Hello,
Over the past several weeks, we have been struggling with difficult student behaviors in our buildings, particularly in the Red Lake Secondary Complex. Behavioral referrals are up compared to last year at this time, and behaviors related to fighting and assaults have been a great concern to all of us.
Red Lake School District is not alone in experiencing increases in discipline referrals and difficult behaviors. Throughout Minnesota and the rest of the country, school leaders and staff are struggling with what is being referred to as Post-COVID mental health, SEL, and other dysfunctional behaviors coming from the community into our schools. I have been listening to the concerns of teachers, education support staff and others who have shared their thoughts with me.
We are working on ways to address and reduce these unacceptable behaviors. While some of these strategies will take time to start working, I believe we will see improvements soon. Just this week, district leaders met with tribal council members and many community members at Oshkiimaajitahdah (New Beginnings) in Redby to discuss behavioral issues and to brainstorm ways the tribe and community can support us as we work to maintain a safe and orderly climate in our schools.
I hope one of the outcomes of these meetings will be more support in the form of mental health and counseling, culturally-based mentoring programs, and stricter codes that will help the school district enforce disciplinary outcomes. We are looking forward to seeing more elders and community members volunteering in our buildings to help guide and mentor students in a proactive manner in order to reduce and prevent behavioral issues.
In our schools, we are all working very hard to address these many behavioral issues in our schools. I am also thankful for the support from our community. I am very pleased that the Tribe and our community members are offering their support for us in the school district. I am looking forward to seeing improvements in behaviors as a direct result of this collaboration.
Thank you!
Tim Lutz