District Dialogue

Hawthorne Elementary, home of the Huskies, was Monday evening's School Spotlight! Principal Stephanie Jones updated the school board on all the great things happening at the north-central elementary school. Check out the presentation below to see for yourself!

The Sioux Falls School Board was presented with an ALL Award from the Associated School Board of South Dakota (ASBSD) at Monday evening's meeting. This award recognizes the time, effort, commitment, and leadership put forth by board members. They have earned this award because of their dedicated participation in activities, board development and training, and demonstrated leadership at various areas and levels throughout the 2022-23 school year. Thank you, members of the School Board, for all you do!

The initial fall enrollment report shows enrollment numbers are up slightly compared to the 2022-2023 school year. As of the end of the day of the fourth day of school, there are 24,046 students enrolled in the Sioux Falls School District K-12th grade - 90 more than this time last year.

Click below to view the full report.

Allison Struck, executive director of the Sioux Falls Public Schools Education Foundation, gave an update at Monday evening's School Board meeting. The Education Foundation is celebrating their 15 year anniversary this month! They are asking people to donate $15 on September 15th to help fund all the important work they do. Allison highlighted many of the important milestones the EF has achieved in their 15 years, and they are all detailed in the report below.

The arts are an essential part of a complete education, no matter if it happens in the home, school, or community. Students of all ages—from kindergarten to college to creative aging programs—benefit from artistic learning, innovative thinking, and creativity. Celebrating National Arts in Education Week is a way to recognize this impact and share the message with friends, family, and communities. As we know, arts learning can improve students' motivation, concentration, confidence, teamwork, and so much more.

Thank you to all of the amazing arts educators in the Sioux Falls School District!

Calling all area teachers, including childcare providers — the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation wants to help bring your innovative ideas for classroom projects to life through our Excellence in Education grantmaking initiative. Classroom teachers from all grade levels in Lincoln, McCook, Minnehaha, and Turner counties are eligible to apply for classroom grants.

Now in its 32nd year, the Excellence in Education initiative offers grants to teachers who have creative and innovative ideas for classroom projects. Since the program began, hundreds of programs and activities designed by teachers throughout the Sioux Falls area have received grant funding, enriching educational experiences for students.

Proposals must be received by midnight on Saturday, September 30th, 2023.

SHINE stands for Scholarship, Honors, Innovation, Networking and Exceptionalism. We’re looking for stories we can tell about high school seniors, any-age students, staff (yes, you can and should absolutely fill out this form for yourself!), projects and programs. Have a new partnership that is benefitting the classroom? Win a grant you think the world should know about? Get nominated for or receive a state-wide, regional or national honor? Know a senior stand-out on a team, in the fine arts arena, or in the classroom? How about younger students who are leading by example, making giving to charity a priority, or are making the most of a bad situation? Should a program or portion of your school be highlighted? What about some current projects: experiments, field trips, new collaborative lessons?

Send your suggestions today, and keep this in mind for the days, weeks and months ahead!

Imagine Solutions Conference is a nationally known thought leader conference that brings world-class visionaries to share ideas on today's most relevant issues. The conference offers an impressive speaker lineup in topics, such as Science and Technology, Biodiversity, Arts, and much more. We are excited to provide Sioux Falls School District teachers the opportunity to attend this year's conference virtually. Registered attendees will receive a link to the recorded videos in late May of 2023.

This is a small way that we can show our appreciation for all you do for our students.

• All registered teachers will be provided a link to the conference videos from the Sioux Falls School District in late May until October 15.


• Each video is approximately 19-25 minutes in length and can be viewed 24/7.


• All registered teachers qualify for 5 hours of professional development for registering and completing a brief survey after watching all of the videos.

Values are timeless guides to how we live, work, speak.

How can values make your service great?

Let’s say your customer isn’t happy with something, and they bring the problem to you. Whatever the complaint, optimism makes a very real difference because it means you believe you can make a difference, and that you can help every customer. That makes them feel better immediately.

Gratitude changes us and those who receive it. It helps us feel more joy in our work. Appreciating customers and co-workers and community members goes a long ways in helping them feel that they can know, like and trust you and your school.

When we serve with patience, we ARE patient! And have you ever heard anyone at a dinner table criticize their parent for being patient with them??? It always requires patience to deal with people who aren’t like us, because, well, WE ARE PEOPLE!!!!

We’re complicated. But know this: your patience to a customer says something special: “You’re worth it!”

Remember, the Service Compass is the set of values that guide us, and when we become intentional about values, they bring out the best in us, which, in turn, brings out the best in those we serve.

• Click the link below to register for Sand Creek EAP’s live webinars.

  • Wednesday, September 13th - 12:30pm - 1:30pm - Cultural Myths in Media: Fact or Fiction
  • Wednesday, October 11th - 12:30pm - 1:30pm - Empowering Your Influence
  • Wednesday, November 8th - 12:30pm - 1:30pm - Competent Leadership
  • Wednesday, December 13th - 12:30pm - 1:30pm - Personal Fitness for Life

Wellness Program Guides will be mailed out to employees in the next few weeks for those who had medical insurance as of July 1st, 2023.

Employees who had their insurance start after July 1st, 2023 will receive their Wellness Program Guide in the next couple of months.

How Do I Get Started?

1. Go to https://hmchwwellness.com/SFSD
2. Click the “Sign Up” icon
3. The Participant Sign Up window will appear, and you will need to enter:
• Last Name
• Date of Birth
• Last four digits of your SSN

IMPORTANT: Please sign up using your own last name, date of birth, and social security number, even if you are not the primary on the health plan.

2023-2024 Preventative Care Form

Questions about the Wellness Program? Email benefits.sfsd@k12.sd.us.

Sioux Falls School District is inviting you to participate in Wondr, a digital health program helping people to lose weight and improve their whole health. And it’s available to you at no cost, if eligible.*

Looking for something simple to help you look and feel your best for the rest of your life? Wondr makes it easy for you. There are no strict diets, calorie counting, or exercise equipment needed. It's a straightforward, skills-based solution that provides simple, sustainable, life-long results.

Plus, the program’s available 24/7 through the mobile app and online community, WondrLink, where you can access curriculum and connect with online health coaches and participants anytime, anywhere.

Space is limited.

Learn more at https://www.wondrhealth.com/SFSD

Apply between 9/4/2023 – 9/17/2023

The program begins October 2nd!