Editorial in Saturday, June 24, 2006 Star Tribune

Improving St. Paul's public high schools

Although Minnesota graduation rates are among the highest in the nation, the rates in core cities are dismal. In recent years, four-year public
school completion figures have hovered between 50 and 62 percent for Minneapolis and St. Paul. That's not good enough in a society that needs 
to develop as much rainpower -- and as many fulfilled human beings --as it can.
But a little light at the end of that tunnel appeared this week in a report about reforms in St. Paul. A partnership between three St. Paul
schools, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Center for School Change (CSC) at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute 
has made headway in high school improvement.  With the help of a $3 million Gates grant, plus administration and monitoring from CSC, Highland, 
Harding and Johnson high schools broke their students into smaller groups of no more than 500 or 600 -- each with their own teachers, counselors 
and administrators.
Each school committee developed its own blueprint; at Highland more teachers were trained and students enrolled in advanced course work.
Johnson and Harding created several academies based on student interests (such as health sciences, or architecture and engineering) and 
developed special programs for freshman. The plans were tailored to each school, but they all emphasized rigor, relevance and relationships.
Grant funds were used for staff development, to study best practices and to provide expanded learning opportunities for students. Course work, 
career academies and service options were designed to help students connect school work to real life. A key component was building better
connections with kids. Research supports the notion that too many fall between the cracks in huge high schools. It makes a difference when teachers 
really get to know students and their needs.
Employing that strategy has paid off in St. Paul. The evaluation showed that four-year completion rates grew faster at the pilot schools than the 
district average. College enrollment rates at the three schools were 4 percent higher than the district average of about 58 percent. The
test-score data show that the selected schools were narrowing the achievement gaps between African-American and white students and between lower- 
and middle-income students.
While the Gates project was underway, several other changes occurred in public education. Among them were new Minnesota high school graduation
requirements, the federal No Child Left Behind rules with increased testing, and growing public concern about general high school reform.
Data collectors for St. Paul schools admit the small communities concept may not have been the sole factor that boosted student improvement. But it 
does appear the methods contributed to better student outcomes.  It also has to make students feel better about school when their needs and interests 
are being taken so visibly into account.
Preliminary results are encouraging. If academic improvements continue at this rate, the next five years will be even better for St. Paul students.