New superintendent enacts changes in the district…
St. Paul Public Schools prepare for
busy, bumpy ride in 2011

The closure and co-location of schools have been some primary adjustments the district has had to propose.

By JAN WILLMS

St. Paul Schools have not had an easy time of it this past year, with budget cuts and belt-tightening being the modus operandi. And despite Gov. Mark Dayton’s good intentions, the next year does not promise to be much better. Indeed, the school district may have to adhere to Bette Davis’ famous quote from All About Eve: “Fasten your seat belts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.”

Supt. Valeria Silva, who has just been in office for a year, said that many changes have taken place in the district to deal with the lack of financial resources, but she is very satisfied with the outcome of those changes. The closure and co-location of schools have been some primary adjustments the district has had to propose.

“Change is difficult,” Silva said. “There is a lot of emotional attachment, particularly to a school building. Once we are through that process, making two schools into one was a very successful change for the North End and Franklin.”

The two local elementary schools co-located this past year and will merge into one school with one name at the beginning of the next academic year.

“When you see kids learning and happy, you see that change can be good,” Silva said. She said co-locating the schools made the best out of a situation and she would do it again, although she would prefer to spend more time on the process.

“The goal of the change with these schools was mixing the resources and budgets of two buildings to operate one building,” Silva explained. She said it was an opportunity for the two schools to collaborate and work together.

“The other goal was to utilize space more effectively,” she added. “The buildings were not fully being used, and we are making better usage of the square footage. We have been able to keep the students together as a group, and most of the adults they were used to still available.“ She said each site has developed and evolved into a new culture of a new school, a very positive thing.

As for Arlington, Silva said closing that school was one of the hardest things she had to do.

“I had to close the high school, and have it affect the least number of students,” Silva said. She said there was an option for students who would be this year’s seniors to stay at the site and graduate as Arlington Senior High graduates if there would have been enough who had signed up. However, that didn’t happen and so those students went on to other high schools.

Washington Technology Magnet School took over the premises. At the end of last year, students across the district were able to choose Washington as an option.

“We now have a very successful 7th-10th grade,” she said. “There are over 1,200 in that building; the population was at 500 before.” An 11th grade class will be added next year, and 12th grade the following year.

“Arlington was our newest high school, very inviting,” Silva said. “There was technology all over the site and it was welcoming and culturally appealing. We will continue with the BioSMART program that was in place.” Silva was referring to a program that has its focus on medical and health sciences, engineering and technology as well as the business and marketing end of science and high tech companies. “BioSMART is still alive and living very well there,” Silva said.

She said that one of the most invigorating moments for her in this transition happened last September celebrating the opening of Washington. “There were 500 students in the bleachers in the gym, all 7th graders, wearing yellow T-shirts citing the ‘Pride of Washington’,” Silva said. She said there were 9th and 10th graders in the gym who had taken a summer training course that had taught them how to be mentors to the 7th graders. She said teachers were also present, getting the kids excited.

“They were all working together, becoming part of a new culture, and it gave me goose bumps,” Silva said. “It was a difficult time to make a decision, but we listened to the community. And the positive energy there made me feel like a million dollars. We had the largest number of 7th graders in one class in St. Paul.”

Another recent change in the St. Paul School District has been the establishment of a sweet-free zone in the schools, although Silva said this has been building for several years.

“We were working on this when I was the English Language Learner (ELL) director six to seven years ago,” she noted. “We have always tried to keep the sugar intake something we are aware of, implementing veggie and fruits as snacks. The last couple years, you would see kids eating broccoli and cucumbers in school. We are trying to change the way students eat.”

Silva said the district is trying to get away from raising money by food sales, instead selling things like wrapping paper. For a party, parents are asked what else they can bring besides cupcakes. She said parents have been asked to avoid snacks with high sodium and glucose levels.

Soft drinks have not been offered in the vending machines for the past several years, either, with milk, juice or water available instead.

It is important to note that the school is not outlawing or putting a complete ban on sweets; there may be a celebration once a month when they are allowed.

“But we’re educating students to pick healthier foods and become healthier adults,” Silva said.

Silva cited another change, the summer graduation ceremony. “We’re offering students many choices to make up graduation credits, and they can go to college in the fall.” She said that for the first time last summer, students had a ceremony with cap and gown in the summer.

“I heard from three or four parents that these young adults decided to finish summer school to experience graduation,” Silva said.

Looking back on her first year, Silva reflected on some of her accomplishments. She said she was pleased with the summer graduation process. She also felt some major cuts had been done while still keeping the school system intact.

“I had to cut $3.2 million in the first month,” she said, “and my goal was not to affect the school. We made changes in our budgeting. We had to cut $27.2 million by closing and co-locating schools. I cut $2.3 million out of central office staff.”

Silva said a good sign is that the schools have shown an increase with 500 more students than projected. And the district has kept 75 per cent more than in the past.
Silva said she thinks there has been phenomenal work done with the unions. “We’re striving more on working together and making decisions in a collaborative way,” she said. She also said she has enjoyed working with the East Metro Integration District. “As a new superintendent working with 12 other superintendents, it has been very energizing,” Silva said. “We have all been working together to figure out how to maximize our resources and minimize our costs.”

Supt. Valeria Silva, who has just been in office for a year, said that many changes have taken place in the district to deal with the lack of financial resources, but she is very satisfied with the outcome of those changes.

Looking at the past year from a school board member’s point of view, Keith Hardy said he has seen many changes in the school district as well. Since joining the board in January 2008, Hardy said four schools have been closed.

“Budget changes have caused us to lose many good staff members and teachers,” he said. “Our instrumental music programs have undergone significant changes.”
Hardy said he has so far been pleased with the new superintendent’s performance. But he recognizes that many challenges lay ahead.

He expressed concern with the Adequate Yearly Progress, with the schools not meeting expectations for the second year in a row in math, reading and science scores.

“That is not acceptable,” he said. He said the need for expectation of higher performances needs to come from families.

“We need more parents and guardians in attendance at school board meetings, holding the school district accountable,” Hardy said. “I can’t stress that enough.”
Hardy said he realizes that charter and private schools have affected the District’s enrollment numbers. “Families are looking for smaller class size or a specialized population in the school. We are up against that.”

When asked about the ongoing achievement gap, Hardy said he despised the term.

“It is a cop-out term,” he said. “It is archaic and a misnomer. What we have in St. Paul Public Schools, in Minnesota and in the United States is an equity gap of expectation. We need our teachers, our administrative staff, our families and yes, our students, to believe that every student can have high academic achievement regardless of race, culture or economic standing.”

“We need to set higher academic expectations for each student so that there is no gap between who achieves academically and who excels,” Hardy said.

Hardy said he expects the funding for the larger urban school districts of Minneapolis and St. Paul will be affected even more this coming year. “It’s part of the platform the newly elected Republican leaders ran on,” he said.

With her eye on the future, Silva said the big challenge will be budgeting.

“Education is a large portion of our state budget,” she said. “I do believe those elected in general understand the need to keep education on the top of the agenda. We need to start looking at ways to challenge ourselves. The new people in the House and Senate will bring new perspectives, and there will be things for them to learn, too. We all want what is best for our kids, and education is a priority for our state today to prepare for our future.”

Silva said she was happy and excited to see the Governor pick Brenda Cassellius as Commissioner of Education.

“She has done many jobs, working with issues in the schools we work with every day,” Silva said. “We have not had a true practitioner in that post for the past 20 years. She knows the struggles and challenges we are facing.”

Those struggles and challenges have been a part of Silva’s first year on the job, and are not going to disappear in the upcoming year. But she seems convinced that the school district, working hand-in-hand with community partners and families, can overcome the lack of financial resources.

She said SPPS is working with the City of St. Paul and the mayor, making sure services are not duplicated but instead maximized. She has also been working with Dr. Douglas Reeve of the Leadership and Learning Center to assess the best educational practices in the district.

“We’re moving from systems of schools to a school system,” Silva said. “We’re all marching to the same agenda.”