April 28, 2023 | 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.

I always look forward to the spring as it is a time for celebration and recognition of the accomplishments of our students.  Whether it be an awards ceremony, concert, Elder Wisdom Children's Song program, Scholarship Night, or commencement we take time to acknowledge and celebrate the hard work and accomplishments of our students. Additionally, this time of year has also been a time to acknowledge and thank our educators. As we approach Teacher Appreciation Week, May 8-12, I want to take a moment to recognize the hard work and dedication of all our teachers. 

Education is a demanding profession, and educators in St. Louis Park Public Schools continue to take on the challenge and adapt to new ways of teaching, engaging, and tapping into students' brilliance. Despite the demands of the profession, our teachers have continued to show up for their students every day, providing the support and education that students need to thrive. I am grateful for their unwavering commitment to our students and their education.

In addition to recognizing the hard work of our educators, I want to acknowledge the toll that the past couple of years has had on educator morale. We are seeing fewer people entering the profession and many experienced educators leaving the profession due to burnout and frustration. Across the country at all levels of school systems, jobs are becoming harder and harder to fill. In St. Louis Park Public Schools, our staffing levels have remained steady and I believe that has a lot to do with each of you and the supportive community that you have been a part of fostering. Thank you for everything you do to uplift and support our educators. Our educators are the backbone of our schools, and their hard work and dedication are essential to the success of our children and our society as a whole.

As we celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week, I also want to acknowledge School Lunch Hero Day, which falls on May 5 this year. School nutrition professionals play a vital role in ensuring that our children have access to healthy, nutritious meals, and I am grateful for their contribution to our school community. 

As we approach Teacher Appreciation Week and School Lunch Hero Day, I encourage all families to take a moment to thank the educators and nutrition professionals in your lives for all that they do. Whether it's a heartfelt note or simply expressing your gratitude, your kind words and actions can go a long way in showing our educators how much they are valued.

Thank you for your continued support of St. Louis Park Public Schools.

In Community,

Dr. Astein K. Osei

Share the Mic Podcast:

The ambitions and advice of an 11th grader

Fardowsa Mohamed talks about taking full advantage of opportunities in St. Louis Park Public Schools and the amazing teachers who adapted to the way she learns. Her advice: Don't give up on your goals and dreams...make as many mistakes as you can and learn from them!

Listen on Youtube, Spotlify, or Apple Podcasts!

Transforming Teacher Development and Evaluation: Focusing on Academic Success, Cultural Competence and Critical Thinking

We want St. Louis Park Public School families to understand how we are supporting our teachers and ensuring both high levels of care and accountability while elevating standards for teacher development and evaluation. Our new teacher development and evaluation model, which was implemented this school year, was designed by a team of 10 teachers and five administrators from across the district. The development of the model placed a strong emphasis on elevating teacher voice and teacher leadership alongside the voices of their supervisors. In addition, we asked for student voices and perspectives, getting valuable insight from our students in SOAR (Students Organizing Against Racism) at the high school last spring.

As part of our racial equity transformation work, we recognize the importance of both shared leadership and accountability in the development of this model. The teacher development and evaluation model is intentionally grounded in culturally relevant teaching and our continued work with Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings.

Her framework defines culturally relevant teaching with the three pillars of student academic achievement, cultural competence, and the development of critical thinking/consciousness. This model incorporates these three foundational pillars and also elevates staff collaboration.

The teacher development and evaluation process has several technical components, including:

• Principals as Instructional Leaders: Our school leaders aim to provide instructional coaching and guidance to teachers to strengthen the classroom experience. Each principal has the goal of observing each teacher three times per school year.
• Teacher Leaders/Peer Coaches: Teacher leaders are peer coaches who support educators to develop and grow in their practice. Each teacher leader completes two peer observations of each teacher on their caseload.
• Learning Walks: These are non-evaluative walks designed to build the capacity of teacher leaders at each site and deepen their understanding of culturally relevant pedagogy. Teacher leaders and district instructional leaders engage in these walks, learning from what they see in the classroom and uplifting best practices.
• Rubric: Throughout the school year, teachers are meant to receive up to five opportunities for feedback on their teaching practices, with feedback directly aligned with the goals outlined in the rubric. Every three years, a teacher receives a rating on each of the 16 indicators in the rubric. Probationary teachers are rated each year until they are tenured.
• Professional development: Our district and site professional development is aligned with the learnings and insights gained from the observations, learning walks, and rubric targeting where we can improve teaching strategies and practices in a more systematic way and replicate practices we know are working effectively.

We are proud to report that our new model has undertaken its first year of implementation this school year and continues to become more deeply implemented as school leaders, teacher leaders, and staff become more familiar with it. We have trained upwards of 80 teacher leaders in deep understanding of the rubric through learning walks, and are continuing to build our capacity to ensure teachers receive quality feedback on their teaching practices.

Phil Stern is a 5th grade teacher at Aquila Elementary School and the Vice President of the Park Association of Teachers (PAT). Of his experience as a teacher and observer, he shared, “As teachers we rarely have the opportunity to experience each other's classrooms. The conversations I've been able to have with my different coaches throughout the year have always centered around my own practices and student outcomes. Without a doubt I have changed and improved my own pedagogy based on ideas and feedback I've received from my peers. I've also been lucky enough to act as an observer in other teacher's classrooms. Each and every time I have been afforded the opportunity to see my colleagues in action with their students I have been able to take something back to my own classroom and have grown as an educator from the experience.”

We believe that our new teacher development and evaluation model will help us provide the best possible education for our students. It is our hope that this model will continue to drive positive change and ensure that our students receive an academically rigorous educational experience in a culturally relevant learning environment.

Fifth grade students get a Jump Start at the St. Louis Park Middle School

The transition from elementary school to middle school can be both exciting and intimidating. There is a lot of change, and St. Louis Park Middle School staff had dreamed of a day where all the fifth graders from each elementary school could come together and prepare for their middle school experience. 

“I have been so excited because this is the first time ever that we have been able to have every single fifth grader here at the middle school,” said Interim Principal Jason Boll. 

Many shared the importance of getting involved and making new friends. When eighth grader, Amelia Lewis shared her reflections, she was excited to see her brother in the audience. Though they would not be in the same school next year because she is off to her first year of high school, she had lots of advice to give to incoming sixth graders.

“Be who you are and don’t try to impress everybody,” Lewis shared. 

Maya Opowa, seventh grade student, agreed with Lewis and added, “don’t argue with your teachers and join a club. I regret not doing stuff.” 

Students were encouraged to listen and engage throughout the day for the chance to receive raffle tickets. At the end of the day, there was a drawing for students to receive prizes that could be beneficial for their next school year. 

This experience was exciting, and middle school staff are optimistic about the possibilities of keeping this event for future years. For now, the middle school community welcomes the class of 2030 this fall!

Parents and caregivers can find out more information about the middle school by attending the Incoming 6th Grade Rally Night on May 3 from 6:30-8 p.m.

St. Louis Park Public Schools hosts first annual powwow in honor of youth

During a four week art series, students have taken the time to handcraft regalia, an important expression of their lives, interests and family. 

Ruby Malinski Shoemaker is a third grade student at Susan Lindgren Elementary School. It is her first time participating in a powwow, and she decided to make a skirt for this special occasion. Before starting, she spent time thinking about what type of fabric and colors she wanted to use - carefully selecting items that would be meaningful to her. She selected a beautiful black fabric with pink flowers, and planned to add black, white, red, yellow, and purple ribbons.

“It goes with the other things that I will wear like necklaces, my shirt, and ribbons,” she said.

Each ribbon, bead and decorative item holds great significance and gets added to represent an aspect of the person and what connects them with the world. Some of Ruby’s ribbons were selected to honor her family. The practice of sharing knowledge, tradition and history are all important to powwows. Her dad and her sister are also participating in this meaningful experience.

Ruby plans to wear her regalia at the powwow. Members of the community are invited to attend, and this is a great opportunity to learn more and engage in a sacred event that grounds people to the world. While this is an incredible opportunity and experience, it is important for people to be respectful of cultural traditions.

Please follow these guidelines when attending this event: 

• While at the powwow, there will be drums and people dancing in a circular motion. The circle  is symbolic of the circle of life. Community members should not enter the circle unless invited. 
• A Master of Ceremonies will make announcements and lead the events. Follow the directions of this individual. 
• Do not photograph or video record anyone without permission. Regalia is not a costume, and should be respected. 
• There will be times when flags and honor songs will be present. These are often intended for specific groups, and it is important to be mindful and intentional in these instances.
• Designated areas for dancers and drum circles should be avoided.

The powwow will be on May 20, and this year’s theme is “honoring the youth.” Grand entry will start at 1 p.m. There will be food, dancing, drumming and vendors.

Our Nutrition services department has been working hard to strengthen the dining experience for SLP students. Please take a few minutes to take the school nutrition satisfaction survey.

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6425 W 33rd St | St. Louis Park, MN 55416

Phone: 952-928-6000 | Fax: 952-928-6020