With another school year just around the corner, each building in the district will kick off its year in different ways. Each Principal from Washington Elementary, Highland Elementary, Crookston Middle School, and Crookston High School has released information regarding the start of the 2023-24 academic year.
CROOKSTON HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL MATT TORGERSON
Matt Torgerson is entering his second year as the principal of Crookston High School; before that, he served as the assistant principal at CHS. Torgerson stated high expectations are coming with the start of the year and excitement from himself and his colleagues. “There’s always high expectations, but one thing I’m very excited about is this Senior class,” said Torgerson, “My expectation for them is to be a part of the process of what we want the Crookston culture to be like.” Torgerson hopes that this senior class is willing to take ownership of the school and present decisions to the seniors to determine the direction of the high school for future years.
Incoming first-year students will have similar experiences from the previous year due to a similar system for students in grade eight last year. “One thing we have worked on over the summer was updated scheduling,” said Torgerson, “We did this to try and find more support for high school students, especially our ninth graders, which has not existed before.”
With students in grades nine through twelve, independence is more prominent. Therefore, the orientation and “meet the teacher” events tend to have a different overview than the other schools in Crookston. “Many of them are already driving or have already reported to the school for sport,” said Torgerson, “We see fewer parents in the 9-12 world for the meet the teacher. Because that age of students can advocate for themselves a bit more.” High school students had their “meet the teacher day” on Wednesday, August 30.
The first day of school at CHS will be Wednesday, September 6.
CROOKSTON MIDDLE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL CIERRA HANGSLEBEN
Cierra Hangsleben is entering her first year as principal of the Crookston Middle School, and she believes the beginning of a new school should feel like a fresh start for students and staff. “I expect that students try. They might not be great at Everything, and that’s okay,” said Hangsleben, “Effort is important, and that’s a big piece that you can control; I always used to tell my students ‘Just give it your all,’ that’s all I ask I will help students in any way I can.”
Along with much of the staff at CHS, Hangsleben is thrilled to have a middle school where students 6-8 can interact without outside distractions. “I’m excited for us to have this middle school layout and start this foundation,” said Hangsleben, “I think this is needed for them, and I think this will allow the students to give themselves their own identity as well.”
Middle school students entering grades six through eight will start school on Tuesday, September 5, one day before the CHS is in session. The middle school intends to start a day before grades nine through twelve in hopes that students will acclimate to the new school layout without distraction.
WASHINGTON ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL DENICE OLIVER
Denice Oliver is beginning her 23rd year as the principal of Washington Elementary School, and she is looking forward to what this school year will bring. “What’s so exciting at Washington School is it’s the children’s and sometimes the family’s first experience being in a school setting,” said Oliver, “Everything is new to them, which is fun and exciting. I guess we’ve always been described as a happy school.”
Meet the Teacher Day at Washington will take place on August 31 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and on Tuesday, September 5, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Washington School also houses all ECFE, school readiness, and kindergarten students, which brings another event for children and families to attend. “We have an ECFE kick-off event on September 5, our “Big Wheels Night” Families and kids can all come in.” Children attending the “Big Wheels Night” event can get inside a school bus and honk the horn, gee the fire engine at hand, and get inside the tire tractor.
Oliver believes this event is essential to children who may be apprehensive about starting school and can make children who are entering kindergarten feel more comfortable about the transition.
The first day of preschool will be Monday, September 11, and the first day of kindergarten starts Wednesday, September 6. The Washington preschool program is reportedly complete and cannot accept new registrations. Check in the Washington school office if your child is not registered for kindergarten. Their office hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday.
HIGHLAND ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL CHRIS TROSTAD
Chris Trostad is entering his tenth year as principal of Highland Elementary and is ready to kick off another school year. Trostad was pleased with the success of Highland elementary students of last year, who scored highly on standard tests. “We had some perfect test scores last year, and Highland school scored above the state average,” said Trostad, “Some grades showed some remarkable growth from the previous.”
Highland Elementary is currently undergoing construction. The work continues for the preschool addition, and Highland will send out instant alerts to parents soon on how to go about child drop-off and pick-up. “I know this will be a concern to parents when they drive by and see construction materials and loaders,” said Trostad, “We may go to a pick-up and drop-off zone in the front of Highland school, where we would have plenty of people to direct traffic.” If the zone is moved to the front of the building, parents can park in the parking lot and enter the building to pick up their children. They can also wait for the buses to leave the premises to enter the parking lot for pick-up. Highland will send instant alerts via email, text message, and voice mail to parents with updates.
Meet The Teacher Day for Highland School will be Tuesday, September 5. “It’s a great opportunity for parents to share with teachers about where their child may struggle in a certain area, or if there’s an issue with an area of learning, or maybe a solution to help them learn better,” said Trostad, “It’s a great opportunity for the teachers to get to know as much about the child as possible and start building those relationships with the parents.”
Highland School will have its first day of school on Wednesday, September 6.
