Eye on ECCS

There is no easy way to prepare for a crisis, nor is there a 100% foolproof plan that goes without issue. There is only practice, preparation, and people who are willing to roll up their sleeves and do the work. “When I came to the district a couple years ago, we looked at our staff emergency alerting and communication tools and decided we wanted to up the game there,”  Matt Haga, Director of Safety, Security, and Technology at Eastern Carver County Schools said. 

On July 28, more than 80 Eastern Carver County School staff members and parents gathered to practice what is called a “Reunification Drill” – a process by which schools, during a mass evacuation scenario due to chemical, natural, and/or criminal activity, systematically work in teams to account for and safely reunite students with their parents and/or guardians. While many schools across the country have adopted such a procedure, very few have practiced it, and even fewer are prepared when the time calls for it. 

Dr. Erin Rathke, Superintendent of Eastern Carver County Schools, said, “We never really want to have to do this for real, but we absolutely want to make sure that we’re prepared for our students and families should the need arise” 

When asked about the importance of practicing safety and security for such a rare occurrence, Haga said, “I don’t enjoy that we have to talk about it, and I say that not just as a district employee, but as a district parent.  The safety and security of our schools is our number one priority.  It’s also important to understand that most evacuations aren’t happening because of a tragic event.  No matter what the reason, we need to be able to reunify families properly.” 

As district employees gathered around tables ready to listen and learn, Dr. Rathke opened the session with words of encouragement, noting that even if it wasn’t perfect the first time and things were messy, preparedness is key. “We’ve had incidents close to our community that make it real for our kids and for our parents. Making sure that our whole district is prepared, if we ever had to do something like this, helps us assure parents and students that we’re taking their safety very seriously.” 

Haga led the training session in partnership with Raptor Technologies - whose software many school districts (including ECCS) rely on for crisis communication and response protocol. Together, ECCS and Raptor discussed the importance of structure during a crisis, potential scenarios in which reunification would be necessary, and how to best react when a crisis occurs. 

Once familiar with the processes, staff then ran Reunification drills. Divided into teams and assigned the roles of staff, students, and parents – with the help of additional parent volunteers – groups then roleplayed through reunification scenarios. To make the experience more immersive, roleplayers displayed a variety of temperaments and communication barriers. Things were clunky at first – but with time, participants found their rhythm. 

After the first drill, many teams were quick to note inefficiencies in their process as well as potential inequities. There was great enthusiasm for drill number two to see what improvements could be made, and how they could better center students and parents in the process. No drill was perfect, but all staff members left with an improved sense of confidence and an idea of how to respond should the need arise.

Dr. Rathke shared her pride for the collaborative efforts of the day’s participants, noting that “It was great to watch them lead and work together to make sure that we had a strong process in place.” Both Dr. Rathke and Haga noted that this is the first of many opportunities for the District to practice, develop, and improve their safety and security procedures, and that they will always strive for the highest level of preparedness possible. 

 

 

NOTE: Occasionally throughout the school year, we will visit a school across Eastern Carver County Schools. Some weeks the plan may be to stop in multiple classrooms by grade, or by subject. Other weeks it may highlight a certain specialist group. The purpose is to give families and our community a glimpse into the every-day learning environment happening in our buildings. A chance to spotlight the incredible work our teachers and staff do on a daily basis for our students, and to showcase the incredible work our students produce as well. So, keep your Eye on ECCS!

The school year is just days away from being complete. It’s hard to imagine as sometimes it feels like it just began. But in elementary classrooms across the district it’s evident that both students and teachers put in the work this school year. You can hear it in the work that students are completing. You can see it in their FastBridge scores.

For the last Eye on ECCS for the school year, we ventured into five elementary classrooms to celebrate student achievement this year. To reflect with teachers on the gains students made, and how teachers are evolving within the Science of Reading literacy practices, anchored by the state of Minnesota’s READ Act. It mandates that schools use structured literacy – systematic instruction in phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. 

BREAKING DOWN READING

Maren Yue, fourth grade teacher at Jonathan Elementary, found her students had skyrocketing data fluency scores. They were able to accurately read, but their comprehension scores weren’t showing that same growth. 

“It came down to that basic sentence structure for increased comprehension. Breaking it down sentence by sentence. Re-reading the text with a clearer purpose,” Yue said. “Syntax has become that puzzle piece that has been missing for us. We take FastBridge testing three times a year. It flags those kids who are maybe in the at-risk category. But it’s the minute-to-minute, day-to-day observations, those exit slips, informal observations, those whiteboard checks, that are really telling us what is working and what isn’t working so we can do something differently to make sure we are understanding what that missing puzzle piece is.”

Yue said as text becomes more rigorous in fourth grade, the importance of understanding the meaning grows with the challenge.

“It made us think about it some more. It was how are we going to attack that. How are we going to employ reading strategies to really break down those complex strategies?” Yue said. “We have a really good curriculum with BAR (Being A Reader). It’s that fine balance between keeping that love and enjoyment for reading and bringing in text that is high interest, high engagement, but also at that complex rigor level.” 

DEEP DIVE

Kristi Volp, kindergarten teacher at Chanhassen Elementary, was first introduced to PRESS – Path to Reading Excellence in School Sites – through Carol Redmond, the ECCS elementary literacy coach, last school year. PRESS is driven by research-based approaches to reading that address tiered interventions to help struggling learners or whole class intervention.

“This year I had an opportunity to take some time and dig deep into our FastBridge scores with Andrea Hawley, our instructional coach, and other district officials. We were able to identify some  areas where we felt like we could support kids better. We pulled out word segmenting as an area that students were missing; being able to take apart a word and then blend each sound individually,” Volp said.

Along with her student teacher, Nora, Volp used PRESS methods on a daily basis to set a routine and create repetition with the content.

“There is a whole group piece and an intervention piece, and what I did was meld the two together and I used it as a whole class intervention. We were able to push them a little farther than we had been doing before. Instead of looking at 3-letter segments, we went right into four letters,” Volp said.

Students used interactive methods with letter tiles and a keyboard display on a touchscreen. They also used touch spelling from their Sonday lessons – a multisensory reading instruction – along with writing the words on a whiteboard and then breaking it apart with letter tiles.

“I saw a huge impact using PRESS. We’re getting to our FastBridge testing here at the end of the school year and I know they’re going to do so well on segmenting because they’ve had all of this practice. I see it everyday in their learning,” Volp said.

GIVING STUDENTS TOOLS TO SUCCEED

In first grade at Carver Elementary, Shannon Pepper gives students a weekly checklist for them to monitor their reading jobs. Whether it’s read-spell-read flashcards, sound cards with accompanying pictures for letter sound recognition, high frequency word lists, or lesson plans, they know what’s expected of them and gives them direction when the teacher is working with a small group.

It is that independent work stamina that Pepper works with her students to build up throughout the school year. 

“Finding and creating certain things that are at each student’s level is super important. I do a weekly packet that has the specific skills for each group of learners. At the beginning of the year they are working on it independently and then eventually I let them work in groups so they can chat a little bit. It ends up being one of the students’ favorite activities. It’s all about them reading something and then having to retain and comprehend what they read. When they’re this little, you’re not actually sure that they are doing it. These activities are tools for me to see that they are actually doing the work,” Pepper said.

Utilizing paraprofessionals and volunteers, Pepper strives to meet all small groups three-to-four times per week.

“I love first grade testing because we’re doing 1-on-1 testing. All reading-based. I love that I’m able to see the progress first-hand. It’s purely can you read, and that’s my goal. I always say in first grade I’m teaching them how to read and in second grade they are reading to learn,” she said. “At first, as you’re becoming more familiar with the curriculum, you’re teaching it by the book. But now I’m using more supplemental material, other tools that I’ve found helpful. Now that I know how to teach it, I’ve found a way to be most successful with all readers. How to tailor an approach that meets all students.”

INDIVIDUALIZED DAILY READING

When students are reading in school, building confidence and finding materials that interest them, they’re more likely to read at home or away from the school day.

“Every day in third grade they’re doing their 20 minutes of IDR (Individualized Daily Reading) time completely with their choice book, but also sticking to a theme around what we’re working on so they can apply their skill to their independent book. Giving them their choice, you see the interest level in reading go up a lot,” Carver Elementary third grade teacher Megan Cotner said.

Cotner uses a Book Club method to have peers share what they read to increase their retention.

“We do fluency work where they work with a partner that is completely student-led. The timer begins and they know to meet with whomever their partner is that day. They begin to chat about their books and I think the interest builds again because they are telling their partner what they liked about the book, and why they should read the book, too,” she said.

“Being more student-led has always been one of my goals. I don’t want to be talking to them all day,” Cotner added. “I want them to take some of the learning in their own hands. They know what to do because we have the same daily routines. And I think that’s where we see some of the higher gains is because they lead.” 

Cotner’s advice for students is to find a series or book that challenges them.

In Brett Carlson’s fifth grade classroom at Bluff Creek Elementary, students conclude the school day with 30 minutes of IDR.

“The reality of the digital world is fewer and fewer kids are reading at home, so it’s a priority for us to carve out dedicated time for independent reading,” he said. “They’ll say, ‘I don’t like to read.’ What they mean is reading is hard for them; that’s how to translate that. You have to find a book that doesn’t frustrate them but isn’t too easy for them or vacation reading. Once we foster a structure or habits, then it becomes not just reading to read, but reading to learn, which is what they experience in secondary (schools).”

MEETING THE STUDENTS’ NEEDS

Students feel empowered when they can work independently, Carlson said. “Kids will never verbally tell you they need structure. But if you don’t have those structures in place then they appear to be off behaviorally because they don’t know what to expect. Every day should have new challenges and new activities, but within the same structure of knowing what to expect. Students need to feel safe and comfortable for learning to take place,” he said.

Carlson said the zone of proximal development or the sweet spot for learning in students today is smaller than it was 10 years ago. It’s why he uses a gradual release model to develop expectations and create classroom norms.

“They get frustrated when things are too hard and they also want more challenge if things are too easy. To level the playing field, we do a gradual release model. We do the same activity together and then I release them when I know they’re ready for independence, which can be a painfully slow process at first. It’s, go slow now so we can go fast at the end. The kids do benefit from this approach. If we just let them go to work independently right away without giving them the scaffolding we would have 17 kids needing Mr. Carlson’s help all at the same time. And that doesn’t work for anybody,” Carlson said.

 

NOTE: Occasionally throughout the school year, we will visit a school across Eastern Carver County Schools. Some weeks the plan may be to stop in multiple classrooms by grade, or by subject. Other weeks it may highlight a certain specialist group. The purpose is to give families and our community a glimpse into the every-day learning environment happening in our buildings. A chance to spotlight the incredible work our teachers and staff do on a daily basis for our students, and to showcase the incredible work our students produce as well. So, keep your Eye on ECCS!

Among key strategic investments this school year is the introduction of Maia Learning to our secondary buildings to improve college and career readiness across the district. This shift, supported by the hiring of two additional school counselors, provides a consistent, high-tech solution for students to set goals and create actionable post-high school plans.

Maia Learning features comprehensive personality and career assessments to help students identify strengths, interests, and ideal work environments. These tools, including personality tests and interest profilers, guide students in exploring suitable careers and creating personalized career plans.

The initial phase focused on counselor accounts, student account creation, and embedding the interest inventory and personality assessments into core classes like English. 

“This year, school counselors have implemented Maia Learning into classroom lessons at the middle and high school level as a part of the district's Career and College Readiness Scope and Sequence. Depending on the grade level, students are engaged in completing interest assessments, exploring specific careers, and building college lists through Maia Learning. School counselors are using Maia learning to have 1:1 conversations with all ninth graders to create their 4-year HS academic plan and all 11th graders for post-secondary planning,” said Leah Shanks, Lead Counselor for Eastern Carver County Schools.

Parents will soon have access to their child's assessment results in Maia Learning, which helps to spark conversations about life after high school. During the 2026-27 school year, the use of Maia Learning will expand to all middle and high schoolers. Maia Learning will be utilized for the college application process for next year's seniors, while sixth graders will explore how their interests can play into different career paths.

Seventh graders will continue to use the interest profiler within Maia Learning to explore careers that match their personality traits. They will also work on a career research project where they learn about the needed education as well as projected wages. Eighth graders use the lifestyle calculator – the “I want to be …” to explore potential earnings and how that fits with the way of life they want.

“One of the great features of Maia Learning is the ability to use it collaboratively. The high school College and Career Resource specialists use career and interest data in Maia Learning to encourage students to attend panels and events for careers and college visits that students have identified as high interest,” Shanks said.

EXPLORING CAREER PATHS

Exploring future careers is a valuable part of a high school student’s experience in Eastern Carver County Schools. Students have the option to choose courses from many pathways including business and marketing, computer science, health care, and education and child development, to name a few. Within these pathways, students can learn if a career is right for them, develop marketable skills, and in some cases earn college credit.

Career exploration is an area where the College and Career Resource Center (CRC) specializes for students at Chanhassen and Chaska high schools.

“My hope for the CRC is that it becomes the go-to space for students to explore 'What’s next?' I know that 'next' looks different for everyone. For some, it’s a university, for others, it’s a skilled trade, a military commitment, or jumping straight into employment. Wherever they are headed, I hope students leave graduation with a sense of purpose and a clear path forward,” CRC Specialist Kelly Macik of Chanhassen High School.

Janelle Sperry began hosting career panels for juniors and seniors during WIN (What I Need) time last school year. She’s continued this year with Macik adding them at Chanhassen this year. The panels have been an opportunity for students to hear from professionals and engage with them about their school and career paths. 

“One of the focuses of the panels is for the students to hear about the various careers that are out there that they may not know about. Students are often only aware of careers and jobs that they have seen or interacted with already, but there is so much more out there!” Sperry said. “We also want them to hear about what these careers truly do day to day, our panelists' paths to their current job (and how rarely is it a straight linear path), the education or training required in these career areas, how to get into the industry, and more.”

Sperry had 77 students attend a panel on Engineering, while Law & Government, Health Care, and Finance & Accounting have been other popular panels. At Chanhassen High School, Engineering & Aviation, Health Science, Sales, Marketing, & Communication, and Public Safety were the top sessions.

“By bringing in career panels and job fairs, we’re helping students discover their 'why,'” Macik said. “The panelists have been wonderfully honest about their journeys, showing that education and experience often lead to places and opportunities you’d never expect. This has been a huge confidence booster for students who feel pressured to have it all figured out! One of the key takeaways from many of the panelists has been "stay curious."

“The students have been very engaged and asking a lot of questions, including what they can do in high school to prepare for a career or get experience now to see if they like it. We use this as a chance to promote courses and co-op opportunities for students to get more hand-on learning. I hope these panels spark excitement for students and their futures, as well as, motivates them to take action now to set themselves up for success. This can be joining a club, changing their course schedule, networking, or volunteering,” Sperry said.

SUCCESS STORIES

Sperry said her goal within each panel is to provide as many career and educational pathways as possible. A recent panel on Construction and Trades featured multiple workers that started with a hammer in their hand and are now project superintendents. 

“Most of our panelists on that panel entered the workforce directly out of high school and worked their way up to their current positions and are very successful. I worked with our Tech Ed instructor and used MAIA Learning to get students signed up for this panel that might really benefit from getting connected with these career pathways, and would likely not otherwise come to the CRC,” Sperry said.

Both CRC specialists have seen a direct impact from the career panels.

“One of the students who attended the Engineering & Aviation panel made a connection with one of the panelists, which has led to further conversations and a potential mentorship!” Macik said.

“Many of our panelists have expressed that they are willing to meet with students 1:1 to talk more, give tours, do job shadows, and offer other opportunities to students,” Sperry said.

 

NOTE: Occasionally throughout the school year, we will visit a school across Eastern Carver County Schools. Some weeks the plan may be to stop in multiple classrooms by grade, or by subject. Other weeks it may highlight a certain specialist group. The purpose is to give families and our community a glimpse into the every-day learning environment happening in our buildings. A chance to spotlight the incredible work our teachers and staff do on a daily basis for our students, and to showcase the incredible work our students produce as well. So, keep your Eye on ECCS!

Six Chaska High School students were among more than 1,500 students from across the state to attend the 72nd annual Minnesota Youth in Government Conference in St. Paul and Minneapolis last month.

An opportunity to get out of their comfort zone, build leadership skills and have a chance at working on their public speaking, said Sally Diehl, Youth Development Specialist in Eastern Carver County Schools’ Community Education programming.

The opportunity was run through Community Education. 

“I tried to sell it not so much about politics, but as a way to debate with kindness and respectfulness, and to advocate for they believe in,” Diehl said.

The students visited the State Capitol in a full state government simulation. Participants practiced civic engagement and built leadership skills during different programming at St. Thomas Law School and the Minneapolis Hilton where students stayed for three nights and four days.

“My favorite parts of the conference were getting to explore the capital building, performing well during my sessions in the Supreme Court, and spending time with my friends throughout the entire conference,” Chaska High School junior Nathan Edstrom said. “I learned so much about how the Supreme Court functions including how arguments are formed, how justices decide who wins a case, and how the judicial system works with the other branches of government at the state level.”

This was the first year that the district collaborated to send students to the conference. Edstrom found out about the program through Chaska’s National Honor Society. “I was drawn to it because I am interested in pursuing politics in the future and Youth In Government seemed like a great opportunity to learn more about my interests,” he said.

For freshman Kyle Smith, having a father who works in the government, it was something he immediately felt drawn to when he first found out about the opportunity. He learned a valuable lesson during the conference.

"I learned if you don’t jump at the opportunities you are given then you won’t get them.Sometimes it’s not if you're the best at something, it is your character that gets you to the top," Smith said.

Smith said he made countless friends at the conference. He also came away with a special recognition award for being a Trial Court Outstanding Delegate. 

"I became a 'local celebrity' in trial courts for a continuous positive attitude and some 'boingyness.' I was voted to present my defense in front of everyone. That was stressful. My partner Bennet and I had to write a whole new case and stayed up for most of the night," Smith said.

Smith is already looking forward to next year's conference.

“Being the first year doing this, I was a little nervous, I didn’t know what to expect, but I think the students gained a lot of confidence and growth, and showed a lot of resiliency. They really honed in their public speaking and leadership skills and all came away with a better understanding of how their voice can make an impact,” Diehl said.

Diehl hopes to expand the number of participants next year to 15 to 20 students. She hopes that students from Chanhassen High School will get on board as well.

“I’m very proud of them. They exceeded all of my expectations. They presented themselves and their school so very well. They all looked very professional and they left me very hopeful for their future,” Diehl added.

OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

Five students from Chaska High School along with Diehl participated on March 3 in Youth Day at the Capitol, spending the day at the Minnesota State Capitol learning how government works and how their voices can make a difference.

Youth Day at the Capitol gives young Minnesotans the chance to advocate for the issues that matter most to them. By meeting with elected officials and engaging in conversations about policy and leadership, students develop advocacy and leadership skills while experiencing the power of civic engagement firsthand.

Edstrom was among the students that had an opportunity to meet with local senator Julia Coleman and advocate for a topic of his choice.

“Speaking with Sen. Coleman was an amazing opportunity. I was able to learn a lot about advocacy and how people from my district are represented while engaging directly with governmental figures. I chose to advocate for an increase in funding to the Family Homeless Prevention and Assistance Program, a program that helps vulnerable families facing an immediate risk of homelessness to be able to pay for basic necessities like rent and maintenance bills,” Edstrom said.

This issue is super important to me. I've volunteered at the His House Warehouse in downtown Chaska for about two years. Through that, I've had the opportunity to directly help struggling families obtain resources that they need. This has really made me realize just how much homelessness and poverty as a whole negatively affects people in my district specifically,” he added.

While Smith did not attend Youth Day at the Capital, he has talked several times with local elected officials about the importance of free lunches in school and adequate funding for the arts.

"Free school lunches have made it so my friends both have access to food and feel alright eating it. With being a teenager in today’s age, eating disorders are common. Many of my peers will refuse to eat at lunch time. I can help them by just convincing them to get the free school lunch and try. They almost never finish the whole tray, but they are getting more sustenance than before," Smith said.

Another opportunity for students is the Minnesota House of Representatives High School Page Program each February. Since 1975, high school juniors from throughout the state have traveled to St. Paul to spend a week in the Capitol building. The program celebrated its 50th year this year.

Chaska High School junior Sean Haga was among the students selected to participate in the Page Program in 2026.