by Dave DeMars
news@thenewsleaders.com
Sauk Rapids-Rice High School Principal Erich Martens watches “his kids” from his corner office on the ground floor as they get off the buses or make the walk from their cars to the front doors of the high school – a morning and an afternoon parade almost every day for 18 years – 13 of them as principal in Sauk Rapids.
“I try to never tell people how many years I’ve been in education because … (the number of years) is less important than the work we do,” Martens said.
It’s only the beginning of November, but Martens says with some assurance it has been a good year; no great new initiatives from the state department, no major building projects to deal with and no major changes in the curriculum.
That makes it easier, but that doesn’t mean he and his staff are not looking at some cutting-edge things to help students learn more, learn better, learn faster and have fun learning while they are doing it.
“We’re always changing things, but by and large, we felt really prepared for this year,” he said.
While he felt well prepared for the year, he admits he is concerned with staffing.
“It’s one of the most dramatic shifts I’ve seen,” Martens said. “In the last four years, there has been a significant amount of transition for teachers.”
Some of it’s due to retirement, but there are lots of openings in lots of places, Martens said. Teachers have more freedom to move from one job location to another. Why? Because there are shortages of teachers, especially in some fields. Martens mentioned special education as being particularly in demand. Other areas include the sciences, math, even English. Sauk Rapids has been fortunate in that they have been able to fill their retirement slots with talented staff out of college and with experienced staff who moved in from other districts. But there are still issues.
“Every time you make a change, there is going to be some time spent in getting folks up to speed and comfortable in the new setting,” Martens said. “Even experienced teachers have to become familiar with how we do things here in Sauk Rapids.”
Martens likes to think in terms of what new staffers can bring that will benefit the district and what might be a challenge for the district. Advantages are things like new ideas and thoughts, new opportunities, new ways to connect with kids. Having a good high school staff is all about having a variety of individuals. The advantages help to enrich the curriculum, to take it in different directions, and get kids excited about learning, especially in elective-course areas.
Martens mentioned two areas as examples: art and agriculture.
“Like it or not, the truth is our elective courses are best taught in the areas where people have expertise and passion,” Martens said. “That’s what kids connect with, and that gives opportunity to take things in a different way.”
The addition of an art program has produced real excitement. Kids love the program, Martens said, and they are signing up for classes in droves. Some are beginners struggling to draw stick figures, and others are putting whole portfolios together, but they are all benefiting from that program.
Martens said the hiring pool in some course disciplines is shallower than ever and that has led to employing individuals who are skilled in the academic area, but not in the pedagogy of teaching and learning. Agriculture is one such area. This year, Martens was able to hire an individual who is well versed in agriculture but lacks the standard teaching credentials and is teaching under a “community expert license.”
“She grew up in the ag world and worked as a county extension agent, so she has all of the knowledge necessary but just doesn’t have that teaching license,” Martens said. “She’s doing a terrific job.”
Martens said about the teacher-supply shortage that major cuts in education and changes in pay and benefits often make other professions seem more inviting and lucrative. Some occupations that require less schooling actually pay better than teaching. While Sauk Rapids isn’t struggling to fill full-time teaching slots, Martens said he doesn’t have the number of teaching substitutes he would like to have.
Technology and communications
One of the areas that has changed dramatically during the past 10 years or so has been technology. New teachers in the program have little problem with it, Martens said, because they all grew up with computers, iPads, cell phones, and the Internet and Wi-fi. It’s been more of a challenge for some older teachers, but they provide other experiences and balance to programs.
“Alumni from our Hall of Fame who come back, when I tell them every student has access to a laptop computer, every single day, every hour of the day, their eyes just pop open,” Martens said. “They may have read about it, but they never imagined it would be their district.”
There are no computer labs in the high school, Martens explained, because every classroom becomes a computer lab, so the key and the challenge for every teacher is how to make the best use of all the technology provided.
Technology fuels motivation, it organizes the course, it presents material, it identifies where challenges are for students and helps them through those challenges, Martens said, and it makes education look different in that respect from what many of us grew up with, but the goal of an independent, self-reliant student is still there.
Technology also influences communication between teacher and parents, and between student and teacher; if they want to, parents can monitor how well their child is performing, what homework they have, what they have missed and what kinds of discipline problems the child might have. Fees and lunch money can even be paid on line.
If a student is absent a day, he or she can find out what went on in class that day from Schoology. Teachers usually put worksheets and future assignments on the website, and students can access those sites with little trouble.
While some might argue all the technology is a distraction to students in class, Martens pointed out distracted students have always been with us. What has changed is the way it looks or appears.
“We could have students staring at us but not really engaging intellectually, where now that device makes their distraction or inattentiveness much more visible,” Martens said. “Now they become involved with the device as opposed to sitting there ‘thinking’ or ‘daydreaming.’”
Martens said the message he would like parents and the public to hear is Sauk Rapids-Rice Schools offers a fantastic opportunity to lots of different students to engage in their passions, get a great education in a variety of ways and still meet the expectations of the state and society. They will be prepared to move on and continue exploration.
Martens said, “This is, for many of them, their last chance to try things out for free with few significant downsides. Now is the time to explore and take advantage of the opportunities.”
