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Law Enforcement Program Grows
Iris Reyes Mijares has driven thousands of miles in the past few years in pursuit of her dream of becoming a law enforcement officer. The Riverland Community College student and 2020 Northfield High School alumna is excited that other students from Northfield and the surrounding area can now benefit from a more convenient local option: […]

Teachers Pursue Training in Science of Reading
More than 50 teachers and staff members from the Northfield Public Schools have signed up for an intensive training that district officials describe as a “game-changer” for teaching early learners how to read. The Minnesota LETRS Science of Reading Professional Learning Courses provide 144 hours of instruction in how to teach reading skills based on […]

Family Mastery Kits Provide Extra Reading ‘Scoop’
All first- and second-grade students in the Northfield Public Schools now have access to reading kits that help them decode words, practice fluency, and master other literacy skills they need to become confident readers. The Collaborative Classroom Curriculum family mastery kits were piloted two years ago with first-graders at Bridgewater Elementary School, using funding through […]

Northfield Childcare Partnership Seeks Entrepreneurs
Three Rivers Community Action has announced a new family childcare owner initiative at the Northfield Community Resource Center (NCRC), located at 1651 Jefferson Parkway. Together with partners Healthy Community Initiative, Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, and Families First of Minnesota, Three Rivers is working to address unmet childcare needs in the Northfield community. Using a new […]
Harlem Children’s Zone Healthy Ways™ Program Launches First Site in Rice County, Minnesota
Healthy Ways champions healthy habits and lifestyles for children and families by providing educational and fun nutrition and physical activity programming Diego Calvario Bravo hadn’t considered a career in health until his junior year at Northfield High School. That’s when he injured his knee, and the prescribed physical therapy sessions introduced him to the world […]

District’s New Strategic Plan Aligns with Northfield Promise Benchmarks
The Board of Directors of the Northfield Public Schools has adopted a new strategic plan that aligns with the Northfield Promise benchmarks. At its last regular meeting of 2021, on December 13, the board approved “Reaching Out, Reaching Up,” a plan that presents a vision for what the district aims to achieve, includes strategic commitments […]

Students and Staff Celebrate First-Generation Week
As a child growing up in Florida, Marckileine Legros expected she would go to college one day. But her path to higher education wasn’t guaranteed. Her own determination, her family’s support, and the assistance of a program for college-bound students from disadvantaged backgrounds helped her navigate the many challenges of being the first person in […]

Translation App Engages Families in Student Learning
Regular communication between teachers and families is vital to student success, but even during ideal circumstances, it has its challenges. Throw in a pandemic, periods of hybrid and online learning, and multiple languages spoken by families within the district, and the challenges of effective communication are compounded. But a new translation platform used by Northfield […]
Program Expands College Opportunities at High School
More than 100 Northfield High School students managed to attend both high school and college last year, without leaving their regular classrooms. How did they do it? Through a new pilot partnership between the high school and Minnesota State University, Mankato. The concurrent enrollment pilot program allowed 108 students to take classes from Northfield High […]

TORCH Summer Scholars Build Community
Given the variety of experiences offered during the four-week TORCH Summer Scholars Program, Katie Lovrien expected that the participating middle school students would find something to interest them. But she didn’t expect a humble pond to create such a splash. During a visit to the River Bend Nature Center in Faribault in mid-July, students were […]