The partnership between public and private schools in Rice Lake fosters a strong sense of community that benefits all students. Pictured are St. Joseph fifth-grade students Evelyn Birkseth and Morgan Orr. (Submitted photo)
Emily Hagen
St. Joseph Catholic School, Rice Lake
Over the past four years of being a part of St. Joseph Catholic School as the director of Marketing and Advancement, I’ve witnessed something remarkable, hopeful and pleasantly surprising. The Rice Lake Area School District and St. Joseph Catholic School collaborate in numerous areas, and there is a strong sense of teamwork and community pride in working together.
In my eight years of working in Catholic schools, this is highly unusual. Typically, public and private schools in a community aim to “play nice in the sandbox,” but in reality, they don’t actively seek ways to support each other. Schools can tend to take a “hands-off” approach with one another. This often creates a divide between public and private schools, with students, parents and teachers drawing a line between one another. It is important to recognize that public and private schools are essential for the community and both do excellent work in educating our youth. It is a gift to provide both public and private school choices to meet the needs of families and students in the Rice Lake area. There is a strong sense of community and pride in belonging together as St. Joseph Spartans but there is also a lot of pride in being a future Rice Lake Warrior.
In an interview, Christie Nielsen, the athletic director and middle school mathematics teacher, explained that the partnership between SJS and RLASD has been extremely beneficial for students. The strong relationship between the two schools has enabled the introduction of new athletic programs for middle school students, such as tennis and archery. These programs were made possible with the help of public school coaches and volunteer parents.
Additionally, the robotics program, now in its third year, is led by Jeremy (Pete) Peterson, a public school teacher and SJS parent. The robotics program at SJS served as a pilot and paved the way for a similar program at Rice Lake Middle School. High school students from Rice Lake dedicated their weekday evenings to support the SJS robotics program as assistant coaches, providing SJS students with exposure to students from the Rice Lake school district. When students at SJS expressed an interest in forming a golf team, Nielsen wasted no time in making it happen, even though RLASD did not have a golf team at the time. Both schools collaborated to create a unified team so that local students could participate.
A similar collaboration took place with the archery program, initiated by a volunteer parent associated with Rice Lake Area School District, which was later extended to SJS with the help of a public school coach. The Rice Lake Area School District’s willingness to allow SJS students to participate in athletics has provided students with valuable experiences while still having the opportunity to attend St. Joseph School. This collaborative approach has increased cooperation and resource sharing, benefiting our students, families, and teachers.
Another remarkable way schools collaborate for the benefit of students is at the end of each school year. The RLASD buses its high school graduates to all the elementary schools, including SJS, to parade through the hallways. This allows our alumni to revisit their old classrooms and see their former teachers before graduation. It’s a proud moment for students and teachers to see their former students ready for graduation. Additionally, high school students visit SJS throughout the year to parade through the halls on their way to a state tournament. These moments become cherished memories for all students, filled with excitement, cheering and ample support for our high school students who not too long ago were kindergarten students at SJS. These activities are made possible by the RLASD, and for this, we are very grateful, especially to our graduates and current students who benefit from these experiences. One day our kindergarteners will also be high school graduates at RLHS, and working together demonstrates unity and helps all students look forward to graduation and then going on to Rice Lake High School.
One significant way that our schools collaborate is through our special education department. Most private schools wouldn’t be able to support a special education program or have the resources to fund it. St. Joseph School students and families have the incredible opportunity to benefit from this resource at SJS. Jen Nelson, a Special Education teacher, is employed by the Rice Lake School District to support SJS students who need additional support but she supports SJS exclusively. Mrs. Nelson has a very close working relationship with the public school Special Education team to ensure students receive the best learning resources to succeed.
This collaboration provides many resources for Mrs. Nelson to utilize in her SJS classroom. St. Joseph School supports Mrs. Nelson in any additional hours needed during the week to support students. With the growing enrollment and funding from the Special Needs Scholarship Program, SJS was able to hire another part-time special education teacher, Mrs. Jodi Seyer, who works closely with Mrs. Nelson. While St. Joseph School isn’t able to serve all special education needs, we do have many more resources to support this classroom because of the support from the Rice Lake Area School District.
Through these multiple collaborations, our students, teachers and families benefit. Our community also benefits through a feeling of goodwill towards one another. Lending a helping hand is what it means to be a Christian, which is essential to our mission at St. Joseph School and it is a real gift to have that same helping hand returned to SJS from the district. Thank you, Randy Drost, superintendent of RLASD, and all principals and teachers at the district for shining your light on the greater school community for the benefit and future of education for all students in the area.
Emily Hagen is the Director of Marketing and Advancement for St. Joseph Catholic School, Rice Lake.
