White Bear Lake reports strong fall activities turnout; director cites student belonging as top priority

Brian Peloquin, the White Bear Lake High School activities director, told the School Board of Independent School District 624 that fall activities have strong participation and focus on student belonging. "The theme for the first 60 days...is 'Do I belong here?'" Peloquin said, describing programs aimed at connecting students outside the school day.

Peloquin said freshmen attended two activities fairs this fall to learn about clubs and sports, and that the district already has about 1,100 students registered in at least one activity. He framed an 85% engagement goal as a stretch target based on an annual student survey: "Our goal is 85% of our student body being able to identify a sport, an activity, a club that they are interested in," he said.

The presentation included participation counts and highlights: varsity volleyball had 52 participants with a 17–12 record; girls soccer had 60 participants and reached the section final; boys soccer reported 75 participants; adapted soccer had 17 participants and hosted the state adapted tournament; girls swim and dive had 31 athletes including a state qualifier, Charlotte McIntyre; boys cross country had a state qualifier, Max Pop; football listed about 175 participants and a homecoming game attendance of more than 4,200 people. Peloquin also noted individual recognitions — Kaylee Gieske reached her 2,000th dig in volleyball and coach Mackenzie Leverte was named section coach of the year.

Peloquin described outreach and access measures: the district offers free admission to home events for all high‑school students, has issued about 2,230 student passes this fall, 80 new senior passes, and sold roughly 300 adult passes. The athletics office partnered with local broadcasters and Ritchie Media Group for live streaming; Pelaquin reported 56 streamed games and over 5,000 views through the district feed, and said the high‑school Instagram posts have collectively exceeded 1,300,000 views this fall.

Board members asked about academic recognition and measurement methods for the 85% goal. Peloquin said the district uses a student survey distributed by staff (Russ Reets) to estimate participation and that tracking is complicated because students take part in multiple activities and some clubs do not require formal registration. "We send out a survey every year...we base it off of the results of that survey," he said.

The presentation closed with praise from board members for coaches and staff; Peloquin said the office will continue to promote engagement through winter and spring programs and to highlight student academic and athletic achievements.

The board did not take formal action on the presentation. The next agenda item followed.