Independent School District 2142

Independent School District 2142 (ISD 2142) is a school district consisting of five schools in Saint Louis County, Minnesota. It is geographically the largest school District in Minnesota at just over 4,000 square miles.

The school district is currently under the operation of Superintendent Steven Sallee, and seven board members, one each for certain districts.

Schools

Traveling north or south, there are no schools in the Eveleth/Virginia area. Three schools are north of Virginia, and the other two to the south. Virginia is also the site of the District Office where Teresa Strong has been superintendent of the district since 2011. The District Office is also home to art displays annually, and is the base of operations for the school board.

School normally starts the day after Labor Day. From 2008–2010 the schools held elementary "meet & greets" the first day. These were discontinued in 2011.

As of September 2012, all five schools are complete.

There have also been former schools such as Alborn, Shaw, and Forbes. The Forbes School is also currently the site of the restaurant Boondocks.

Current schools

• South Ridge (Principal Andrew Bernard)
• Northeast Range (Principal Kelly Engman)
• Cherry School (Principal Scott Hall)
• Northwoods (Principal John Metsa)
• Tower–Soudan (Principal John Metsa)

School Board Members

• Bob Larson 1 (South Ridge)
• Chet Larson 1 (South Ridge)
• Lynette Zupetz 2 (Cherry)
• Dan Manick 2 (Northwoods)
• Nancy Wall Glowaski 1 (Northwoods)
• Gary Rantala 1 (Northeast Range)
• Troy Swanson 2 (Tower–Soudan)
• 1 = Term expires in January 2017
• 2 = Term expires in January 2019

Recent Redistricting

2009 Redistricting Referundem

In 2009, community meetings were held to discuss consolidating schools to prevent the district's dissolution. The result was an option that would close Albrook, Cotton, Cook, and Orr, remodel Cherry and Babbit-Embarrass, and remodel Tower-Soudan and turn it into an elementary school. The referendum passed on December 8, 2009 in a special vote, and the plan was set in motion the following year, with all schools beginning construction.

Cotton, Albrook, and Orr closed in 2011, and South Ridge opened. Cook combined with Orr in the Cook building for one year, and Babbit-Embarrass turned into Northeast Range. Cherry was completed over the Summer of 2012, and Northwoods opened on September 4, 2012. All five schools are now complete.

Football Fields at Northwoods and South Ridge

For the 2012 Football Season, both Northwoods and South Ridge played their first games on their new home fields. The new fields turned out to be not ready for the game, instead being covered in rocks and torn up sod. Johnson Controls corrected the issue at both fields in 2013 by tearing up and re-sodding the field.

2014 Cherry Expansion

On September 9, 2013, it was announced that due to growing attendance numbers, Cherry will be undergoing an eight room expansion in the near future. Enrollment has grown for Cherry in the past few years from just over three hundred to approximately four hundred and fifty. The expansion began on June 2, 2014, and is expected to be completed by the start of the 2014–2015 school year.

Integration Of New Technology

In recent years, the district has gone through some technology changes. DELL Netbooks were introduced in Fall 2010, and the school board approved the purchase of 300 Apple iPads in March 2012.

In March 2012, the school board passed a new curriculum that will see all students with iPads In the near future. The 2012–2013 school year saw the 7th and 8th grades getting iPads to test out the new curriculum. The 2013–2014 school year saw that year's 7th graders and the 10th graders receiving iPad Minis, and 2014–2015 will see 11th and 12th grade with iPads.

External links

• Official Website – ISD 2142 Saint Louis County Schools