Robbinsdale Area Schools Debate Coach Earns Diamond Award

Richard (DJ) Brynteson, Robbinsdale Debate coach, has earned distinction as a second diamond coach in the National Forensic League.

Robbinsdale Reading Scores Improve in Early Grades, Hover in Later

MCA results show hopeful numbers in grades third through fourth in reading, while math students face tough new tests.

Robbinsdale Area Schools, while testing below state averages in all grades, have shown significant improvement in reading proficiency in third and fourth grades. (Details on each school’s performance are available here.) Every area grade school showed higher reading scores in third-grade testing; some improving by as much as 11 percent (Meadow Lake Elementary). Six of nine district schools also showed improvement in fourth-grade testing, showing overall district improvement outpacing statewide average gains for the 2010-2011 school year. Progress plateaus, however, in fifth-grade reading testing, with most schools showing either an increase or decrease of only a few points, one notable exception being Meadow Lake Elementary, again, who …

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Robbinsdale ACT Average Same As Last Year

The composite score for Armstrong and Cooper was slightly lower than the state, but higher than the national averages.

The average ACT score for Robbinsdale students in 2011 was higher than the national average and lower than the state. The composite score of Robbinsdale Cooper and Robbinsdale Armstrong high schools was 22.6. The composite score of the state this year was 22.9 and the U.S. score was 21.1. The composite score combines the students' scores in English, math, reading and science. The Robbinsdale score was the same as it was in 2010, and 0.2 higher than it was in 2009 (see the PDF with this story). “Both high schools are working hard to increase participation in rigorous coursework,” said Superintendent Aldo Sicoli. “We know that rigorous coursework in high school leads to further success down the road.” The percentage of high schoolers in the …

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Robbinsdale Ninth-grade Writing Scores Dip

Only 81 percent of students passed this year's GRAD state writing exam.

The percentage of Robbinsdale students who passed a state-mandated writing test has dropped by 4 percent, according to the Minnesota Department of Education. District results for the Graduation-Required Assessments for Diploma test released Wednesday show 81 percent of students passed, which is down from 85 percent last year. The state average dropped 1 percent over the past year, from 90 to 89. "While we are disappointed with results this year, they highlight the need to intensify efforts to improve writing skills at every grade level," said Robbinsdale Area Schools Superintendent Aldo Sicoli in a news release. The district plans to increase writing requirements in all subject areas, the superintendent said. Staff members hope this will …

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Moms Talk: Choked up over the 'Choking Game'

How do we let our children gain their independence while still making sure they'll have tomorrow to learn from their mistakes?

Gone are the days of pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey or even wondering if kids still play spin the bottle. On Thursday, Robbinsdale Schools called and emailed all middle school parents to tell us about the choking game. And yesterday, Dunwoody Patch, just outside Atlanta, reported that a 10-year-old boy there died from the choking game last week. This is not something I wanted to think about. I fear the thought of my children getting hurt by something they did themselves. And that got me thinking—how do we save our children from themselves? When kids are young, we have to watch them at all times. As demanding and exhausting as this is, you can usually say with great certainty that you know what they’re up to—then they become teenagers. Suddenly…

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Plymouth Middle School Students Awarded for Their Human Rights Essays

Students from Golden Valley, Robbinsdale and New Hope win state honors for their writing.

How do human rights apply to you and your peers in your school and community? That was the topic of this year’s League of Minnesota Human Rights Commissions (LMHRC) statewide essay contest, for which students from Plymouth Middle School won honors. This is the ninth year that the New Hope has sponsored the statewide essay contest in cooperation with Plymouth Middle School eighth grade teachers Sue Lundquist, Lieschen Schoenert, Malinda Swalboski and Justin Moe, who weave the topic into their curriculum to make it more relevant for their students. Statewide, sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students are eligible to participate by submitting one entry. Essays are typically one to three pages in length, and students learn a lot by engaging in…

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Robbinsdale Schools Spotlight

Get Inspired by Supporting Local Artists

Aspiring young Golden Valley and Robbinsdale artists put their work on display this month.

If it's been a while since you stimulated your artistic intelligence, why not consider supporting a group of local artists?  There's a unique exhibit just minutes from Golden Valley.  “This is a great way to brighten up your day," says Katie Miller, who teaches art at all nine elementary schools in the Robbinsdale District.  "Students produce beautiful artwork, and you can see their development and growth.” Artwork by students from the Robbinsdale District is on display March 2 through April 6 at the Ridgedale Hennepin County Library. The annual show is put together by art and classroom teachers and includes work by students in grades 3-12. The exhibit includes two-dimensional and three-dimensional student artwork including jewelry, …

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Getting Your Hands on Free Money for College

Golden Valley Patch wants your comments and questions so we can help you navigate the college scholarship process.

FAFSA, eligibility, need analysis, meal plans, housing deposit...  If you’ve ever heard these words and broken out in a cold sweat, you might be the parent of a high school senior. $37,990.  That’s not for four, not two, but one - one - year of college at a Minnesota private school my daughter hopes to attend.  The cost of public universities continues to climb significantly every year, too.  My daughter is a senior in the Robbinsdale schools, and these kinds of numbers can keep us parents up at night praying for a miracle.  So barring divine intervention, most parents will be looking for financial aid. You know all the Golden Valley schools have guidance counselors, but have you thought about contacting one of  them?  If my guess is …

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Robbinsdale Schools Spotlight

Making the Most of Parent Teacher Conferences

Five tips to get the most out of your time.

You stand in line in the gym or wait in kiddie-size chairs outside the teacher’s door and when the moment arrives you want to appear involved, interested and insightful but all you can think to say is, “So how’s my kid doing?” You’re not alone.  When it comes to parent teacher conferences most parents want to make the most of their time, but few know what to ask and many find the shuffle at the middle and secondary level from teacher to teacher unproductive. According to a 1994 United States Department of Education survey, the amount and degree of parent involvement is the most influential factor in determining a student's' success in school.  With this in mind, and twelve years of either sitting on one side as a parent or the other side …

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Editor's Notebook

A New Voice for Robbinsdale District Students

New contributor, Gail Weinhold, is a parent and teacher who will focus on celebrating the young minds that truly make our city golden.

Golden Valley Patch thinks it's about time that students in the Robbinsdale School District got the recognition they deserve alongside their Hopkins district neighbors. Golden Valley Patch already brings you news from Breck School and Perpich Center for Arts, and we've been working with Hopkins Patch to bring you educational news, too.  But we know many of our kids attend Robbinsdale, and now we've got you covered, too. So let us introduce Gail Weinhold.  She's been a parent in the Robbinsdale school district and a teacher in the Hopkins district for the past nine years and she is the new voice reporting on education right here in Golden Valley. In Tuesday night’s State of the Union address, President Obama said, “We need to teach our kids…

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