Welcome to Saint Paul Public Schools
 

With approximately 39,000 students, Saint Paul Public Schools is Minnesota's largest school district. Through highly trained and deeply dedicated staff, innovative education programs, and the support of our community, we offer students and families a world of opportunities. Our student population is diverse. Students hail from countries throughout the world, speak more than 100 languages and dialects, and come to the district with an array of educational experiences and skills.

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STANDARDIZED TEST RESULTS

  • 82% of Pre-K students on grade-level target for reading.
  • Districtwide, reading performance on MCAs has steadily improved from 48% of students proficient in 2006 to 57% in 2012.

GRADUATION

  • In 2011, the most recent year data are available from the MN Department of Education (MDE), the four-year graduation rate for SPPS students was 64%. This represents an increase across nearly all student groups, up from 57% in 2007.
  • MDE also reports four-year dropout rates; in SPPS, that has been nearly cut in half in 5 years, from 11% in 2006-07 to 6% in 2010-11.
  • English Learner students in SPPS are much more likely to graduate than their peers statewide (66% SPPS; 52% MN).

POST-SECONDARY PROGRESS

  • From 2007 to 2010, SPPS ACT participation increased from 41% to 57% districtwide. Increases within students groups ranged from 15 to 27 percentage points over the four year period.
  • 50% of 7th-12th graders took one or more advanced classes.
  • Post-secondary enrollment: 67% of graduates in 2011 pursued higher education.

SPECIALIZED LEARNING

  • College credit offered in high schools through Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), College in the Schools and/or Post-Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) programs
  • Language and cultural immersion available in Hmong, Dakota, French, Mandarin and Spanish
  • Other elementary and secondary articulated programs include arts, aerospace, gifted/talented, International Baccalaureate (IB) and Montessori

FINANCES

  • Thanks to right-sizing district administration, $18.9 million more than in previous years budgeted directly to schools to support student achievement in 2012-2013.
  • Fifth lowest levy of the state’s largest 37 districts with existing voter-approved levies

Noteworthy Alumni

  • Charles Schulz, Peanuts creator
  • Harry Blackmun and Warren Burger, U.S. Supreme Court Justices
  • Gordon Parks, photographer, filmmaker, and writer
  • Richard M. Schulze, founder of Best Buy
  • Jawed Karim, co-founder of YouTube
  • Central High School has more Rhodes Scholars among its alumni than any other public high school in the U.S.

Click here for a PDF version of the district profile sheet.

Click here to view Superintendent Silva's State of the District 2012 address.
 
District at a glance
  • 64 schools/programs
    • Elementary schools: 43
    • Secondary schools: 13
    • Alternative Learning Centers: 5
  • 35 educational programs
    • Learning Centers: 12
    • Specialized Programs: 12
    • Early Childhood Special Education Programs: 10
  • 5,376 full-time Staff
    • Pre-K-12 teachers: 3,135
    • Paraprofessionals: 946
    • Support Staff: 1,068
    • Principals and other leaders: 227
Student Demographics

MORE STUDENT DEMOGRAPHICS

  • Students speak more than 100 languages and dialects
  • Approximately 4,000 students are new to SPPS each year, 2,000 at the secondary level
  • 17% of students require special education services
  • 73% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch
  • Approximately 2,000 students experience homelessness during the school year
Noteworthy Accomplishments

People

  • 964 parents graduated from SPPS Parent Academy, designed to build in families an expectation for post-secondary education.
  • 70% of teachers have a Master’s or some other advanced degree.
  • Annual evaluations now the norm for all employees. Ongoing training provided with the expansion of the Peer Assistance Review program in partnership with the Teachers Union.
  • More than 5,700 parents participated in District Parent Advisory Committee activities.
  • SPPS is committed to and is making progress toward eliminating institutional racism in schools and its negative effects on learning. Over 600 people have received diversity training and 60% of schools have established equity teams.

Performance

  • Implementing strategic plan – Strong Schools, Strong Communities – geared toward encouraging learning closer to home, providing greater equity across the District and increasing student achievement.
  • Collaborative instructional English Language Learners (ELL) model recognized in 2011 Federal report Winning the Future: Improving Education for the Latino Community as an example of a school district showing progress in delivering ELL services. This model resulted in SPPS ELLs outperformed the statewide average for their peers on the annual state test.
  • Elementary school schedules reorganized to allow additional instruction time in math and science.
  • Cost-efficient use of funding allowed retention of elementary school music programs, as well as other enrichment opportunities.
  • 99% of bus arrivals within five minutes of scheduled times.
  • Incidents requiring student discipline decreasing across the district.

Partnerships

  • Recipient of $10.5 million in grants and donations
  • One of only eight districts in nation to receive private grant funding to field test Common Core curriculum standards.
  • Recipient of highly competitive Investment in Innovation (i3) grant in partnership with University of Minnesota.
  • One of the first districts in the nation to offer “Breakfast 2 Go,” a free breakfast program that allows all students, regardless of income, to pick up breakfast to eat in the classroom, which has shown in research to improve student learning.
  • Closely partnered with City of St. Paul to develop Sprockets, an after-school learning activities clearinghouse.

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