Putnam Set To Take Over As District 742 Superintendent

(KNSI) – District 742 is in the final days of transitioning to a new superintendent. Dr. Laurie Putnam will take over on July 1st. She appeared on Thursday’s Ox in the Afternoon program, discussing the return to normal following COVID-19.

Putnam says that after a year and a half of interruptions the district needs to remind students of the standards they will be held to for in-person learning.

“We have been working, and will continue to work over the summer, to really get very clear about what our expectations are for our students, and to take the time to teach those at the beginning of the school year. And not only to students, but to parents as well.”

One of the potential problem areas raised by listeners during the interview was safety, amid a string of high-profile fights in recent years. Putnam pushed back on the idea that there is a violence issue within Saint Cloud Area Schools.

“We track behavior through office discipline referrals. We have this system where we want to see at least 80% of our students with zero or one office referral. All of our schools are higher than that, so it is not an epidemic. But there are some kids who make terrible choices and that’s when we have to respond.”

Putnam says that when you are dealing with middle and high school students there is always a chance for physical altercations, just given the demographics involved. Kids get into arguments, clash, and sometimes it becomes a fight, and every district needs to have a procedure in place to deal with that.

She says it is the responsibility of staff at Saint Cloud Area Schools to protect students from external threats and internal behavior alike, but she takes issue with defining the district by a select few incidents.

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