Plan to guide next five years at Henning School

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

The Henning School Board received its first glimpse of a draft report that could guide the school district for at least the next five years.

During its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 16, the Henning School Board received a draft copy of an expansive strategic plan for Henning School. The planning process began back in September with surveys taken by community members, staff members and students, which were then pared down by a task force and representatives from True North Consulting Partners. The strategic plan is geared for the time period from 2025-30 and a key aspect of the plan was gaining input from stakeholders to identify the strategic priorities to guide the development of the strategic plan. 

As part of the strategic plan the school district enlisted the help of students in grades 6-12 who took an online survey and held listening sessions in the music room where the students listed 3-5 strengths of the school district and 3-5 things that could be improved upon.

Among the highlights of the strengths from students were free lunches, good core classes, good teachers, sports programs, second chance breakfast, having all k-12 students in one building and air conditioning. 

Among the weaknesses identified by students were a lack of elective classes, need for additional college and advanced placement classes, more gym space, a new cafeteria separate from the gym, not allowing water bottles in class, better wifi, better lunch/breakfast, a soccer team and updated spaces. 

A total of 17 staff members also weighed in on the strengths and weaknesses of the school district which identified its strengths as class sizes, community spirit, staff longevity, extra curricular activities, small enough to know everyone and good discipline.

The weaknesses identified included the need for more electives and advanced classes, life skills classes/job ready classes, more space, separate commons/cafeteria and too many students taking online and out of building classes. 

An online survey was taken by community stakeholders received 146 respondents to community/parent/guardian survey, as well as 173 students and 34 staff members that also showed similar responses that small class sizes and individual attention, as well as the staff being among the positives, while facilities and infrastructure as well as need for expanded academic learning opportunities being among the items identified as a need.

All of the input was then gathered and discussed by the task force members and whittled down to five main areas. Within each area are high-level draft areas for the school district to focus on during the strategic plan. The five goals and focus areas include:

Student and readiness for the future focus area

• Expand elective, career/technical and advanced coursework opportunities

• Increase access to college credit and hands-on/project-based learning

• Strength life skills/job readiness programs

• Ensure alignment of curriculum with workforce needs and postsecondary expectations

High-quality teaching and supportive learning environment

• Attract and retain excellent teachers and support staff

• Invest in professional development and staff wellbeing

• Provide student-centered support

• Maintain a positive and safe school culture.

Safe, modern and adequate facilities 

• Improve and expand physical spaces (cafeteria, gyms, labs, locker rooms)

• Update technology, equipment and instructional spaces

• Prioritize safety and security

• Ensure facilities support both academics and extracurriculars

Student wellbeing, engagement and belonging

• Expand counseling, SEL and wellness support

• Provide balanced rules and meaningful privileges

• Offer more clubs, activities and enrichment opportunities

• Strengthen a culture of connection and respect

District sustainability, community connection, trust and fiscal 

responsibility. 

• Strengthen communication and engagement with families and community

• Build partnerships with local businesses and organizations

• Increase transparency in decision-making and planning

• Practice sound financial management to maintain sustainability and build trust

• Insure the long-term future of Henning Public Schools

The proposal brought before the school board on December 16 was just a draft proposal and more work will be done with the teachers and staff members to identify action items and ideas on how some of the common themes can be achieved at Henning School. 

“The next steps, as we proceed here, is I am really a strong believer in order to develop the goals for our strategic plan we need to have our teachers on board with this,” said Henning School Superintendent Melissa Sparks. “So at the January in-service we are going to be spending 1 1/2 hours working with the teachers to give us ideas on how they want to develop goals under these priorities.”

After the January in-service the thought leaders will work with the ideas developed by the teachers and come up with a list of goals and priories for the school district.

  Sparks said the process is rather in-depth and will take some time to complete, but the goal is to have this plan ready to give to school board members in April.

In other news

• Accepted the following donations: $100 from Alexia Krebs as part of the adopt-a-classroom project, $1,500 from the Minnesota FFA Foundation 2025 Legacy Club Grant Program for the Henning FFA, $85 from Richard O. Johnson and Bill Goepferd for talent show prizes, $1,800 from Lara Bergstrom to the senior class, $20 from Joann Reineke for a donation to Stephanie Jorgenson’s class and a $10 to the senior class as opposed to purchasing fudge from the senior class fundraiser. 

• Accepted the resignation of Tawni Thorson as a paraprofessional.

• Approved the hiring of Michele Thalmann as a paraprofessional.

• Heard that several people commented about the new floor covering that was placed down for the holiday concerts during the month of December. The floor covering was purchased to help to protect the new gym floor during concerts and community events when chairs will be placed on the floor. 

• Heard the Math League, under the direction of Scott Hart, still maintains first place in the section after two contests. In the second contest Henning School had three students finishing in the top 10 individually: Brayden Anderson (fifth), Kale Misegades (sixth) and Easton Misegades (seventh).

• Henning Principal Thomas Williams commended the work done by Ethan Severson who has put in a lot of volunteer time to improve the sound system in the school gym. The school board said the sound system has dramatically improved since Severson has begun working with the speakers and testing the sound system. 

• Heard the Thanksgiving meal was a success at the school, which provided students a traditional Thanksgiving meal for lunch prior to the holiday break. 

• Heard the enrollment has increased by one student in grades K-12 to 362 students with another 42 students enrolled in the preschool program. 

• Approved the final 2025 levy, payable in 2026 tax levy, in the amount of $2,162,941.93, which is an increase of 1.11 percent over last year. 

• Approved holding the reorganization meeting on January 5, 2026 at 6:30 p.m. 

• Heard the negotiations are still ongoing with the Henning Education Association for a new two-year teaching contract.