Spuddy greeted students at the District Showcase with a big smile and thumbs up. (Photos/Brenda Richman.)

2nd District Showcase draws double the number of kids and families

Nancy Edmonds Hanson

With the start of school just days away, the Moorhead school district went all out Aug. 10 to answer families’ questions and build kids’ excitement for the 2023-24 school year.

The second annual District Showcase drew an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 to the MHS Career Academy over three hours, including 615 students and members of their families, for a smorgasbord of information, from guidance on enrolling newcomers and using the ubiquitous PowerSchool software to a taste of the huge variety of activities available to students from pre-kindergarten through high school – some sponsored by their schools, others run by community volunteers.

The event offered a taste of nearly everything the district has to offer. Participants could talk with reps from district departments like transportation and food services, meet principals and others from every school, and talk with spokesmen and women from a variety of community partnerships, from Clay County Public Health and the Moorhead Legacy Foundation to DARE, ethnic organizations, the Great Plains Food Bank and others. Family Heatlhcare used the Academy’s health education classrooms to conduct free sports physicals.

Each building could share information on its Back to School Night (or Day), PTAC, daily schedules and school supply lists. Data on classes and teacher assignments was also distributed. Families could browse in Spuddy’s Closet for needed cold-weather clothing and backpacks … or  purchase stylish black-and-orange Spud gear at the Academy’s student-operated Spud Store.

The district’s athletic directors were on hand, along with representatives of other youth activity programs – soccer, lacrosse, volleyball and basketball, Moorhead Crush Softball, the Girl Scouts, Just for Kix Dance,

“We want out families to feel good about sending their children into our schools every day,” Lexi Lundberg explained. The district’s literacy and family engagement specialist, now in her third year on staff, brought the idea to the district as a way to not only kick off the coming term – with classes starting Aug. 24 – but to give residents a way to meet and connect the people who will figure large in their offspring’s educational lives.

Each building shared information on its Back to School Night (or Day), PTAC, daily schedules and school supply lists. Class schedules and teacher assignments were also distributed.

“Our goal has been to connect families with their schools – to share the feeling that we’re all Moorhead families, all part of the Moorhead schools community,” she added. “The showcase gave them a chance to put faces to the names they hear about and get firsthand information on what they’re wondering about instead of depending on hearsay. We’re here to support them and encourage them to engage in their children’s education.”