Our guests today were Tom Pastor and Ed James, who have applied for membership; and David Hoel’s guest, Keecha Borom, manager at the Silver Lake Road McDonalds.
Many expressed amazement at the Easter Egg Hunt turnout on an “iffy” weather day. The parking lots at the church and the seminary were full and traffic was backed up on Silver Lake Road for three blocks. Dave Hoel thinks we may have had a thousand people there, but we were prepared with 400 pounds of jelly beans, 6,000 plastic eggs and lots of prizes. Dave thanked all the hardy souls who came out in the rain to set up and then watched the weather turn gorgeous for the event.
John Risdall presented a $1,300 check, on behalf of the club, to Mary Stewart of Community Partners with Youth. Mary, John and Paul are shown above.
Jason Slama announced that Irondale students Andrew and Amy will be our representatives at Camp RYLA. Jason also announced that our Fourth Grade Foresters tree giveaway will take place on Friday, April 28th. He’ll pass around a sign-up sheet next Tuesday, but mark your calendars now to reserve the time. Jason is also looking for someone to write a brief news release about the Snack Pack project we did for the Food Shelf a few weeks back.
Mary Ann Bawden reminded us of the Community Support Center Luncheon on April 27th. As a Founding Organization of the Community Support Center (CSC) it would be great if we could have a significant presence at the event. Mary Jo McGuire will be the featured speaker. For more information about this free luncheon, click here.
As if the end of this month wasn’t busy enough, the District 5960 Conference will be April 27-29, at the Holiday Inn East in St Paul. Come for all three days to learn more about Rotary, or just for a featured speaker or two. Gerry Tietz encourages all current and incoming board members to attend. Learn more by clicking here.
Garry Johnson was happy to be able to be in Boise, ID, for his mother’s 85th birthday.
Amy Janecek reported that Irondale will be represented at the World Championships for Drumline and Robotics this spring. How awesome is that!!!
Our Speaker today was Amy Janecek, principal at Irondale H.S. Amy was born in Fargo, ND, but identifies more with Madison, WI, where she attended high school. She attended St. Olaf and went on to teach at Washburn and Patrick Henry High Schools. She married Scott in 2004, and they have 3 children, Gabriella (11), Trek (10) and Tegan (7). They live in uptown Minneapolis.
Amy was attracted to Irondale because of its cultural diversity and reputation for academic innovation and excellence. Amy explained that Irondale’s student population is 18% Black, 12% Hispanic, 10% Asian, 2% Native American and only 58% White. She said that there are over 50 different languages spoken at Irondale. Additional challenges are that 40% of students are on free and reduced lunch and 11.5% qualify for Special Ed. services. Because of, and in spite of, these challenges Irondale has adopted its Equity Promise “Ensuring all students are prepared for post-secondary success, regardless of race, class, disability or gender.”
Irondale is also noted for its Early College Program which gives every student the opportunity to be adequately prepared for post-secondary success and earn a 2 year Associate Degree in addition to their high school diploma. This partnership with Anoka Ramsey Community College is open to all students, with individual learning pathways determined by need. The program enhances opportunities for high achieving students but is targeted at students in the academic middle. Studies show that 50% of community college students drop out before their second year and only 33% achieve a degree or certificate. Many of those students are simply unprepared for the rigor of college classes. The Early College Program addresses the issue by introducing high school students to college level courses. Each year, 83% of Irondale students participated in rigorous courses and 78% have earned college credit while in high school. David, Amy and John are shown below.
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