Lakeville Superintendent Looks to Voters to Rescue 'Extremely Lean' School District

Superintendent Lisa Snyder will warn voters that unless they vote in more funding in a fall levy, the district will be forced to make major curricular cuts.

With a projected $5 million to $7 million budget deficit for the 2014-15 school year, Lisa Snyder, the superintendent of Lakeville Area Public Schools, feels that District 194's financial situation is dire, and she's appealing directly to voters, asking for more money. "We want to talk to the community about our financial situation and our vision for the future," she told the Pioneer Press. "We need their support to get there." The district is considering a levy request in the fall that would ask voters to pay up to $500 more per pupil. So Snyder's embarking on a small speaking tour, which will include two "State of the Schools" addresses and speeches to local clubs and community groups, the Pioneer Press is reporting. Without more money, …

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From the Superintendent

Lakeville Superintendent Responds to Newtown Connecticut School Shooting

Dr. Snyder: "I have asked all of our principals to review their plans and procedures this week and send me recommendations for improvement."

Editor's note: The following is a letter to Lakeville Area Public School parents, students and families, from Superintendent Dr. Lisa Snyder addressing the tragic events at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, on Friday. Visit our sister Patch in Newtown for local coverage of the tragedy. Dear ISD 194 Community: It is with disbelief and a saddened heart that I write to you today. By now all of you have heard about the tragic events that occurred yesterday at an elementary school in Connecticut. I want to personally assure you that safety is our absolute number one priority. Although we have safety plans and regular drills in place, there is always room for improvement. To that end, I have asked all of our principals to review their…

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Board Pleased: $7,000 Bonus For Lakeville Schools' Superintendent

Superintendent Dr. Lisa Snyder's performance review for the 2011-12 school year was a good one.

Editor's note: This story originally stated Superintendent Dr. Lisa Snyder was given a $7,000 raise as compensation for her performance review. That's incorrect. The $7,000 given to her was a bonus, not a salary increase. Patch regrests the error. Superintendent Dr. Lisa Snyder was given a glowing review by the Lakeville School Board earlier this month. As a result of the good evaluation, the district announced Snyder would received $7,000 in performance compensation—a bonus of sorts. Snyder's base salary is $163,700. Snyder began her service with the Lakeville schools in August 2011 and her contract was considered groundbreaking in that it removed severance provisions and ten years of retiree health insurance benefits that previous …

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Lakeville Schools' Technology Grants to be Rolled Out Today

A total of 25 grants went to 82 teachers across the district who will be among the first to test Lakeville Area Public Schools' new $2.1 million approach to technology.

The Lakeville Area Public School District's robust $2.1 million technology push is about to get very real for more than 80 teachers, and thousands of Lakeville's students. The district announced the 82 teachers who will received a total of 25 iLearn 194 grants on Jan. 31, which will provide digital tools for students, such as iPods and iPads, as well as digital training for teachers. The project is a collaboration with Apple and many teachers are teaming with others on the project. The entire iLearn 194 project's goal is to increase student motivation and engagement, cultivating innovative learning and thinking and improving career-readiness through use of technology many people use at home. "When educators use digital tools for …

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Lakeville Government, Schools Uncertain About Social Media

The city and school district have begun to explore facebook, twitter and blogs, but are unsure whether or not they "like" social media.

Despite the overwhelming popularity Facebook and Twitter, Lakeville’s government and schools are hesitant to jump on board the social media bandwagon. The city of Lakeville established a Facebook page for Lakeville Liquors last year.  With 489 “likes,” the page has significant user engagement.  However, the possibility of expanding Lakeville's social media presence has not been revisited by the City Council. “There’s a lot of things to think about,” said Sue Palm, communications manager for the city. Increasing Lakeville’s presence on Facebook would require evaluating personnel time requirements, profile content and whether to create a general “City of Lakeville” page or separate pages divided by department. Palm stated that the council is…

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Lakeville Schools Using State Funding to Help Technology Push

District 194 will also repurpose and reallocate existing funds to cover the cost of technology project iLearn 194.

The Lakeville Area Public School District is currently in the process of implementing the "iLearn 194 Technology Initiative," a project that will increase and improve learning through technology in Lakeville's schools. “This generation is very digital,” said Superintendent Dr. Lisa Snyder. “That’s the world we live in now.” Over the next 18 months, classrooms and teachers who have received district grants will pioneer the tools and resources included in iLearn 194. An estimated 50 classrooms acorss the district will be among the first to test Lakeville’s new approach to technology. Snyder said the district has $2.1 million in funding for the 2012-2014 Early Implementers Program. A large portion of this revenue comes from the $1.1 million …

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Jim Storms

9:51 am on Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Ipads are currently at the peak of Gartner Research's(the leading IT Research company in the world) HYPE CURVE. Following the peak of hype most, if not all major technologies fall into a trough of disullusionment, frustration, and lack of value. Some recover, but some don't. Districts such as lakeville have no understanding of IT Governance which research has shown produces a 20% return on …   more ›

2011 Year in Review: Emotional Year for Lakeville Schools

Here's a look at some of the school news that made headlines in 2011.

It's hard to deny that 2011 was a year of upheaval for the Lakeville Area Public School District. Following the failure of a levy referendum in November of 2010, district officials knew there would be major changes in store for 2011 as the board was tasked with trimming millions of dollars from its budget. Few knew or even expected what the consequences would entail, and a winter packed with meetings, proposals, and tears captivated the community for months. It can also be argued that the budget process wasn't the biggest story of 2011. On March 15, Superintendent Gary Amoroso announced in an email to district staff that he would resign on July 1. The surprise announcement made his January promise of "systemic change" all the more …

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Lakeville Schools Pilot Program Brings Digital Teaching to the Classroom

Superintendent Dr. Lisa Snyder hopes the program leads to a digital transition that can spread to the all of the district's 11,000 students.

Lakeville's New Superintendent Stresses Communication and Collaboration

The superintendent believes it is important to involve school district staff and stakeholders.

Dr. Lisa Snyder began her duties as superintendent for Lakeville Area Public Schools on Aug. 15.  Since then, she has set out on a mission to engage her community in conversation, discussing the school district with everyone from parents to custodians. Snyder is the successor of Dr. Gary Amoroso, who resigned July 1. “The number one most important thing is building trust in the organization,” said Snyder. In order to build that trust, Snyder is taking a collaborative approach to the position.  Since assuming the role of superintendent, Snyder has doubled the size of her cabinet from four members to eight. She has also created a shared leadership team of staff members from across the district, which includes everyone from secretaries to …

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New Lakeville Superintendent Sets Tone For District

Dr. Lisa Snyder, who took over as the Lakeville school district’s leader just six weeks ago, spoke candidly about ‘opportunities’ to fix what ails the system at the State of the Schools address on Wednesday.

In what amounted to one of the first public opportunities to talk in depth about the Lakeville school district, new Superintendent Dr. Lisa Snyder set a new and clear tone for the district. “Part of what I’m here for is to help this fine organization go from good to great,” she said. “And while we have reason to be proud, it’s also clear we need to look at education differently.” Snyder spoke for nearly 45 minutes to the roughly 200 Lakeville Area of Chamber of Commerce guests on hand at Chart House restaurant for the annual State of the School luncheon on Wednesday afternoon. She was happy to lay out the many areas the Lakeville Area Public School District are doing things right, but in a departure from speeches from her predecessor, …

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