Overhaul plans are unveiled for two schools in St. Paul

Humboldt Junior High and Arlington Senior High are in line for restructuring, as a consequence of federal law.

By EMILY JOHNS, Star Tribune

Last update: December 2, 2008 - 11:06 PM

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PLANS FOR HUMBOLDT INCLUDE

• Expanding the current seventh- and eighth-grade environmental studies program into the high school grades. The seventh to 12th grade program would have 750 to 850 students, about 130 students per grade.

• Closing the building housing Humboldt Junior High, at least for now, except for some facilities such as the swimming pool and gym that the high school already uses. The junior high is older than the high school.

• Cutting the number of special education programs in the building. Currently, 24 percent of students at Humboldt High receive special education services, compared with 12 to 14 percent at other district high schools.

• Having one principal direct the program. Senior High Principal Mike Sodomka will stay, and Junior High Principal Tim Williams will seek another administrative position in the district.

PLANS FOR ARLINGTON INCLUDE

• Continuing implementation of a BioSMART program, started with a $6 million federal grant, which gives the magnet school a science, technology, engineering and math focus.

• Creating an "academy-style" program, keeping the school to 800 students.

More from St. Paul

St. Paul's Humboldt Junior High and Arlington Senior High School are facing restructuring under the federal No Child Left Behind law, the result of years of test scores that haven't met benchmarks.

At a school board meeting Tuesday, Chief of Schools Nancy Stachel laid out what the district plans to do to turn around academic performance at the schools, including extending the school day, changing the staffing at both schools and creating one small seventh- through 12th-grade school in place of Humboldt Junior and Senior High on St. Paul's West Side.

All teachers who want to remain at Humboldt and Arlington, except for specialty staff for Arlington's biotechnologies program, must reapply for their jobs next spring.

"This is really an opportunity for us to rethink our high schools," said Stachel. "We currently offer families large, comprehensive high schools. This is an opportunity to add small, academy-style programs."

For both schools, the enrollment the district seeks is considerably less than current enrollment. But Stachel said the district will not need to keep kids out of those schools; if current enrollment declines continue, that's how many students the district expects there.

The district also plans to create extended school days at the two schools starting in 2010-11. That means students would be encouraged to stay after school for increased tutoring and assistance. The district says it plans to work out any contract issues with the teachers union.

Mary Cathryn Ricker, president of the St. Paul Federation of Teachers, said the contract would be affected if the district extends teachers' work days rather than asks some to come to school later and stay later in the day.

As for teachers' reapplying for their jobs if they want to stay, Ricker stressed that it doesn't mean teachers in these schools are more likely than those in other schools to lose their jobs.

Those who reapply for their jobs and aren't selected or those who don't want to reapply can always use options such as retirement or transfer to another school, she said.

There is precedent for such an approach in the district. When Dayton's Bluff Elementary was restructured five years ago, teachers had to reapply for their jobs -- agreeing to increased professional development in the process -- or choose jobs elsewhere.

"It is our responsibility to educate all kids," Superintendent Meria Carstarphen told the school board. "As educators, we can teach and transform a student's life. ... What we can control is the quality of programs we offer, and supporting those kids in real time to get what they need to produce outcomes we know they can do when we give them the right supports."

Emily Johns • 651-298-1541