A new mentoring program, online classes and stiffer penalties for athletes who are caught drinking are among the changes that students will see at some south-metro high schools this fall. Is your school planning major renovations? How about a new community garden? Are cell phones now allowed during passing time? To find out, read on.

ACADEMIC ARTS HIGH SCHOOL

Principal: Jane Davin

Expected enrollment: 65

Academic Arts, a small project-based charter school in West St. Paul, starts this year with a new name. Formerly called River Heights Charter School, the school changed its name partly to reflect an increased focus on academic rigor, said school director Jane Davin.

Students will attend class four days a week instead of five this year, a change the school tried for a few weeks this spring. The switch gives students more time to pursue academic projects off campus on Fridays, Davin said. The school day was extended by an hour, so students will get slightly more time in class this year, she said.

APPLE VALLEY

Principal: Steve Degenaar

Expected enrollment: 1,945

Budget cuts in Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan schools will translate into more crowded classrooms throughout the district, among other changes. At Apple Valley High, more than 50 of the school's roughly 450 classes will have 35 to 40 students, said Principal Steve Degenaar. Last year, about 10 classes had that many students, he said.

The school reduced its staff by the equivalent of 6.5 teachers and 4.5 clerical workers, he said. A few student activities were axed, including the student newspaper and Knowledge Bowl team. DECA nearly went, too, but students and parents raised several thousand dollars this summer to pay an adviser for the marketing club, Degenaar said. Budget cuts have even trickled down to student handbooks, which Apple Valley and some other schools are now selling for $5 instead of giving them away.

The school has also changed the way it develops class schedules, making it a higher priority to give teachers of the same courses a common prep period. The advantage is that teachers have more time to collaborate on lessons, Degenaar said. One likely downside is that fewer students will be able to take all of their first-choice classes.

ARTECH

Principal: Simon Tyler

Expected enrollment: 120, grades 6-12

Students and staff at the Northfield School of Arts and Technology have raised money for a new greenhouse that they plan to start building this fall, Tyler said. The charter school will start an hour late on Wednesdays, when teachers will meet for training and planning.

BELLE PLAINE

Principal: Lowell Hoffman

Expected enrollment: 720, grades 7-12

Students in Belle Plaine will participate in activities with peers at Nicollet and Sibley East high schools this year, said Principal Lowell Hoffman. The events range from a world language day to a respect retreat for freshmen. They're funded by state integration dollars intended to increase contact between the students and reduce a racial imbalance between their school districts.

Starting this fall, eighth-graders will take Algebra I, a course that used to be offered mostly to freshmen, he added.

BURNSVILLE

Principal: Dave Helke

Expected enrollment: 2,488, grades 10-12

Sophomores starting high school in Burnsville this fall will get help from older students through a new program called Ignition. About 100 juniors and seniors have trained to be mentors in the program.

Starting this fall, students who rack up too many unexcused absences will land in Saturday School.

Envision Academy of the Arts, a magnet program based out of the high school and the Burnsville Performing Arts Center, will add seniors this fall to serve grades 9-12.

The school is also part of a University of Minnesota study to increase participation in school breakfast programs. Burnsville students can now buy breakfast as they walk in the front door -- a convenient "grab and go" option, said Principal Dave Helke. School officials point to research that says students who eat breakfast are healthier and do better in school than those who don't.

CANNON FALLS

Principal: Tim Hodges

Expected enrollment: 695, grades 6-12

Principal Tim Hodges started work in Cannon Falls this summer, replacing Steve Fredrickson, who retired this year. Hodges came to the school from Lino Lakes, where he was an assistant principal at Centennial Middle School.

Cannon Falls will offer its first College in the Schools class this year, a chemistry course.

The district cut several teaching positions as part of a $250,000 budget-patching plan.

EAGAN

Principal: Polly Reikowski

Expected enrollment: 2,180

Class sizes will be up by three or four students in core classes because of budget cuts. "Basically, when our students registered, if we didn't have 28 students asking for a class, we had to cut it," said Principal Polly Reikowski. Last year, 24 students could float a class, she said.

Other cuts mean that, instead of paying one fee for a year's worth of activities such as speech or one-act plays, high school students throughout the district will pay a fee for each activity. Ticket prices for sporting events are also going up by $1.

Eagan seniors can now connect to the Internet at school using their own laptops and electronic gadgets. If all goes well, the whole student body will get that privilege starting second trimester, Reikowski said.

Eagan will also be the first high school in Minnesota to put on the musical "Hairspray," she said.

FARMINGTON

Principal: Ben Kusch

Expected enrollment: 1,785

Farmington High is making changes to its freshman science curriculum, but other than that, things are much quieter than they were last fall. One year after the brand-new high school opened, "We've had enough new to last us a little while," said Principal Ben Kusch.

HASTINGS

Principal: Mike Johnson

Expected enrollment: 1,610

Students in Hastings started school a week early to leave extra time next summer for major upgrades at the district's middle and elementary schools.

Hastings High used grant money this year to buy video conferencing equipment that Principal Mike Johnson hopes teachers can use to connect students with a classroom in Pakistan or Afghanistan. "We want ... to find out what it's like to live [there] right now," he said. "Plus, we want them to learn about us."

Teachers also plan to use the equipment to give students real-time, interactive tours of museums such as the Louvre in Paris and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Under new rules that went into effect this summer, athletes and student leaders will face tougher penalties for drinking, smoking or drug use. Hastings High is one of a minority in the state to adopt rules tougher than those required by the Minnesota State High School League.

Athletes who get caught using drugs will be booted from competition for 25 percent of the season. A second offense costs them 50 percent, and a third removes them from competition for a whole season. Students who use drugs also lose the right to serve in leadership roles on the student council, Link Crew, Homecoming Court and the like for a year.

HENRY SIBLEY

Principal: Robin Percival

Expected enrollment: 1,430

Henry Sibley High School in Mendota Heights has a new photography and graphics lab this year.

Planning is also underway to start Project Lead the Way, a national pre-engineering program, in the fall of 2011. The program is launching at Heritage Middle School this fall.

The school got an Energy Star award this year from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, one of 11 high schools in the state to do so, according to the West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan district.

JORDAN

Principal: Mark Ruggeberg

Expected enrollment: 525

Jordan High School is starting a program to help make college a reality for more students whose families speak English as a second language. The program, LEAP, is modeled after a similar effort in Shakopee.

LAKEVILLE NORTH

Principal: Marne Berkvam

Expected enrollment: 1,822

A new rule at Lakeville North allows students to use cell phones and other electronic devices during passing time and lunch. They're also allowed to use them in class, when it's OK with a teacher.

Previously, cell phones had to stay in pockets or lockers, said Principal Marne Berkvam. The new rule will help classes take advantage of new technology, she said. It will also make life easier for the school's staff. "We [used to] get between 40 and 50 parent phone calls a day, asking to relay a message."

At both Lakeville North and South, teachers are trying to raise student achievement by meeting regularly in small groups to talk about their students' progress and class assignments.

LAKEVILLE SOUTH

Principal: Scott Douglas

Expected enrollment: 1,886

Ninth-grade students could sign up for a new interdisciplinary course this year that blends honors English with American history. The idea is to better prepare those students for Advanced Placement courses later in high school, said Principal Scott Douglas.

The school has expanded services for autistic students.

Budget cuts had threatened B-team sports for freshmen at both Lakeville high schools, but a wrestling show held at Lakeville South this spring raised enough money to save those teams, said school activities director Neil Strader.

MONTGOMERY-LONSDALE

Principal: Alan Fitterer

Expected enrollment: 300

After voters passed a $29.7 million bond referendum last fall, school leaders in the Montgomery-Lonsdale district are getting ready for major renovations at the building where middle and high school students now go to class.

Much of this summer was taken up with exterior work such as roof and brick repairs, said Principal Alan Fitterer. By fall 2012, the district plans to tear down the oldest sections of the building and turn it into a facility for middle and elementary students.

High school students will move to what is now an elementary school. Groundbreaking on a major expansion of the school is slated for next spring.

Fitterer, who has been principal of students in grades 5-12 for the past two years, will focus on grades 9-12 this fall. The district has hired Tony Steffes to lead students in grades 5-8 and serve as activities director.

NEW PRAGUE

Principal: Tom Doig

Expected enrollment: 1,200

New Prague High will offer several hybrid online classes for the first time this year. Students in the classes -- college-level psychology and composition and AP statistics -- will spend some days in class and others working online.

Students in two of those classes will be issued small laptops as part of a pilot project in one-to-one computing, said Principal Tom Doig. The school board is exploring ways to provide all freshmen with personal computers next year. This year, "We want to see how the netbooks stand up to wear and tear, and how responsible students are," he said.

NORTHFIELD

Principal: Joel Leer

Expected enrollment: 1,262

A school-within-a-school for freshmen considered at risk of failing a class will enter its second year this fall, Principal Joel Leer said. About two dozen of the roughly 65 students who were in Northfield's ninth-grade academy last year will continue to get extra support as sophomores in science, English and social studies, he said.

PRIOR LAKE

Principal: Dave Lund

Expected enrollment: 2,250

To help combat a space crunch at Prior Lake High, several sections of a global studies course will be team-taught this year in a lecture hall that can hold up to 100 students, said Principal Dave Lund.

The school is also offering several hybrid online/in-class courses, including AP U.S. History and journalism.

Instead of taking the same physical education class, freshman this year had a menu of choices for P.E., Lund said.

Student athletes will face tougher team penalties for drinking or smoking under new rules approved by the school board this summer.

A school-within-a-school for at-risk students, FOCUS, fell victim to budget cuts. The school will offer some courses to partially replace that program, but Lund said there will be fewer than before, and average class sizes in them will be larger.

The school has installed 26 new security cameras, tripling the number it had last fall.

RANDOLPH

Principal: Ben Fisher

Expected enrollment: 260, grades 7-12

School officials will be getting ready this fall for a $3.28 million building expansion approved by voters in August.

The district, which has grown steadily in the past 10 years, will add four elementary classrooms and three high school rooms to its main building, said Superintendent Michael Kelley. The school commons area will double in size, and the school's child care program will get new digs in an expanded classroom.

Construction will start next spring and should wrap up by the fall of 2011, Kelley said.

ROSEMOUNT

Principal: John Wollersheim

Expected enrollment: 2,084

Rosemount will offer several new elective courses this year through its video production program, including classes on digital graphics, animation and Web design. The school will also teach a reading and writing course for students who have passed state tests in those subjects but still struggle and want to hone their skills, Wollersheim said.

Responding to parent feedback, the school held freshman orientation earlier in August than it has in previous years.

One of two portable classrooms at the school has been torn down.

Rosemount has also established its own benefit fund, opening an account within a district-wide foundation to raise money for student scholarships, academics, sports and the arts. Alumni held the first fundraiser for the account this summer.

SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

Principal: Dan Bodette

Expected enrollment: 380, grades 11-12

A group of students and adult gardeners in Apple Valley are teaming up this year to start a community garden at the School of Environmental Studies, which is next to the Minnesota Zoo. A landscape architect is designing the garden, and prep work will be done this fall so plants can go in next spring. The garden will have individual plots, plus a couple set aside for students.

Some lessons at the school will hook into a new wind turbine that's going up at UMore Park in Rosemount, said Principal Dan Bodette.

The school has also been rewired for faster Internet connections.

SHAKOPEE

Principal: Barb McNulty

Expected enrollment: 1,400

School started a week early in Shakopee this fall to leave extra time next summer for employees to move into a new elementary school.

But the change most on people's minds at the high school is, perhaps, the absence of their longtime principal. Jim Murphy was put on paid administrative leave this summer after the school board voted to fire him. The law prevents board members from saying why they want to fire Murphy, but the board had met in closed session to discuss allegations against Murphy after his former assistant was charged with stealing more than $168,000 in school funds. District leaders have said the allegations against Murphy are not criminal.

Murphy is challenging the move. For now, the school is in the hands of Assistant Principal Barb McNulty.

The school is raising money to build a standalone environmental learning center with the help of a grant from Lowe's Home Improvement, though McNulty said construction may not start this fall.

The school is offering new college-level courses in human anatomy and physics. There's a new ACT prep class, as well as classes for students who need extra help passing state math and reading tests.

SIMLEY

Principal: Jerry Sakala

Expected enrollment: 1,139

Jerry Sakala is now director of secondary education as well as principal of the high school in Inver Grove Heights. He'll oversee operations for grades six and up.

Simley High now has wireless Internet access in sections of the building. The school should have complete coverage within three years.

Also, the school's weight room has been revamped.

SOUTH ST. PAUL

Principal: Butch Moening

Expected enrollment: 1,400, grades 7-12

After two years of administrative reorganizing and a switch last year to a six-period bell schedule, South St. Paul has few big changes afoot this fall. "For us, it's a sigh of relief," Moening said.

A program called Where Everyone Belongs (WEB), which pairs 10th-grade mentors with seventh-graders during a big transitional year for the younger students, is blossoming in its second year, he said.

School officials at Eastview High School could not be reached for an update on the 2010-11 school year.

Sarah Lemagie • 952-882-9016