Contact the board with your concerns

Go to the Board of Education meetings!!
May 4, 4:30 PM at 360 Colborne Street.

Folks can talk to the board at these meetings:

May 13, 2010                                       

7:00 p.m.                                               Board of Education Listening Session

                                                                Neighborhood House

Heitmeyer Room
Wellstone Center (Neighborhood House)
179 Robert Street, St. Paul

May 18, 2010                                       

4:30 p.m. & After BOE                         Committee of the Board

                                                                Standing Item:  Budget Update

May 18, 2010                                       

5:45 p.m.   (You can talk to the Board)                             Board of Education Meeting

                                                                                               360 Colborne

May 20, 2010 (Thursday)                  

4:30 p.m.                                               Committee of the Board

·   Standing Item:  Budget Update

June 1, 2010                                       

4:30 p.m.                                               Special Board of Education Meeting

Action on Non-Renewals

Tell them to keep daytime elementary instrumental music in the Saint Paul Public Schools!

The Saint Paul School Board has said that elementary classroom music will continue.

The following St. Paul elementary schools DO NOT have classroom or vocal music:

1.       Ames

2.       Barack and Michelle Obama

3.       Cherokee

4.       Como Park

5.       Daytons Bluff

6.       Farnsworth lower campus

7.       French Immersion

8.       Galtier

9.      Hancock

10.    Highland Park Elementary

11.    Highwood Hills

12.    Homecroft n/a

13.    John A Johnson

14.    Mann

15.    Nokomis

16.    North End

17.    Open

18.    Prosperity Heights

19.    Randolph Heights

20.    World Cultures/AIM

21.     Frost Lake, Grades 4-6

The following St. Paul elementary schools have part time music or culture/integrated arts (which may or may not include music study):

1. Phalen

2. Longfellow (.5)

3. JJ Hill
4. Eastern Heights integrated arts
5. American Indian 
6. World Cultures
7. Capitol Hill
8. Frost Lake, K-3 

The following St. Paul elementary schools  DO have full time classroom or vocal music:

1.          Adams

2.          Battle Creek Elementary

3.          Ben Mays

4.          Bruce Vento

5.          Chelsea Heights

6.          Crossroads Arts, Science, Montessori

7.          EXPO

8.          Four Seasons

9.          Franklin Music Magnet

10.      Frost Lake

11.      Groveland

12.      Hayden Heights

13.      Jackson

14.      Linwood

15.      Maxfield

16.      Mississippi Creative Arts

Scheduled to lose 1 Music position

17.      Monroe 

18.      Museum

19.      Wellstone

20.      Riverview

21.      Roosevelt

22.      Sheridan

23.      St. Anthony Park

JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS:

No vocal for Farnsworth

Hazel park (half time)

Highland Park (no vocal)

Murray (No vocal)

Open (no vocal- or band only strings K-6)

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS:

Arlington (.5 total)

Central (.5 vocal)

Creative Arts High School - no music

Gordon Parks- no music

Highland Senior (.5 vocal)

Leap ???

Johnson Senior (.5 vocal)

Open- NO music

Cutting School day instrumental music won't save a dime. By Dr. John Benham

Click the Links:

Reverse economics 1   


Reverse economics 2

The Board has not saved our program they have gutted it instead

The SPPS school board has decided to remove instrumental study from the elementary school day into a two afternoon after school activity.  This effectively kills and outsources the program.  

What this means:
10.6 full time teaching positions will still be cut.
These positions will then be replaced with perhaps a 4-8 hour a week part time work.
In essence less than 1 day of teaching per week when their used to be five full days.

How can the Board say its continuing the itinerant music program and yet not retain its teachers?
The reduced SPPS Staff will simply have to look elsewhere for full time jobs.
The after school programs will go to either other SPPS teachers as additional work or to outside contractors.

Isn't music still in the schools?
It may be but it is no longer central to students education or school experience.  
Few elementary schools have classroom music. 

Won't there be greater access to music for our kids? The school superintendent said so? 
Cutting a program by approximately 80%  cannot improve access.
Rather, it is severely diminished.  

To call a new after school program connected to ALC the "itinerant  music program" is misleading and as proposed untrue.

Why these cuts are bad:
The experiment to turn elementary schools into learning factories has no scientific basis only a financial one.
There is no evidence that this procedure will improve test scores or help schools reach AYP.

A School is more than test scores!
Bring the Itinerant Music Teachers Back! 

We are back because the cuts to instrumental music are back!

SPPS has proposed to eliminate itinerant instrumental music program for grades 4-6, to save $900,000. 
 These cuts involve 10.6 full-time-equivalent positions. 

Call the board!!
Go to the next Board of Education meeting!! 
April 20, 5:45 PM at 360 Colborne Street.
Wear Red!!

Tell them to keep elementary instrumental music in the Saint Paul Public Schools!

More information will follow!
 Facebook connect

If you wish contact all Board members with a question or concern, please e-mail your question or concern to Marilyn Polsfuss, Secretary to the Board (click on name for e-mail form).  On receipt it will be forwarded to all Board members.

		Elona Street-Stewart, Chair 651-291-8569 Elona.Street- stewart@spps.org			John Brodrick, Vice-Chair 651-645-7500 John.Brodrick@spps.org
		Keith Hardy, Clerk651-497-8924 Keith.Hardy@spps.org			Jean O'Connell, Treasurer 651-295-1623 Jean.OConnell@spps.org
		Anne Carroll, Director 651-690-9156 anne.carroll@spps.org			Kazoua Kong-Thao, Director 651-238-1869 Kazoua.Kong-Thao@spps.org
		Vallay Varro, Director 651-592-0513 Vallay.Varro@spps.org

INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 625

SAINT PAUL PUBLIC SCHOOLS

BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETINGS

The following Board of Education meeting will be held in the district Administration Building at 360 Colborne Street unless otherwise noted
360 Colborne Street -- Saint Paul, MN 55102 -- (651) 767-8149

April 20, 2010                                      

4:00 p.m.                                               Committee of the Board

                                                                ●      Standing Item:  Budget Update

April 20, 2010                                      

5:45 p.m.                                               Board of Education Meeting

May 4, 2010                                         

4:30 p.m.                                               Committee of the Board

·          Quarterly Financial Update

·          Presentation of Recommended 2010-2011 SPPS Budget (including Referendum Report & ARRA Update [as necessary])

May 13, 2010                                       

7:00 p.m.                                               Board of Education Listening Session

                                                                Neighborhood House

May 18, 2010                                       

4:30 p.m. & After BOE                         Committee of the Board

                                                                ●      Standing Item:  Budget Update

May 18, 2010                                       

5:45 p.m.                                               Board of Education Meeting

May 20, 2010 (Thursday)                  

4:30 p.m.                                               Committee of the Board

·          Standing Item:  Budget Update

June 1, 2010                                       

4:30 p.m.                                               Special Board of Education Meeting

·          Action on Non-Renewals

June 1, 2010                                       

5:30 p.m. 5A                                         Committee of the Board

·          Standing Item:  Budget Update

·          Work Session:  (PLA & Procurement/Minority-Owned Businesses Discussion)

June 15, 2010                                     

5:45 p.m.                                               Board of Education Meeting