Last update: June 22, 2006 - 11:00 PM

Restructuring brings gains for 3 St. Paul high schools

St. Paul's Harding, Highland Park and Johnson post advances in test scores,graduation and going on to college, new report shows.

James Walsh
Star Tribune

Using an extra $2.9 million to restructure themselves into small learning communities, three St. Paul high schools announced impressive gains in student graduation rates and test scores,according to results released Thursday.Harding, Highland Park and Johnson high schools showed impressive results after the five-year collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Center for School Change at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute for Public Affairs, project participants said.

Among the results:

Graduation gains
While four-year graduation rates increased for all St. Paul high schools by 5 percent from 2002 to 2005, Highland Park's rate increased 9 percent and Johnson's increased 14 percent. Harding's rate increased 1 percent. In addition, graduation rates for black students grew even faster, closing one part of the entrenched achievement gap. Districtwide, black graduation rates jumped 10 percent  since 2002. At Harding, it climbed 7 percentage points. But at Highland Park, the increase was 16  percentage points and at Johnson, the graduation rate for black students went from 35 percent to 52 percent.

More to higher ed
Combined, the three high schools exceeded the overall percentage of St. Paul students going on to higher education by 4 points. Again, the increases for black students going on to higher education outpaced the increase of the district as a whole.

Scores rise, too
All three schools showed state test score gains among black students and/or students living in poverty. From 2002 to 2005, the percentage of black students passing the Basic Standards Test in writing at Harding jumped 19 points; at Highland Park, 14 points, and at Johnson, 7 points.

The St. Paul high schools are part of a broader project by the Center for School Change and the Gates Foundation. Under the Gates Emerging Small Schools (GEM) Project, officials in St. Paul and in West Clermont and Cincinnati, Ohio, worked to convert their large, comprehensive high schools into small schools of choice through using small learning communities, such as specialized academies or "houses."

The three schools received a total of $2.89 million to change. Of that, Harding received $999,280, Johnson received $787,809 and Highland Park received $754,509.

Officials from all three high schools, as well as those of the Center for School Change and the St. Paul schools, said that while they cannot prove that the Gates program alone caused this improvement, the collaboration certainly played a part.

Kay Arndt, principal at Johnson, said the project allowed her school to restructure itself into small learning communities that have helped teachers and school leaders do a better job of reaching out to kids and meeting their needs. And while the money has been spent and the Gates project is officially over, she said she believes that the improvement Johnson has made will continue.

"These are the things we're going to continue to focus on," Arndt said. "And they've made all the difference."

To see the full report, go to www.startribune.com/a1455.

James Walsh • 612-673-7428 ©2006 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.