Foundations for the New School

The process of building a school from the ground up allowed the St. Paul School District and the community to envision, not just a new building, but new ways to organize schooling to meet students' learning needs. Before building plans were drawn, district personnel and architects held visioning sessions and stakeholder focus groups with district teachers, parents, students, and community members (700-plus in all) to gather input about needs and to set some core goals for the new school. Key goals that had a bearing on school design included:

• Assisting ninth-graders in the transition from smaller middle schools to a large comprehensive high school
• Creating positive relationships among staff members, parents, and students by organizing students and teachers into "houses"
• Allowing 11th- and 12th-grade students to develop specialization in an area of interest
• Offering an interdisciplinary curriculum through instructional strategies that recognize different learning styles and learning as a lifelong pursuit
• Embracing modern educational technology and media
• Incorporating the district's Multicultural Resource Center
• Extending the school's hours and accessible areas
• Organizing the school day within a four-period block schedule