ROBBINSDALE

Cooper student wins full Yale scholarship

Robbinsdale Cooper High School student Uyen Phan of Crystal has been awarded a four-year scholarship to Yale University.

About 3,800 students entered a competition administered by the National College Match, in partnership with the 20 top American colleges that the program represents. Phan was one of 204 students nationwide, and the only Minnesota student, to make it through a grueling process that included a 20-page application that included three essays and a "parade" of short-answer questions.

Yale has guaranteed her a four-year scholarship that will cover tuition and room and board at Yale, starting next year. The dollar value of the scholarship will be more than $160,000. At Yale, Phan plans to explore engineering, fine arts and the sciences.

Custodians, drivers reach contract deal

The Robbinsdale school district has reached a tentative agreement with its bus drivers and custodians, represented by the Service Employees International Union, for the current school year and 2008-09.

Members of the bargaining unit will vote soon on the agreement, which includes wage increases of 2 percent this year and 2.5 percent next year, and a larger district contribution toward health insurance premiums. The terms reflect those agreed to by the Robbinsdale Federation of Teachers in October.

The bus drivers and custodians union represents about 345 full- and part-time employees.

MOUNDS VIEW

Island Lake Principal Brouse plans to retire

Michele Brouse , principal at Island Lake Elementary School in Shoreview, announced recently that she will retire at the end of the school year. Mounds View School District officials will begin a search for her replacement next month, with hopes of naming a new principal in the spring.

Brouse is ending a 37-year career in education, which also included 22 years as an arts educator in Roseville schools. She came to Mounds View schools in 1993 as principal of Valentine Hills Elementary School, and served also at Sunnyside Elementary School.

ST. PAUL

Metro schools group will meet next week

The Association of Metropolitan School Districts will hold its annual education conference on Wednesday, Jan. 23, at the Roseville Radisson, 1997 Snelling Av. N. The topics of this year's conference are integration, school choice and closing the achievement gap.

The conference attracts legislators, policymakers and educators and is scheduled from 8 a.m to 12:30 p.m.

For more information about the conference, call (651) 999-7325.

STAFF WRITERS MARIA ELENA BACA AND JAMES WALSH

 

"It's like a verbal game of chess. It's highly strategic."