January 10, 2023 Study Session & Organizational Meeting

Superintendent Report Highlights

Youth in Government Conference - Congratulations to the student delegates who participated in the 2023 Youth in Government Conference from Jan. 5-8. Youth in Government is a program where high school students get to serve as legislators, judges, attorneys, lobbyists, representatives, and other government officials in a mock government. They hold meetings throughout the fall to prepare for the four day student-run YIG Conference, which takes place at the Minnesota State Capitol and the Hilton Hotel in Minneapolis!

Seniors Isaac Israel, Amira Abdirahman, Sebastian Tangleson, and advisor Emma Engebretson started Youth in Government at SLPHS this year and formed a delegation that has already grown to 24 students! Please congratulate the students who participated in our first delegation!

St. Louis Park High School Theatre Presents 𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝙋𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚 - St. Louis Park High School Theatre Presents 𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝙋𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚. Be sure to check out the show this weekend! Performances of Our Place are Jan. 13 and 14 at 7 p.m. and Jan. 15 at 2 p.m. All performances will be held in the High School auditorium, located along the West 33rd Street entrance. SLPHS students get in free with a student ID. All other tickets can be purchased for $5 at bit.ly/3XdYjju

Terry Wayne Gabbard’s one-act play weaves together five stories tied by their common location: a weathered dock on a quiet lake. A first date is interrupted when the teen’s ex shows up at the special place the couple once shared. A desperate daughter brings her father to their favorite fishing spot in an attempt to spark recognition in his addled mind. An optimistic dad surprises his reluctant family with an ill-fated canoe trip. A distant couple comes to a somber realization over their tuna fish salad picnic. A young girl pledges to stay with her runaway sister until she agrees to return home.

Together We Make A Difference - Between August and October, Forbes Solutions PLLC and Youth Lens 360 partnered with the Minnesota State High School League, AMSD, the Minneapolis Foundation and several other associations on a statewide initiative to address racial harm in athletics and school activities. Seven student-led statewide convenings hosted 1,500 students to discuss the issue of racial harm, bias and cross pollinate ideas to create anti-racist events for athletics and activities across the state. The results were amazing and after reviewing thousands of student voice responses, several themes emerged. These themes will become the focus of the student conference where students will once again lead and facilitate discussions, create action steps and work together to create a collective action plan for respectful behavior at athletic and school activities.

All districts across Minnesota were invited. St.Louis Park will be one of 38 districts from across the state to participate in this conference. Supt. Osei will be attended this conference with Athletic Director Andy Ewald and 10 multi-sport High School Athletes.

Election of 2023 School Board Officers

Minnesota law requires that school boards elect a chair, a clerk, and a treasurer from among the school board members. The board may decide to have additional officers, such as a vice chair (Minnesota Statutes section 123B.14). These officers shall hold office for one year and until their successors are selected and qualified at the next year's organizational meeting or upon resignation of the officer role.

The St. Louis Park School Boar elected the following officers:

Anne Casey, Chair
C. Colin Cox, Vice Chair
Abdihakim Ibrahim, Treasurer
Heather Wilsey, Clerk

Progress Reporting Program Review Update

Patrick Duffy, Director of Teaching, Learning & Leadership, and Progress Reporting Design Team members Ila Saxena, Abigail Lugo, and Maurna Rome presented updates on the work of the team's Phase II curriculum and instruction review and development process. The team shared the timeline for their work, the reason they applied to be on the team and engage in this work, and their racial equity purpose statement. In this last phase, the design team has been working on developing their collaborative team and articulating the scope of their work which includes review of grading practices, conferences, and Policy 642 Student Progress Reports to Parents/Guardians. The team will continue to gather stakeholder feedback and thoughts, host a consulting team meeting, and will be back in the spring to provide another update at a school board meeting. The team also requested that the Policy Committee review Policy 642 to better align with current district practices and the overall mission, vision, and strategic direction of the district.

Watch the Progress Reporting Update

Restorative Practices in St. Louis Park Public Schools

Michele Edwins, Restorative Practices Coordinator and Alissa Case, Restorative Practices Specialist provided an overview of Restorative Practices in St. Louis Park Public Schools. Beginning and ending with a grounding reading, Michele and Alissa shared their connection to restorative values that guide their work and provided a high level overview of Restorative Practices. They then shared information about a Non-Exclusionary Grant that St. Louis Park Public Schools received through the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE). This grant funds a full-time Restorative Practices position for the school year, twelve full training days with MDE between this school year and next. The grant supports the Restorative Practices team in their work to build relationships with staff and provide opportunities to experience and learn about Restorative Practices, collaborate with staff to offer Restorative Practices experiences to student leaderships groups, review building systems and practices looking for opportunities for more restorative approaches, and to cultivate Restorative Practices leadership across the district.

Michele and Alissa also shared that a team has convened to plan the development of the procedures for Policy 506 Student Behavior Intervention (formerly Student Discipline). The District is currently seeking interest from students, staff, and community members to participate in the development of the procedures. Click on the link below to learn more and to submit your name via the interest form.

Watch the Restorative Practices Update

Policy 506 Procedures Development Information

Organization of the School Board

The School Board is mandated to have an Organizational Meeting each January. For the purposes of organization of the School Board, the Board addressed and designated the following organizational business items:

Designation of Official Newspaper of the School District
Designation of Depositories
Electronic Fund Transfer Authorization
Authority to Make Investments
Authority to Disburse Salaries
Authority for Early Claim Payments
Authorization to Purchase
Appointment of Deputy-Clerk and Deputy-Treasurer
Check Signatures
Appointment of School Attorneys
Resolution Appointing School District Responsible Authority

The School Board unanimously approved the January 2023 Organizational Business Items and Resolution designating School District Responsible Authority to be Astein Osei, Superintendent, as presented.

Action Items

2023 School Board Compensation - The School Board approved the following School Board salaries for 2023:

2023-24 School Board Meeting Dates - The School Board approved dates for 2023-24 School Board meetings. Meetings will follow the same schedule of the second and fourth Tuesday of the month and begin at 6:30 p.m. If there is a holiday on the date of a School Board meeting, the meeting will take place the next day (Wednesday).* Open Forum is held at the second meeting of each month and will not take place in December and August when only one meeting is held. There are no school board meetings scheduled in July.

* School Board meeting dates are subject to change will be properly posted in compliance with Open Meeting Law.

School Board Liaison Assignments - The School Board approved School Board Committee and School Liaison assignments. School Liaison assignments are as follows:

2024-25 School Year Calendar - The School Board approved the 2024-25 School Year Calendar. The School Board will review the calendar again at a meeting prior to the 2024-25 school year to ensure that no additional changes need to be made.

Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission Appointment - The School Board approved the appointment of David Yakes to serve on the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission for the City of St. Louis Park as a school district representative.

Click on the link below to access all school board assignments and the board packet containing all presentations and meeting materials.

01.10.23 School Board Meeting Materials

Get in touch with the School Board

Board members welcome your input. Email the entire School Board at schoolboard@slpschools.org. You can also call the school board message line with your questions or comments: 952-928-6040. The Board also holds Open Forum at each Business Meeting, which occur on the fourth Tuesday of every month. To participate in Open Forum, please complete this sign-up form by 3 p.m. on the day of the meeting at which you would like to address the School Board.

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