SLP Schools Communicator

March 29, 2024 | Stories from St. Louis Park Public Schools

The SLP Communicator, published monthly, centers the stories and voices of students, staff, and our community. District-level news and information will be shared in school newsletters.

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Q&A with incoming Superintendent, Dr. Hines

Anya Panday is a junior at SLPHS and an intern with the communications department. As the Editor-in-Chief of the SLPHS student-run newspaper, Echo, she is committed to the representation of student voice within the district. As an intern for the communications department, she develops a story for each SLP Communicator to incorporate student voice into the district’s communications.

This month Anya conducted a Q & A with incoming superintendent, Dr. Carla Hines.

Dr. Hines' 2024-27 superintendent contract was approved by the school board on March 26.

Q: What made you want to be the superintendent of St. Louis Park Public Schools?

A: What really caught my eye for over a decade, was I had an opportunity to work closely with many of the administrators that attended the Institute for Courageous Leadership. It was learning with them that got me interested. We were talking about race and its impact on schools and how you change systems in order to ensure that all students have an opportunity to be successful. I got very intrigued to watch closely what was going on in St. Louis Park. It was through the Institute that really gave me the first exposure to what was happening. What really was the hook for me was that I attended a conference and the Youth Data Analysts presented some work. I was blown away, so when the opportunity came open for submitting an application for St. Louis Park, I was like, “Oh, this is a no brainer.” The values that St. Louis Park has established when it comes to the mission drew me in -- when you talk about seeing, empowering and inspiring each student to discover their brilliance. When districts say “all” it means that they get to group some students and apply this overarching approach, but it may not meet their needs. It may not fit who they are as an individual. But when you say “each”, that means that I need to take some time to get to know you: what you like to do, what makes you happy, what rubs you the wrong way, what motivates you. Then, I can really connect and help you see all of the stripes that you have within you. So, it's that connection to the mission that really drew me in and I’m just excited to have this opportunity to join St. Louis Park. It's gonna be awesome.

Q: What piece of advice would you give to your younger self?

A: I would tell my younger self that everything that I experience in life is not always bad. If I take the time to learn the lesson while I'm in the situation, it would accelerate my growth and make me better prepared for the next opportunity.

Q: What is something that you're proud of?

A: I'm proud of a lot of stuff. I am proud of my family. I am married to a retired police officer. I have two sons. One graduated two and a half years ago from Michigan State and is currently serving as a Special Ed paraprofessional in Minneapolis Public Schools, and my youngest is graduating from the University of Minnesota this spring with his Bachelor's in Sociology. He has also started the Minneapolis EMS pathway program. I'm really proud of just how we raised them and how they have really developed as young men. I'm proud to be a member of my sorority: Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated. My sorority is a public service organization. We do public service within the black community. It's bigger than just Minneapolis, we are an international organization, so we have chapters throughout the United States and in international countries.

Q: What is something you are excited for in your new role?

A: I'm excited about building upon what you all are currently doing. I looked at the achievement data, and when you talk about changing systems, the technical pieces have been put in place. Now, we need to just apply it, so that we can actualize the research that says when students have an opportunity to see themselves in the curriculum and when adults see their brilliance, they are motivated to try a little harder and achieve a little more. I want to be able to bring some of the experiences that I've had over my years into St. Louis Park, so that we can actualize the research and show another point that further proves that students can achieve at high levels when you have all of these variables in place.

Q: What's your favorite book?

A: I've got a lot of books on my shelf. I just finished this one book called Hidden Potential, and I believe Adam Grant wrote the book. It talks about how you create spaces where you are tapping into the potential of others and yourself that is generally hidden. If we have an opportunity to tap into that greatness that we all have in us, is it game changing?

Q: What do you hope to accomplish as superintendent?

A: I've always had this dream of being able to lead a district that is the gold star of education -- to be nationally recognized for our student achievement. For our students leaving St. Louis Park who are going to do big things, they are taking the legacy into all sectors of our society. The work that we do as we nurture and develop world students really shifts our society, and we can be that microcosm of what we want the world to be. St. Louis Park has the beauty of being a district that covers the same area as the city, so when you combine your forces and align with the values of the city, we are working in tandem to ensure that we are developing the next generation. We can be that gold star example that people will come in to say, “What are you all doing? We want to be able to replicate your systems.”

Q: How do you spend your free time?

A: In the little free time I have, I like to go shopping. I like to travel. I love going to Caribbean islands. I love just having downtime with my husband and our family, friends, and my sorority sisters. When spring rolls around, I really like going to the nurseries and buying all of these flowers and planting them in the yard.

Q: Do you have anything to add?

A: I'm super excited to start and to get in there and have conversations with students, staff, and families. I look forward to hearing what their hopes and dreams are and how I could help everyone achieve what their true desires would be. I'm ready to go.

New Organizational Structure Beginning July 1, 2024

A Message from Dr. Kate Maguie, Interim Superintendent

As the interim superintendent, I've been on a journey of learning, engaging in insightful conversations with staff, parents/caregivers, and community members. Through these discussions, it has become clear that our district has many strengths, such as our bold vision, mission, core values, and widespread support for our strategic work. Our staff's commitment to the vision and tireless support for students and families, along with our elementary class sizes being among the lowest in the metropolitan area (source: BrightWorks 2024 Class Size Study), are just a few examples.

However, despite our strengths, we recognize that there is room for improvement in supporting our students. Like all school districts, we are not yet satisfied with our student outcomes. There is variability among our buildings and across grade levels in the rate of improvement in academic outcomes, and predictable disparities by race persist in our academic and discipline data.

To make the necessary strides in improving student outcomes, we need a leadership structure in our district and schools that brings intentional alignment and focus to academic and behavioral outcomes. Thus, I’d like to share some thoughts about opportunities that have led to the changes in our leadership structure that will take effect on July 1, 2024.

Stronger alignment for teaching and learning functions

To achieve stronger leadership alignment in our teaching and learning functions, I believe it will be important to:

Provide focused support to elementary teachers in implementing the new reading curriculum, understanding how to leverage available intervention resources, ensuring sufficient time committed to reading, and determining any additional necessary interventions.
Provide focused support to elementary teachers in implementing our math curriculum by ensuring clarity of grade-level standards and understanding the strategic use of available intervention resources.
Provide focused support to the middle school in math and reading.
Break down silos that may exist between regular education and special education to ensure inclusivity and a mindset of responsibility for all students.
Sustain our work on restorative practices.
Design and implement a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) that includes robust use of data to inform instruction and interventions. Without a clear MTSS system and focus on core instruction, our intervention efforts may not be sufficient.
Provide focused support for multilingual learners.
Stay the course on our priority work to support the CARE (Collaborative Action Research for Equity) Team Process.
Stay the course on our priority work to retain staff of color and ensure that their voices are amplified by creating a more inclusive and racially conscious environment.

Current efforts underway

We also want you to be aware of several current efforts underway to support the teaching and learning function. We are:

Hiring four instructional assistants at the elementary level to support curriculum implementation and student outcomes (funded through the Achievement and Integration Revenue).
Making our school continuous improvement plans more rigorous, specific, and better aligned with data.
Aligning principal professional goals with continuous improvement plans to ensure our educators have necessary support.
Supporting teacher growth and development by listening to teacher voice around our Teacher Development & Evaluation (TDE) system.
Supporting principal growth and development by listening to principal voice around what they need to further support teachers through the TDE system.

Senior leadership transition

Another critical factor in the organizational leadership changes is the significant amount of senior leadership transition about to occur. In addition to a new superintendent, three cabinet-level positions are turning over: the director of student services, the director of communications, and the director of human resources. These departures are largely due to retirements, which we expect to see more of in the next few years.

Organizational Leadership Changes

Adding an assistant superintendent position: The assistant superintendent’s primary responsibility will be to support the teaching and learning function.

Modifying leadership reporting structure: The reporting structure will be modified so that the director of student services and the directors of teaching and learning will report to the assistant superintendent to provide an integrated and focused system of support. To further ensure alignment of efforts, principals will also report to the assistant superintendent. Reducing the number of direct reports to the superintendent increases capacity to serve as a support to the school board; to manage organizational relationships; to serve as a liaison with the community; to engage with students and staff; and to provide leadership development and strategic direction.

Adding an assistant principal to Park Spanish Immersion and Peter Hobart: We will maintain the assistant principal at Aquila. We will add an assistant principal at Park Spanish Immersion and Peter Hobart and eliminate the elementary support supervisor positions at those two sites. Susan Lindgren chose not to have an assistant principal and will instead continue with the elementary support supervisor role. The added administrative capacity at the elementary level means that we can assign either the elementary principal or assistant principal to lead district-wide work such as the design and implementation of MTSS.

Given the backdrop of budget reductions in recent years, I acknowledge that there may be concerns about my decision to add a new leadership position and assistant principal roles at two elementary schools. The estimated cost impact of these changes is approximately $280,000. These changes are a strategic move to impact student outcomes. In my experience as a superintendent, the return on this investment will be evident in the transformative impact on student achievement.

Amidst significant leadership transitions, stability and alignment are paramount. It is our goal to ensure that staff and families feel informed as we navigate the significant transitions ahead. We have timed the posting of leadership positions in such a way that the incoming superintendent, Dr. Carla Hines, will be involved in the hiring decisions. View the SLP organizational chart that will take effect July 1, 2024.

I am incredibly optimistic about the future of St. Louis Park Public Schools. As families, your partnership is invaluable to us. We are committed to fostering open communication and transparency, ensuring a smooth transition and continued progress towards educational excellence.

Watch the March 26 Remarks

View the July 1 Organizational Chart

Native Language Speakers Achieve Recognition in the Minnesota Bilingual Seal Program

The Bilingual Seals Program is an examination system in Minnesota for recognizing proficiency in both English and another language. Typically, the test is completed by students who complete AP and IB courses, but this year teachers within the World Languages department at St. Louis Park High School encouraged the participation of native language speakers. A total of 23 native language speakers of various languages completed the exam with 21 achieving recognition status.

Among the 21 students who were awarded recognition, their achievements ranged across the three levels. One student achieved the highest level, the Bilingual Platinum Seal, and the remaining students achieved Gold and World Language proficiency. Attaining recognition not only serves as a testament to their linguistic capabilities but also offers the advantage of college credit.

St. Louis Park High School senior, Ashey Reyes Castillo participated in the Bilingual Seals Program this year. She took the opportunity because she felt it would benefit her for college credits and to demonstrate her fluency.

“It was nice to see that my first language could benefit me really well, [especially] when I have been using English for school and had to learn it when I was little,” she shared.

There are a number of languages offered including Spanish, Russian, Somali, Orono, German, French and Arabic. Students who receive one of the three award levels (Bilingual Platinum Seal, Bilingual Gold Seal, and World Language Proficiency Certificate) qualify for 2-4 semesters of college credit. To attain these seals, students must demonstrate proficiency in reading and writing in English and the second language of their choosing.

Hanna Anderson teaches Spanish in the World Language Department at the high school. She saw the benefit of offering the Bilingual Seals program to students, which is why she wanted to try offering the test to native language speakers this year. She was excited by the amount of student interest and engagement, and hopes the test continues to be offered to native language speakers in future years. Just after offering it this year, she already has a number of ideas to increase student success.

“There is a lot of pride for students, and it’s valuable. It is validating to be recognized for their ability to be bilingual,” she shared.

One of the great aspects of the program is that advanced course placement is not a requirement, which allows for speakers of different language backgrounds to complete the test. The involvement of students this year showcases cultural diversity in education and emphasizes the value of students who are fluent in multiple languages. Their involvement not only makes language assessments more genuine but also encourages a greater understanding of language diversity.

The increased participation also encourages students to see the value in speaking multiple languages while receiving recognition and college credit. This initiative serves to promote the growing need of language proficiency and intercultural understanding.

Senior Suweis Hussein took the test in Somali, which is his native language, but he hopes to take it again in the future in Arabic. He sees great value in learning multiple languages, and plans to develop his proficiency.

“I started an Arabic club because I wanted the school to see that adding that course is valuable to a lot of students. Throughout the process of establishing my club I was telling Ms. Lugo about it. We talked about the different languages I'm fluent in and I hoped to have taken my high school years but I wasn't able to. She had sent me an email for me to take the bilingual seal in a language I was pretty confident in. She told me a lot about the bilingual seal and how it would benefit me. Fast forward, I got the invitation to take it, so I did,” Hussein shared.

Though the test experience came with some nerves, Hussein was encouraged by his parents' belief in his language abilities. He plans to submit his results to the college he will be attending and hopes to get course credit for his accomplishment.

While the program acknowledges the proficiency of participating students, it also encourages continuous improvement. Students are allowed and encouraged to retake the exam to achieve a higher certification. Retaking it multiple times can serve as a way to further enhance language and comprehension skills.

Additionally, there is a cost of approximately $25 for students taking the exam. While the cost can be a deterrent for some students, there are efforts to mitigate the student expense, especially for students completing the test for less common languages. Grants and financial assistance programs are available to lessen the cost.

As the Bilingual Seal Program continues to grow, St. Louis Park Public Schools will continue to encourage native language speakers and students from diverse backgrounds to complete the examination process. It not only celebrates linguistic achievement but also fosters a deeper appreciation for languages that enrich our world.

Hometown in the City: Andrea Alvarez

Andrea Alvarez is the parent of three youngsters who receive early learning programming. She talks about how early learning programs nurture new parents and provide support and guidance from experts.

Download the new Transportation App, My Ride K-12, by May 1, 2024

This spring, St. Louis Park Public Schools will begin using a new transportation app for parents and caregivers to access updated transportation information for their student(s). In the new app, you can access the information as you did in the previous app.

Real-time mapping for school bus arrival for pick-up and afternoon drop-off
Easy access to bus information (bus number, bus stop location, and bus stop time)

The new app, My Ride K-12, is available on the Apple Store and Google Play Store now. You can use your existing log-in information (username and password) from the previous transportation app (Ride 360) to log into the new app or the website.

Download by May 1, 2024

Parents and guardians will need to download a new app by May 1 in order to access their student’s transportation information. Learn more about how to access or set up your account:

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