St. Paul schools once targeted for closure could see new futures

Months after being rescued from possible closure, two St. Paul schools now face big changes, according to plans unveiled this week.

LEAP High, which serves immigrant students, is recommended to move in 2023-24 from the Midway area to the former East Side home of John A. Johnson Elementary — itself a casualty of the Envision SPPS school consolidation plan that goes into effect in September.

Highwood Hills Elementary, also on the East Side, will begin new life this fall as a polytechnic program with lessons in technology, engineering and agriculture. Family surveys there showed heavy demand for instruction in robotics and coding, Jackie Turner, the district's operations officer, told school board members Tuesday.

The moves represent the first major steps beyond the district's initial focus in getting parents excited about mergers brought about by Envision SPPS. The John A. Johnson plan also finds the district reviving at least one school site for academic use — a significant step for a system that has promoted schools as the heart of the community.

In addition, Turner confirmed that the district has assembled a committee charged with finding ways to boost enrollment and retain students as it continues to see losses outpace projections and stress annual budgets. Parents will be invited to take part in workgroups to be convened in the fall, she said.

Board Member Uriah Ward, who pushed for such action in June, said: "I think this is a real exciting project that has a chance to do a lot of good."

The presentation was part of a series of Envision SPPS updates detailing not just impacts on affected schools but the district as a whole, and illustrate the importance of partnerships and community-building, Superintendent Joe Gothard said.

Last fall, the school board approved a package of school closings and mergers that was leaner than initially proposed. Three schools were saved: LEAP High, Highwood Hills and Wellstone Elementary on the North End. The board went ahead with mergers that included shifting students from John A. Johnson to nearby Bruce Vento Elementary.

Turner said the proposal to relocate LEAP to John A. Johnson came about as the district explored ways to keep LEAP sustainable while also pairing it with another academic program. John A. Johnson is connected to the Eastside YMCA, giving it a strong community anchor, she said, and the building itself seems better suited for older learners.

Staff members toured the building, and asked tough questions, she said. From a student perspective, Turner said the campus could prove more attractive because of its proximity to a bus line. She noted that while students have objected to using Metro Transit, two-thirds of them live nearer to the East Side school than the Midway site.

Still to be determined is the academic program that LEAP would be paired with.

Highwood Hills has proved a challenge for the district because many nearby families — most of them Somali — have sent their children to charter schools instead.

The district settled on the polytechnic approach following the family surveys, and the plan is to be implemented over three years. This year, the school would use its current staff members, including specialists, to launch the program in an informal way through the use of field trips and extended day learning, Turner said.

Then would come more targeted teacher hiring in the second year followed by full implementation of the program in the third year, she added.

The proposed changes leave Jackson Elementary in Frogtown as the lone building closed as part of Envision SPPS that has yet to be designated for a new use.