St. Paul's struggling schools are among its poorest

The St. Paul School District posted mixed results in 2014 state tests, and as such, officials were prepared for a possible setback this week when the state released its list of lowest-performing schools.

But the district had 10 schools on that list, up from one last year, and that was cause for concern -- and some puzzlement, too, said Michelle Walker, the district's chief executive officer.

Asked for potential factors, she cited student mobility as one possibility -- not just in the traditional terms of families being on the move but of students heading to new schools in 2013-14 as part of a Strong Schools, Strong Communities strategic plan that has more students attending schools closer to home and being placed along specific pathways from elementary to middle to high school.

Also mentioned were the district's efforts to move more of its special-education students into regular classrooms and its replacement of two-year junior highs with three-year middle schools.

"All of these things are the right thing to do," Walker said.

Not cited by Walker or her colleagues, but apparent in a closer look at test results and demographics, is this fact: At eight of the 10 schools, the percentage of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunches topped 90 percent, well above the districtwide average of 73 percent.

At the eight schools, the percentages of students who tested proficient in math and reading also fell below their peers, districtwide, in both subject areas.

Math and reading proficiency rates were up at Maxfield Elementary, Galtier Community School and Hazel Park Preparatory Academy, compared with 2013 results, and they held fairly steady over the past two years at Cherokee Heights Elementary.

Reading was up but math down at two schools that made the state's lowest-perfoming list: Bruce F. Vento Elementary and American Indian Magnet School.

Just three of the district's low-performers -- John A. Johnson Elementary, Paul and Sheila Wellstone Elementary and Creative Arts Secondary School -- fell in both math and reading. Creative Arts students, however, surpassed their districtwide peers in reading proficiency.

Parkway Montessori & Community Middle School, the last school to land on the state's "Priority" list, had students fall below districtwide proficiency rates in math and reading. But the school was new in 2013-14, and as such, no comparisons could be made to previous years.

Walker told reporters that Strong Schools, Strong Communities set the foundation for the district, and while this week's rankings were a "step back," she believes the district will see success in the long-term as result of racial equity, personalized learning and college and career readiness work.