Our Program on Tuesday, April 18th was Jeff Erickson giving us an update on Minnetonka High School. He was introduced by proud Mother-in -Law Linda Gustafson. Principal Jeff Erickson started by thanking our club for our work and also Don Draayer and the other superintendents that he has worke
d with in our school district. He is very appreciative of the support of the community and that of the student body and staff at Minnetonka High School.
d with in our school district. He is very appreciative of the support of the community and that of the student body and staff at Minnetonka High School.Jeff started by talking about the goals of the graduating class and that it has been a matter of connecting the dots. At MHS the central goals are to incorporate and “Develop a strong sense of well-being, empathy and respect for others through deep relationships and a strong sense of belonging. To Engage in learning that encompasses all strands of the Framework across all courses and part of this includes; Work with an outside audience and mentor in an area of passion in an authentic setting. This means offering “Experience in higher level coursework including AP/IB and beyond” and to, “Take at least one online course.” Finally the goal is to encourage young people to Participate in clubs, athletics and arts and develop their leadership skills to serve the greater good.
Next Jeff spoke about the Minnetonka Experience that consists of three concentric circles. At the center are the students surrounded by culture of Learning and support services. Then surrounding those are all the other opportunity to experience the four A’s; activities, academics, athletics and the arts. So, put together a strong authentic education with strong relationship leads to successful well rounded students. Jeff noted that in spite of Covid MHS had 32 Merit Scholars this year that scored 36 on their ACT’s which is a perfect score and a record for MHS and so education continued under unprecedented circumstances.
Principal Erickson outlined all of the great programs that stress academic excellence and real life experience to improve the learning experience at MHS. This includes the Vantage Program that combines academic learning tied to business exposure; the Momentum Auto Shop Program with hands on exposure leading to certification; the Building Construction Program where they actually build Ice Castles fish houses; and new this year the Aviation Part I Program with parts II & III to come in 2024. The hope is that the Aviation exposure and education will lead to pre-flight certification when the entire program is developed. He also talked about the Rotary Interact Club, MHS Food Shelf, and STRIVE that provide students with meaningful mentorships with staff and outside groups and individuals.