The Crookston School District will start school next week with the Crookston High School starting classes on Tuesday and Highland and Washington Schools starting on Thursday. KROX has talked with principals of all three buildings, the Crookston School District Transportation Director Rick Niemela and School Resource Officer Don Rasicot.
The first day of school for the Crookston High School is Tuesday, September 4 and the school is ready for the students. “We got the sidewalks done before registration day, so that was kind of the only big project we had this summer and we are wrapping up teacher week and getting everybody ready to roll on Tuesday,” said Principal Bubna. “One of the things we are rolling out this year is a curriculum for prime time that we will be implementing for 7-12 and designed to help kids get ready for life after high school, post-secondary education. High school diplomas are great, but you have to get a little more than that to get competitive jobs. We’re excited to have the students back in the school and we are ready to have the kids back.”
Highland School will start classes on Thursday after parent-teacher conferences on Tuesday and Wednesday and the building looks great again this year and there are two new teachers. “Andrew Biermaier will be teaching fourth grade and Kristi Fitzgerald is our new Speech-Language pathologist and we are excited to have those two on board,” said Principal Trostad. “There is nobody better in the state of Minnesota than Kenny Winger. He takes pride in this building and the floors are shiny like it was the first day it was built. His son Cory and Bill Gillette work hard to have the building ready and it looks great.”
Trostad reminds parents where to drop off children at the school. “We want parents to drop off kids in the drop off zone and be extra careful looking out for kids before and after school,” said Trostad. “If kids are anxious or scared give us a call and we can give them a tour if they are new or anything else that they have needs with, we want to make sure the first day of school is the best that it can be. We are always here and give us a call if you have any questions.”
The Crookston School District will start school next week with the Crookston High School starting classes on Tuesday and Highland and Washington Schools starting on Thursday. Today we will hear from Washington School principal Denice Oliver, Transportation Director Rick Niemela, and School Resource Officer Don Rasicot.
Washington School is the home of school readiness (pre-K), Kindergarten and first grade. There will be a few new employees at Washington School. “We have a new Kindergarten teacher, Ms. Brekke and she is from Thief River Falls and I asked if she was going to be able to transition from being a Prowler to a Pirate and she said she will work on that,” said Principal Denice Oliver with a smile. “We have a first-grade teacher Mrs. Smith and we have some instructional aids that will be new this year and we have a Language Facilitator Ms. Cole and we also have a Kindergarten Aide Ramona Erickson and she has lived in our community for many years and we are excited to have them.”
Washington School houses the youngest students in the Crookston School District. “I love that environment to start your school journey. We have the philosophy here that we want school to be the best part of the day every day and we feel the parents are a big part of that,” said Oliver. “We like having the teacher and parent meetings to start off the year.”
Washington School has a safety-first philosophy. “We are an all little people building and safety comes first. When parents come for the teacher and parent meetings we make sure all the information is correct,” said Oliver. “We make sure all the bus tag information is correct so the kids are going to the right places. We want people to save plenty of time to bring their kids to school and not be in a rush because there are a lot of kids that are excited in the area and we want to make sure it is safe, especially on those first few days.”
Oliver said there are still opening for three and four-year-old school readiness. If you are interested in more information, call 281-5078.
School bus and bus stop safety is always on the mind of the Crookston School District. On the first week of school, it is stressed even more with anxious and excited kids ready for their first day of school. KROX talked with Crookston School District Transportation Director, Rick Niemela, and he said safety is always on their minds. “We want everybody to be aware that school is starting and the students will be on the sidewalks and crossing the streets and be cognizant of the busses out there and as the flashing lights come on be prepared to stop and for students to come from any direction as they come to the bus stops,” said Niemela. “Be prepared to stop and the first week we are adjusting times and the bus could be a little late and kids might not pay attention like they should so be sure to watch out for everybody that is out there and slow down from 7:30 to 8:15 a.m. and after school.”
The Crookston School District added a School Resource Officer in the middle of the school year last year and now Don Rasicot will be in the schools on the first day of school and he said he is excited to have the kids back and safety is first and foremost. “We really want to impress safety upon the kids. We will have kids driving to the high school and Highland School kids will be riding their bikes so we ask that drives be vigilant of the kids going to and from school,” said Rasicot. “Kids have to remember the laws while driving, there is no texting and driving and to wear seatbelts and kids riding bikes should wear helmets. Wearing a helmet could save a life in an accident.”
Fisher Avenue is one main area of concern for school route safety. “Fisher Avenue is a very busy street and we ask that pedestrians make eye contact with the drivers when they cross and cross in the crosswalks only,” said Rasicot. “Drivers need to be careful before and after school and slow down and keep an eye out for pedestrians.”
Rasicot said he is excited to be in the SRO position and he has an open-door policy. “What a pleasure it is to start off, from day one, in the school. I started this week with meetings and speaking to teachers about emergency procedures and Superintendent Jeremy Olson and I rewrote the safety manuals for each school,” said Rasicot. “I have an open door policy and I would love any parents and kids that might have some problems or concerns and they can come talk to me. They can call me (281-4421 or 281-3111) or they can email me and I will be getting a dedicated SRO cell phone soon.”
