Virginia High School principal, Laverne Hakly, has been presented with a new Leadership – Partnership Award from the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system to recognize excellence in collaborating with one or more of the system’s colleges and universities to better serve students, communities and the state.

  “We are honored to work with the state’s leaders in the elementary and secondary communities,” said Chancellor James H. McCormick.  “The recognition of these three individuals represents our high regard for them, their schools and the students they serve. In the face of tight budgets and high expectations, these individuals are achieving remarkable results in the schools they lead and building strong connections with partner colleges and universities in the system.”

   The awards were developed in collaboration with the Minnesota Elementary School Principals’ Association and the Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals.  This is the first year the awards have been presented.  The categories and recipients follow:

   Elementary Principal Leadership – Partnership Award:  Andrew Collins, principal of Dayton’s Bluff Achievement Plus Elementary School in St. Paul. 

   Secondary Principal Leadership – Partnership Award:  Laverne Hakly, principal of Virginia High School in Virginia, Minn.  The award recognizes her strong advocacy and support for the work of Mesabi Range Community and Technical College and specifically for the Applied Learning Institute that offers college-level technical courses to high school juniors and seniors, theater programming and service on the college’s Wind and Emerging Technologies Advisory Committee.

   Special Recognition Leadership – Partnership Award:  Virginia Karbowski, former director of the Secondary Technical Education Program.

   These last two awards were presented Jan. 29 at the Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals Winter Workshop in Minneapolis.

   The system worked closely with the two associations to develop the awards, said Cyndy Crist, system director for prekindergarten-16 collaboration. “We were pleased with the number and strength of nominations for these new awards,” Crist said. “They made clear the extent to which principals and other educators are working with college and university partners to create new and better ways to help students move seamlessly and successfully along their educational pathways.”

   Joann Knuth, executive director of the Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals, said:  “We are very grateful for the recognition of these outstanding principals by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities.  The Leadership – Partnership Award honors excellence in collaborations between a school and a college or university and reflects the importance of an ongoing relationship between our two organizations as we focus on the same goal: ensuring that all Minnesota students graduate from high school ready for college and careers.”

   The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system comprises 32 state universities and community and technical colleges serving the higher education needs of Minnesota. The system serves about 260,000 students per year in credit-based courses and an additional 164,000 students in non-credit courses.

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