The Minnetonka School Board and District Administration believe a commitment to world-class, child-centered excellence strengthens Minnetonka Public Schools. The well-being and belonging of our students are continuing priorities for both families and for the District.

Well-being is defined here as the positive sense of self and belonging that is felt when one’s cognitive, emotional, social and physical needs are being met.

Belonging is defined here as a strong feeling of positive connection, acceptance and importance as a member of the Minnetonka Schools’ diverse community, including race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, country of origin, ability, and/or socioeconomic status.

Integrating student well-being, connection and belonging efforts ensures all students have the support needed to achieve at their highest potential. The District will continue to foster and promote positive student well-being, connection and belonging efforts and will identify and remove barriers that have a detrimental effect on students’ well-being, connection and sense of belonging. The District will provide an environment for the fair treatment, opportunity and advancement of all students to pursue their highest levels of academic and personal achievement. The Board’s vision for child-centered excellence is the foundation for this work.

The District will provide a working environment for employees that is respectful, supportive and collaborative and will seek ways to increase the support for employees’ well-being, connection and belonging needs.

For the 2026-27 school year, the District will have the following goal action steps:

1. Foster and Maintain a Welcoming, Inclusive and Safe Environment for All Students and Employees: Deepen the implementation of belonging efforts in order to promote a positive school climate and culture. Provide professional learning for staff on best practices to build connections with and among students and each other. Gather student data on an annual basis. Identify, analyze, monitor and respond to student trends and data with attention to identifying and addressing barriers to belonging affecting different student demographic groups. Parent communication regarding belonging efforts will be included as a strategy to support this work.

   1. Principals and directors, along with their staff will present candid reports to the School Board throughout the academic year that include their school’s well-being, connection and belonging efforts, and, as appropriate, outcomes, challenges and barriers.

   2. The District will present a report to the School Board on measures of success related to belonging efforts including available trend data.

   3. On an annual basis, the District will provide an update to the Board on related professional development.

2. Cultivate Social and Emotional Well-being and Implement Best Practices in School–based Mental Health Support: Strengthen students' social and emotional well-being through continued implementation of the MTSS framework, including processes and structures. Advance student awareness and support the diverse developmental, cultural and mental health needs of the student body. Screen students annually to increase identification of students who may need additional support. Monitor the impact of technology on students’ mental health based on research and promising practice, as this work is evolving. Implement the recommendations from the JED Foundation partnership and consider recommendations from the Mental Health advisory committee.

3. Consistently Implement and Communicate Bullying Prevention Efforts: Maintain a high level of student and parent awareness of existing bullying prevention efforts. Monitor the impact of our bullying prevention efforts as measured by student discipline data, student reports and survey data.

   1. The District will update the Board annually on the trend data from student and parent surveys, including efforts taken for consistency in reporting and documentation across schools and programs.

Excellence in student learning and support is a foundational principle guiding the Minnetonka School Board and District Administration in their work. The School Board and District Administration believe that each student is capable of achieving at their highest potential and are committed to work collaboratively with families to support their students’ learning. The continuation of the District’s excellence in teaching and learning will be driven through deep implementation of educational frameworks, strategic programs and instructional technology tools and resources to support student learning. The District will also review students’ career and college readiness, increase opportunities for experiential learning, and measure student readiness outcomes. This focus includes identifying and addressing any gaps in achievement that exist between measured student groups, with attention to predictable outcomes.

For the 2026-27 school year, the District will have the following goal action steps.

1. Ensure All Students Receive Outstanding Instruction: Focus on high-quality, universal instruction in all courses. Leverage teacher collaboration to ensure appropriate use of benchmark and formative assessments, responsive instruction and progress monitoring. Provide staff development throughout the year to address the priority areas identified using student data and teacher feedback. Increase the impact of teacher collaboration by providing consistent administrative guidance and support throughout the school year.

   Continuously monitor the effectiveness of District programming at all levels across curricular areas to ensure the District is meeting the needs of all students, including participation and proportional representation in coursework. Take steps toward providing a continuous improvement process that considers the unique needs of programs that serve students receiving special education services, students learning English, and students participating in Tonka Online.

   The District will present reports to the School Board on the academic progress of students by using available data, disaggregated, as appropriate, that include student performance on standardized assessments, participation in rigorous coursework, and student, staff and parent survey data.

2. Prioritize Student Literacy Improvement Efforts: The District will continue to implement its updated literacy plan, which includes the following elements: Provide training for all teachers on effective practices in foundational and disciplinary reading and writing instruction. Implement Board-approved core and supplemental literacy materials aligned to research-based best practices. Ensure all students are screened for barriers to literacy early in the educational process. Monitor student growth throughout the school year and year-over-year to determine if our core instruction, including interventions or acceleration, positively impacts student outcomes.

   The District will report results annually from its standardized assessments, including from MCA and NWEA and student growth and gaps, disaggregated, as appropriate.

3. Implement Second Year of New Middle School Programming: Continue implementation of the new middle school program, including adjustments made based on teacher, student and parent feedback. Continue to monitor implementation to ensure the program meets District goals and is financially sustainable.

   The District will provide a report to the Board that will include an implementation update and an evaluation of the changes and recommendations for the following school year.

4. Explore Options to Increase Participation in Experiential Learning Programs: Pursue efforts to ensure all students graduate with tangible, “real skills for real life” and that they are future ready.

   The District will provide an annual update to the Board on efforts to expand experiential learning and the measurement of Real Skills.

5. Continue to Ensure that Instructional Use of Technology, Tools, and Resources are Intentional and Enhance Instruction and Student Learning.

   1. The District will continue to implement best practices around intentionality of technology use.

   2. The District will examine, assess, and determine whether any adjustments may be considered regarding the uses of screen time for students, particularly for our youngest learners. Teachers will be provided with any guidance and/or tools needed to adapt to adjustments made in this area.

   3. The District will monitor evidence-based practices in the incorporation of AI technology and student cell phone access at school, making adjustments and communicating with students, parents and staff, as appropriate.

   4. The District will continue to educate students and families about essential skills for responsible digital citizenship, including technology-related measures required by the State of Minnesota.

   5. The District will provide updates to the Board regarding this work.

The District will strive for excellence in all levels of leadership and organizational support using the following priorities:

For the 2026-27 school year, this will include the following goal action steps:

1. Ensure Long-Term Financial Stability and Sustainability for the District: Monitor the financial forecast for future school years and recommended adjustments that will improve short-term and long-term financial stability, to include the following items: Adjustments to enrollment, reductions to expenditures, advocacy for legislative changes that will address funding shortfalls, the exploration and possible implementation of a perpetual endowment trust fund, and other solutions that will have a positive impact on the District’s financial situation. The District will take steps to ensure the unassigned fund balance remains stable.

   1. The District will provide periodic updates to the Board on the District’s finances, including recommendations to improve financial stability.

   The District will continue to actively involve community members in legislative advocacy efforts, including through the Community Action for Student Education (CASE) committee.

2. Ensure Facilities Meet the Current and Future Needs of Students: The District will implement the bonding, planning and construction of the projects that were approved by the public with the passage of the 2025 building bond referendum.

   The District will provide regular updates on the status of bond-related construction.

3. Recruit and Retain the Highest Quality Staff: Continue to focus on recruitment and retention of exceptional teachers and staff. Identify strategies to create a representative workforce of staff capable of meeting the cultural and academic needs of our diverse student body and who will create a learning environment for all students to be successful.

   1. The District will provide an annual School Board update and presentation on staffing, recruitment and retention, as well as information on strategies used for recruitment. It will also provide a summary of exit interviews.

4. Build Strong Relationships with Stakeholders: Inform and engage District constituents, including students, families, staff and the broad community through outreach and engagement opportunities and efforts. To fulfill this expectation and in response to community input, the District commits to the following actions:

   1. The District will continue to create and support a variety of engagement opportunities for community members to connect with District leadership and the Board. The School Board will consider piloting new engagement opportunities and will share its findings publicly.

   2. The District will survey residents, families, students and staff regarding their experiences and sentiments about the District, including their access to information about the District and will develop strategies to address any challenges revealed by the data.

   3. The District will present an annual communications report to the School Board including community perception data related to the trust the community has with the Board.

   4. The District will assess and adapt the model for providing student voice to the School Board. In the spring, there will be a Board update and discussion on this pilot regarding the impact.

   5. Districtwide committees, including the Calendar Committee, Teaching and Learning Advisory Committee, Finance Advisory Committee, Mental Health Advisory Committee and Community Education Advisory Committee, will each present an update to the Board on the committee’s charge and current work.

   6. On an annual basis, the School Board will reflect on the progress of School Board goals, considering student, staff and parent input and feedback, as well as student outcomes in academic and non-academic areas to determine priority areas for new and continuing School Board goals for the District. The Board will provide public updates on this process routinely at Board meetings.

5. Monitor the Delivery of High Quality Meals: The District will monitor the delivery of high quality meals at every site, within the parameters of the Federal Nutrition Guidance.

   1. The District will update the Board during the year on Nutrition Services meal delivery and student feedback.