically to provide leveled books that are stored in totes for the bus ride. One day a week junior high and high school students partner with elementary students as “Mustang Mates.” The elementary students will read aloud or use shared reading with their mate. “Our school day is shortened because of the expanse of the district and the lengthy bus rides our students have. The staff felt that an effort such as this could increase the reading fluency in our students, thus improving comprehension, and ultimately increase their love for reading,” said Bergeson. Programs such as these have teachers revitalized at the school; efforts of the past few years have created a mutual respect among staff, which has spilled over into the community.

The school community at RLCC adjusts and aligns themselves with the current needs of their students and patrons. “Business as usual” is not their philosophy. They have developed a framework for instruction in grades 3-6 that is a multi-aged, multi-graded system where students are taught at their

Red Lake Country Central Elementary MN SOE Leadership Team: L-R, Dan Brustad, Becky Brandt, Penni Nelson, Connie Bishop.

instructional level. The staff willingly lives the mission of the school, continuing their own professional development in content knowledge and in research-based best practices, in order to provide the best educational opportunities for the students. Hoping to instill a sense of individual responsibility, they want the children of RLCC Elementary to become confident, contributing citizens in the communities of tomorrow.

As principal, Pederson believes that the success has little to do with his efforts. “How in the world so many fantastic teachers ended up under one roof here in rural northwest Minnesota is beyond me,” said Pederson. “The teaching and support staff here go beyond the call of duty in their preparations to educate our students. Their passion goes to the very core of their being; I am proud to team with them in their effort to provide the highest quality of education to our students.” Pederson noted that since the inception of RLCC Elementary three years ago, the school achieved five-star status in reading in their second year of existence, and five-star status in reading and math in 2007, though the Minnesota Department of Education has disbanded the star rating system for report cards.

Red Lake County Central Minnesota School of Excellence Celebration:
May 5, 2008
9 - 9:45 a.m.
RLCC Elementary gym
(in conjunction with Field Day)
To download a community invitation flyer, scroll down and click on the PDF below.

RLCC Elementary School will hold a celebration to honor its Minnesota School of Excellence validation on Monday, May 5, at 9 a.m. in the RLCC Elementary School gym. This will be a vibrant, active event – with children, families, school staff, and community dignitaries – and will be held in conjunction with the school Field Day. The celebration will begin with a performance by the RLCC Elementary Band (grades 5/6), directed by Patty Mickelson and close with a 4th grade performance of “Be a Lady” from the musical bugz, directed by Krista Bernstein.

Master of Ceremonies will be Don Jorstad, KTRF Radio. There will be remarks by Superintendent Jim Guetter, Digi-Key Corp. VP of Human Resources Rick Trontvet, and possibly Senator LeRoy Stumpf (an invitation has been extended, but Senator Stumpf may be in St. Paul with the Legislature). In addition to the community of school parents, community and education dignitaries will include: school board members, Mayor Clayton Haugen of Oklee, Mayor Anne Jaeger of Plummer, and Mayor Ernest Kolling of Brooks.

MESPA Executive Director P. Fred Storti will present the RLCC Elementary School of Excellence Leadership Team (Connie Bishop, Penni Nelson, Becky Brandt, and Dan Brustad) with a Minnesota School of Excellence wall plaque to honor and permanently recognize the school’s validation.

The celebration will be immediately followed at 9:45 a.m. by the beginning of Field Day and dress rehearsal for the following evening’s school musical. There will be a picnic at 11:15 a.m., followed by the continuation of Field Day, with watermelon and ice cream for everyone at 2:30. Parents are invited to join the school for the day, or part of the day.

“As principal, I am excited to set aside time to recognize the efforts of those involved that teamed together to strengthen education by successfully undertaking the Minnesota School of Excellence program,” said Randy Pederson, RLCC Elementary principal. “Over the past three years, significant change has taken place since the combining of two teaching staffs and two student bodies into what now is Red Lake County Central Elementary,” Pederson continued. “In that short time period, we have become known regionally and across the state as a ‘difference-maker’ in the lives of children. We have attained 5-star status on our school report card in reading and math. Our preK-2 teachers maintain the region’s most visible and respected S.M.A.R.T. program. In grades 3-6, our multi-aged, multi-graded, instructionally leveled curricular framework successfully differentiates instruction and meets the widely diverse needs of our students. And now, to be one of eight schools recognized as a Minnesota School of Excellence is a testimony to our teachers, students, and our communities.”

Celebration_Flyer.pdf

RLCC_celebration_program.pdf

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