September 18, 2024
This message was emailed to staff and families and is also posted on www.isd748.org/announcements.

Sartell-St. Stephen Families:

On Wednesday, September 25, our PreK-12 students will have a two hour early release from school. Buses will run two hours earlier than usual and family pick-up will occur two hours earlier.

Students will have the following options:

• SMS and SHS: Buses - and family pick-up - will run two hours earlier than usual.
• ORELC, PMPS, and RIS: Childcare and Transportation Options
  The district has partnered with KIDSTOP to provide childcare at no cost for elementary students for the duration of the two-hour early release time period. Registration was required for KIDSTOP in advance; at this point, registration is closed, but may open again in a few weeks.

For our PreK-5 students, the following options are available for students on early-release days:

1. Be picked up two hours early
2. Ride the bus and be dropped off two hours early
3. Attend KIDSTOP at no charge for the two-hour early-release time period, then be picked up at the regular end-of-day time (approximately 2:30p)
4. Attend KIDSTOP at no charge for the two-hour early-release period, then stay in KIDSTOP until picked up at a later time beyond the end of the regular school day (regular paid registration)

Mark your calendars: September-March Early Release Days
Our district plans to utilize a combination of scheduled professional development days and monthly early release days to ensure the required teachers (listed below) are trained by the state’s deadline of June 30, 2026. The following early release dates - all Wednesdays -  are on our 2024-2025 school calendar: September 25, 2024; October 30, 2024; November 27, 2024; December 18, 2024; January 29, 2025; February 26, 2025; and March 19, 2025. 

READ Required Training for Teachers
During the 2023 State Legislative Session, the Reading to Ensure Academic Development (READ) Act was passed that requires school districts in Minnesota to train their teachers (up to 140 hours) in the Science of Reading beginning after July 1, 2024. Our district selected Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) as the training program to best meet the state’s first wave of Science of Reading training requirement. LETRS was selected due to its robust, research-based content in an effort to better ensure our teachers receive the best training possible which in turn will have the greatest likelihood of positively impacting our students. The following groups of educators will receive LETRS training during the state’s first wave of training requirements: PreK-Grade 5 General Education teachers, PreK-Grade 12 Special Education teachers, PreK-12 Multilingual Learner Teachers, K-12 Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) Interventionists, and PreK-Grade 5 Administrators.

Thank you--

Dr. Michael Rivard
Superintendent
Sartell-St. Stephen ISD 748