Brenda Millmann joined the Blue Earth Area School District this fall as the district’s community engagement coordinator. The brand-new position was created to increase outreach efforts between the School District and the Blue Earth Area community at large.

A lot of engagement activities went by the wayside after COVID,” Brenda Millmann, a new faculty member at the Blue Earth Area School (BEA) District, observes.

This is where Millmann comes in.

Her brand-new position as the district’s community engagement coordinator was created in part to address a growing lack of connection between the school district and the rest of the Blue Earth Area community.

“The main focus is trying to engage our students and family members and community members in our school district,” Millmann summarizes.

The issue is not unique to Blue Earth. In fact, engagement initiatives are being widely promoted at the state level.

“The state of Minnesota is really pushing community engagement,” Millmann says. “My position is funded for the first two years by ESSER money.” 

The funds, a product of the pandemic, were recently distributed to Minnesota school districts to help address COVID’s impact upon schools.

Millmann says the BEA School District itself also identified a need for increased engagement initiatives, independent of the state.

“(Mandy) Fletcher (BEA superintendent) and the School Board felt (the position) was needed in the community,” Millmann explains. “Research definitely shows that if we can get parents engaged, that will help the child and their academics by helping them feel safe and secure.” 

So, how does Millmann address those needs as the district’s community engagement coordinator? 

Millmann shares she, like all staff in the BEA School District, began the school year by setting clear, achievable goals for the coming months.

“All staff have yearly goals,” Millmann explains. “Mine are to make 100 to 200 student and family contacts per month, to plan a monthly event for families, and to bring back those things that have gone away (due to COVID).” 

As such, Millmann’s day-to-day schedule encompasses a wide variety of tasks.

“The biggest thing is trying to connect with families and students, and the community,” Millmann summarizes.

Some days, it involves sending a card to students when they have a birthday, or mailing a postcard to Kindergarteners, Begindergarteners and students who are new to the district.

Additionally, it involves representing the school district at community meetings and organizations. For example, Millmann regularly attends FariCARES meetings and she is involved with the newly-established B.E. Welcoming Project.

Event planning occupies the largest portion of Millmann’s time, however.

Lately, Millmann has been helping members of the B.E. Welcoming Project as they plan a Day of the Dead Festival, which is slated to occur on Oct. 30. She has also been working hard to promote the school’s annual Unity Day.

“I helped with the Honoring Heroes Program,” Millmann adds.

Additionally, she has countless plans in motion for events yet to come.

These include the annual Trunk or Treat event, a school-wide movie day scheduled on Nov. 5 and a Vikings watch party in December.

“I want to work with the student council at the high school,” Millmann adds, observing that older students can be harder to engage than those at the elementary school.

Millmann also intends to pilot some events in the Winnebago area. She notes that transportation can be a barrier to some families, and she wants to provide Winnebago residents equal opportunity to participate in events sponsored by the BEA School District.

Finally, Millmann plans to resurrect several events which were casualties of the pandemic, including the Treats with a Terrific Adult program and BEA Middle School’s Better Than Bees Honor Roll program.

One event which Millmann is particularly excited about is the American Exchange Project, which the district will participate in next summer.

“It’s like a foreign exchange program, but it’s just in the States, and it’s for a week in the summer,” Millmann explains. The program, which is open to recently-graduated seniors, allows students to travel to different areas of the United States.

“We will host students in Blue Earth from other cities,” Millmann says. “It’s completely free. We are the first school in Minnesota to be a part of it.” 

Schools in 33 other states are currently participating as well.

“We are looking for host families,” Millmann notes.

It is planning events such as this which Millmann enjoys most about her position.

“That’s the fun part,” she says, smiling.

She also enjoys building connections within the Blue Earth Area community.

“I like being a part of my home community,” Millmann says, adding that she was born in Blue Earth and still lives in the Faribault County area with her husband, Taylor Millmann.

The pair raised their children, Avery, Nolan and Gavin, on a farm outside Delavan, and their sons attended school in Blue Earth.

Millmann spent the past 22 years working just outside the county as a guidance counselor for the Granada-Huntley-East Chain School District.

“Personally, I felt 22 years was a good time to make a career change,” Millmann says, regarding her decision to pursue a new career. “I’m still using my social work skills, but I can work on a broader level.”