Overhaul plans for 2 St. Paul schools still in the works

Arlington High School and Humboldt Junior High both require restructuring under the No Child Left Behind law. The school board will issue a draft plan before the Nov. 3 deadline.

By EMILY JOHNS, Star Tribune

Last update: October 21, 2008 - 11:55 PM

The St. Paul School District provided slightly more clarity -- but still no concrete plan -- Tuesday for what it is considering next year to improve student performance at Arlington High School and Humboldt Junior High School, the two district schools that are preparing to restructure under the federal No Child Left Behind law.

The law requires all school districts to submit school improvement plans to the state by Nov. 1 for every school that receives federal Title I funding for poor students and is labeled in need of improvement. Nov. 1 is a Saturday this year, so school plans are due by Nov. 3.

Superintendent Meria Carstarphen told the school board Tuesday night that the district will submit a "draft plan" for what it proposes to do with those schools, but stressed that the district had 45 days following that to consult with staff and the community to refine the plans.

"This is a really critical plan," she told the board, "so we want to get it right before it goes on the books as the actual plan."

Most of the board's energy Tuesday focused on Humboldt, because Arlington has already implemented a new science, math and technology focus. The high school is in its first full year of the BioSMART program, started with a $6 million grant last year, which introduces students to bioindustries, including medical and health sciences, business and marketing, and engineering.

Board Member John Brodrick acknowledged apprehension in the West Side community, where Humboldt is, about an impending plan that they won't be able to discuss with the school district before even a draft plan is submitted.

Carstarphen hinted at options the district is considering -- many of which have been discussed before -- which include shutting down the school for the year to rebuild facilities and programs.

"If we had a little more time with planning while we weren't trying to run the school," she said, "we could really turn the corner on something."

She also said that the district continues to seek a partner that can help turn around enrollment declines at the school and that the district could seek some sort of "boutique" design that would "really be special to that community and bring in the enrollment."

She also said the district could create a sort of mini-school district on the West Side, which has three elementary schools, as well as Humboldt junior and senior highs. That would be an "incredible" opportunity to create schools that families that live on the West Side would want to attend, she said.

Board Member Anne Carroll also acknowledged West Side wariness.

"I think what we're all hearing is that big unspecified fear," she said. "It's just everybody is anxious. ... Everybody's had to live with this anxiety for a very long time. It wears on people; it's stressful for everyone."

Emily Johns • 651-298-1541

Recent Local + Metro stories

Petters associate explains how alleged scam worked - October 21, 2008

Petters associate explains how alleged scam worked - A key figure in the case of a Minnesota businessman accused of orchestrating a massive Ponzi scheme acknowledged Monday that he was a disbarred lawyer with a criminal record who had entered the federal witness protection program decades earlier. More