MPR: Guinea Pig Kids - The Schools

A Look at the Schools

Trying to fully understand the new graduation standards is a gargantuan task, probably impossible for any mortal parent, student, teacher or reporter. The standards provide a significant amount of discretion to school districts, so what students are taught in one school may look very different in a school a few miles away. Realizing we couldn't answer every question about the standards in every district, Minnesota Public Radio sought a variety of environments to observe how students, parents and teachers are coping with the new system. Several schools turned down our request to observe classrooms over several months. The three schools listed below graciously agreed to participate in our project and we thank them for their cooperation.


		Roosevelt High School Minneapolis, Minnesota Roosevelt is one of seven high schools in the state's largest school district. The school houses three magnet programs: Automotive, Health Career/Medical and Business Academy. Current enrollment is more than 1,500 students in grades nine through 12, including 600 students whose first language is not English. The fastest growing group of students is recent immigrants from Somalia. Notable alumni include Gov. Jesse Ventura. MPR's Civic Journalism Initiative sponsored a forum with teachers and students at Roosevelt High School. See details of the forums.


		Hills - Beaver Creek High School Hills, Minnesota Hills is a town of 600 with no movie theater or video store, no bowling alley or restaurants. On the map it can't be any further south or west and still be part of Minnesota. Most people work in nearby towns of Sioux Falls, Luverne, or Rock Rapids, Iowa. Hills is the home of the district's consolidated junior and senior high schools. The elementary school is six miles north in Beaver Creek. Student-produced feature of Beaver Hills Creek. MPR's Civic Journalism Initiative sponsored a forum with teachers, parents, and students at Hills - Beaver Creek High School. See details of the forums.


		North High School North High School is located in North St. Paul. It is part of the North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale school district. Students from some parts of Woodbury, Lake Elmo, Landfall and Pine Springs also attend the school. North has 1,828 students and 75 classroom teachers. Eleven percent of the students are minorities; 15 percent receive free or reduced-price lunch. Enrollment has grown by about 65 percent over the last five years. In 1997, students and staff moved into a new school building. North High's nickname is the Polars. The school colors are red and white. MPR's Civic Journalism Initiative sponsored a forum with teachers, parents, and students at North High School. See details of the forums.

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