Bemidji Area Schools announced a shift in the learning model. Hybrid learning at the secondary schools will end Friday, with middle and high schoolers resuming distance learning on Monday, Nov. 30, after Thanksgiving. “We have been clear in our messaging that we would likely be using all three learning models during the course of the…
The Bemidji School Board met Monday, and a lengthy agenda item was the COVID update. Superintendent Tim Lutz emphasized that within many other districts of a similar size, a good percentage of those districts continue to use in-person learning for the elementary students. Beltrami County’s new COVID-19 case rate from MDH, as of Oct. 31,…
In the Bemidji School District, the top three finishers are incumbent Jeff Haack, gaining 9,758 votes, incumbent Ann Long Voelkner, gaining 9,449 votes, and Gabriel Warren, earning 8,212 votes. Voters did not approve of the School District’s operating referendum, with 11,725 voting against, about 60 percent, and 7,851, about 40 percent, voted in favor. Superintendent…
During the School Board meeting, health officials and superintendent Tim Lutz emphasized that schools appear to be the safest place for students, but many families are opting-in for distance learning as the county’s new case rate per 10,000 people increases, which, according to local numbers, is currently at 51.4, and the state’s week-old number is…
Although the Circle of Life Academy is currently closed to students for in-school learning due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the school opened its doors for Katharine MacGregor, U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Department of Interior (DOI) last Thursday. COLA is a Bureau of Indian Education grant school, and offers a comprehensive K-12 culturally-based education programs…
Minnesota schools and communities wanting to develop safer places for students to walk and bicycle can apply for three different grant opportunities this fall through the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s Safe Routes to School program. SRTS “Boost” grants support existing SRTS work, like adding bicycles to schools to improve physical education curriculum or addressing a…
Superintendent Tim Lutz says that while Beltrami County’s daily case rates are concerning, the district is not looking at changing learning models, at least not yet. Right now, Bemidji elementary students are attending full in-person classes, with middle and high schoolers are using a hybrid model. State guidance says for counties with a case rate…
The Bemidji School District has, so far, seen a decrease in enrollment this year. Enrollment is a driving force in any district’s funding formula, and while Superintendent Tim Lutz says it’s not a Bemidji-only problem, some students are falling through the cracks. The district had around 5,100 students enrolled in the Spring of 2020, but…
The Minnesota Department of Health reported 389 new cases of COVID-19 today, and 15 new COVID-related deaths, bringing the state’s totals to 82,249 cases and 1,884 deaths. Of those deaths, 1,375 were residents of long-term care or assisted living facilities. Of those cases, 8,948 were health care workers. Completed test numbers have been down the…
Marketplace Foods recently raised over $4,000 for the United Way of Bemidji Area’s Backpack Buddies program. Backpack Buddies ensures Bemidji Area school children have access to nutritious, non-perishable food over the weekends and school vacations. Last year, the program served over 450 children, and since the COVID-19 crisis, the program has served over 1,200 children…
