St. Paul, Minneapolis schools get boost from Cargill Foundation

The countdown to a new school year had begun, and Humboldt Secondary Principal Valerie Littles-Butler professed to beingproud and excited to be a new school leader on St. Paul's West Side.

"This is a 21st century school," she told Jazmine Logan, a corporate responsibility specialist with the Cargill Foundation. "Let the world know. It's amazing here."

Students will stream through the doors Tuesday morning for a new school year. But teachers gathered in the cafeteria last week to learn the foundation donated $10,000 to every school in the St. Paul and Minneapolis school districts — 138 schools and $1.3 million in all — to support teachers and student engagement efforts in any way they see fit.

"We really want these grants to be used to do something that sparks joy for students and teachers," said Logan, a 2014 Central High graduate who knew Littles-Butler from a previous role there. "We're excited about what's just on the horizon for the next year."

For Andrea Nthole, an agriculture teacher, the first day of school will start with some basic introductions, especially for sixth-graders arriving with big eyes in a big, new place, she said. But by week's end, Nthole said, they should have their wrenches and their garden tools and will start getting their hands dirty.

Extracting honey from beehives comes next week.

"They will have an opportunity to explore while they're here," Nthole said. "It's never too early to show these kids what they could possibly do for a career."

Friday's event at Humboldt was the second of two announcing the grants — the first was at Bethune Arts Elementary School in Minneapolis.

"Community partners play a vital role in the success of all Minneapolis Public Schools students," Interim Superintendent Rochelle Cox said in a foundation news release. "Thanks to our partnership with and the generous gift from Cargill, our staff will be able to provide even more supports for our students as we look forward to a strong school year."

Logan said that donations acknowledge the many pivots that schools have been forced to make in the past two years. The rollup to the 2022-23 school year has seen a break from talk of hybrid or virtual learning, and that, too, is a transition deserving support, she said.

Humboldt has offered an agricultural program for about 18 years. It now has three instructors, "kind of an unheard-of thing in the city," Nthole said. The school has an outdoor vegetable garden that is funded through a separate Cargill grant. Produce from the garden was distributed to attendees at Humboldt's open house.

Nthole also has an indoor growing area for cilantro, basil and other herbs that the students harvest, wash and deliver for use in food that is prepared on-site.

"We are making that connection from the farm or the garden to the cafeteria — and getting some homegrown food into the kids," she said.

In addition to agriculture, Humboldt provides medical careers pathways and welding, as well as a Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps.

"My thing is: college, career and life," Littles-Butler said. "You will come out of here employed, enlisted or enrolled. Kids ought to be prepared wherever they go."