Issues
Expanding Professional Development
Our teachers and staff need the ability to expand their knowledge base and skills. As a district, we have to make sure that those working directly with our students have the ability not just to grow but to thrive. To feel like they have the ability to move up and find a place they will thrive. We should be encouraging teachers to stay in Saint Paul for life.
Reimagining School Safety
It should be clear to all of us that we are on the precipice of a major crisis. Our schools feel unsafe to students, faculty, and staff. Covid only exacerbated the issue of student mental health. We need to make sure our schools feel safe for everyone. We need to tackle this crisis school by school with the understanding that what works for one school might not work for another, and that no student is alike. Our policies and positions have to be inclusive and trauma informed. We must meet the needs of all students while still providing a strict discipline procedure that allows zero tolerance for extreme violence and threats.
Student Engagement
Students deserve to be engaged and challenged in the classroom. Schools like Capitol Hill provide that engagement for students who qualify as advanced learners. Unfortunately, Capitol Hill and programs like it run at capacity leaving students who don't win the lottery out in the cold when it comes to being challenged to their full potential.
We need to increase resources to programs that meet students where they are at. A child's success shouldn't rely on whether their name gets picked from a hat.
Increasing District, School and Cultural Pride
We have a big school district with varied neighborhoods that run the gamut of income levels, ethnicities, and cultures. We are not a mixing pot. We are a salad. We cannot expect one size fits all policies to be effective when we are all different. We need to start investing in our schools both as a whole and as a local community and of itself. As parents, students, staff, and community members it's absolutely pivotal that we have pride in our schools and districts. Graduates should leave school with the pride of having gone to a Saint Paul Public School.