'The place to be'

Students and staff members welcomed the state’s top educator to Buffalo High School on Monday, Oct. 19, and Commissioner Willie Jett felt right at home.

The Minnesota Department of Education leader stopped by to tour classrooms, interact with students, and connect with teachers and administrators. 

Afterward, impressed by the variety of classes, the calm atmosphere, the absence of cell phone distractions, articulate students and engaging instructors, Jett recalled his own efforts throughout his career to create a culture of belonging.

“For a kid, parent or staff member, this feels like the place to be,” Jett told BHS Principal Mark Mischke at the conclusion of his visit. “There’s a place for everybody here. My children could be here. It felt like home.”

Jett took time to visit Phoenix Learning Center, where students shared about how the school-within-a-school had helped them find their place socially and academically. He spoke with Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) students about why they entered the program and how it had developed their academic skills just before they boarded a bus for a tour of the University of Minnesota. 

Later, Jett stopped by a REACH classroom, where students shared about their Fall Break activities and academic goals. He learned that Buffalo High School now offers 40 College in the Schools courses, and visited with the CIS World History class before finishing his tour in the Unified Science classroom, where students with and without disabilities were engaged in a lesson about how the earth’s tilted axis creates the seasons.

Jett was joined during his tour by Superintendent Scott Thielman and Director of Special Services Amy Ernst, who shared additional points of pride among their staff and programs.

“I’ve been other places,” Jett said, referring to his and Dr. Thielman’s shared experience of working as educators in different districts and states. “This just feels right.”