Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Forest Lake Middle School welcomes sixth graders, expands interventions and launches Best Buddies chapter
Loading...
Summary
Principal Miller reported that the middle school added sixth grade this year, welcomed roughly 900 new students and more than 30 new staff, expanded flex time and interventions funded by an ATSYS grant, and launched a Best Buddies chapter to build inclusion.
Forest Lake Area Middle School leaders told the board on Oct. 2 that the building has added sixth grade this year, bringing roughly 900 new students into the school and more than 30 new staff members. Principal Ben Miller said the transition has been “energizing” and staff have focused on onboarding and building student connections to support academic and social success.
Miller described several program changes: the school has implemented diagnostic screening for literacy and math under an ATSYS grant to deliver research‑based interventions through interventionists and classroom staff; expanded flex time to three to four days a week to allow for tutoring, intervention and enrichment; and launched an attendance mentor program that pairs staff with students who struggled with attendance last year.
Miller also introduced Best Buddies, a national nonprofit program the middle school began in spring and expanded this year. Sam Van Hefty and special‑education teacher Melissa Gooder described Best Buddies activities that run during flex time and bring general‑education students together with peers who have intellectual and developmental disabilities. Participants have done cooking and craft activities, team‑building games and a spring “friendship walk” event; the program plans fundraising this year and is registered with Best Buddies Minnesota.
Van Hefty said student leaders take responsibility for planning activities and the program aligns with the school’s PBIS goals to build empathy, engagement and empowerment. Gooder said the chapter recruited both students with disabilities and general‑education peers; the first flex‑time offerings had 11 students with disabilities and 18 peers without disabilities participating.
Principal Miller said the school launched a student announcements team of about 34 students to produce daily announcements and to increase student voice. He said the middle school’s start with sixth grade has gone well and that students are “ready to tackle … deep learning experiences.”
No board actions were required for the reports; board members praised the programs and several asked follow‑up questions about how Best Buddies will scale if participation grows.
