December 15, 2022 | Special Edition

Greetings,

I am reaching out to address a recent social media post that was shared on the private SLP High School families Facebook group. This Facebook group is not a district sponsored Facebook group. It was brought to my attention that the post included concerning information about our high school and the information that has been circulating throughout the community has created confusion and frustration. While I do not make it a practice to address every comment from parents, guardians, caregivers and community members on social media, this particular post is extremely harmful and damaging, therefore I felt compelled to respond.

Below, I have shared the information that was included in the Facebook post and have provided responses in an attempt to help clear up any confusion or frustration.

Facebook Post: “The district is moving towards "honors for all" or "embedded honors" for incoming 9th graders. There will be no honors-designated classes. Instead kids will be given the opportunity to do what sounds like extra work to receive an "honors" designation on their transcripts.”

As the superintendent, I have not approved any changes to the current 9th grade experience at the high school for next year, and we will not be moving to “embedded honors” for 9th grade students. As a part of the curriculum and program review process design teams in different content areas have been working together to improve the overall 9th grade experience. As a part of their work, the idea of “embedded honors” has been studied by our design teams. This idea is in alignment with the beliefs of our 9th grade educators.  

Our 9th grade educators believe: 

• offering multiple levels of depth of understanding within each unit and course is important. 
• all students deserve and need space to be inspired and empowered to live their brilliance.
• consistent, rigorous, culturally relevant and engaging experiences for all 9th graders in our system are important, so students are inspired to take Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and Concurrent College Courses throughout their high school experience. 
• in cross-disciplinary, collaborative learning grounded in community. 
• providing more access to honors would give every student an opportunity to show their brilliance in all classes/school spaces where they can exceed expectations and extend understanding.
• classroom experiences that amplify multiple perspectives of student voice provide a richer experience.

The curriculum and program review design teams that were exploring the idea of “embedded honors” felt that 9th grade was appropriate for this experience because we need to create the space and time to see students and provide them with rigorous, interdisciplinary experiences to prepare them for college level classes. 

As a learning community we have to be able to explore different ideas and strategies to improve the learning experience for students. Additionally, just because ideas are explored and discussed does not mean that they will be implemented. This process of exploration has led our staff to engage in professional development and a process of collaboration to develop a more robust, rigorous, and differentiated experience for our 9th graders.

Facebook Post: “It sounds like once this program starts, it will follow that first 9th grade class into 10th, 11th, and 12th grades.”

This is not true. We will continue to provide access to Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and Concurrent Enrollment College courses to students throughout their high school experience.  In fact, we are looking to add more classes in these areas in the future.  The only changes that have been recommended by teacher leaders at the High School are to strengthen the 9th grade experience. St. Louis Park High School offers a robust menu of enrichment course options.

In connection with our strategic direction and beliefs about the brilliance of all of our students we offer a menu of rigorous, college-level programmatic options that compare to or surpass all of our neighboring districts. There was a recommendation from the Science Design Team to change Advanced Placement Environmental Science from a 9th grade course to a 10th - 12th grade elective. I believe this recommendation contributed to the confusion regarding our enrichment course options. Advanced Placement Environmental Science will continue to be offered as a 9th grade course.

Facebook Post: “The principal deflected all questions about the wisdom of this plan to Dr. Patrick Duffy, the Director of Curriculum, and to the school board. She suggested folks contact Dr. Duffy with questions.”

Please feel free to email me with any questions at osei.astein@slpschools.org. Or you can give me a call or send me a text message.  My cell phone number is 651-494-2600.  I am also open to meeting virtually or in-person.  If you would like to set a time to meet, I would welcome the opportunity to discuss our strategic direction and any questions or concerns you may have.  To set a meeting please reach out to Flower Krutina, Executive Leadership Partner, at 952-928-6001 or krutina.flower@slpschools.org.

Facebook Post: “There will be a 7-period schedule next year. There are no guarantees after that. The "leadership team" is concerned with "problems" with a 7-period schedule and its effect on students of color. The only specific problem I recall being addressed was the concern that too many students of color are being directed into study halls instead of classes. When asked how changing the 7-period day would address that problem, the principal backed up and said the "leadership team" was looking at many problems (which I do not believe she identified) the 7-period day presents to students of color.”

St. Louis Park High School will continue to operate on a 7-period schedule for the 2023-24 school year. Prior to the pandemic, as a part of start time changes that occurred in 2019 we had a task force made up of students, staff, parents, guardians, caregivers and community members that reviewed and made recommendations for the High School schedule. When the pandemic started we made a decision to suspend the work of the High School Schedule Taskforce.



We will continue to review the effectiveness of our High School schedule to ensure that the schedule is allowing our educators to best meet the academic needs of all of our students. Park Leads, which is a team comprised of High School building administration and teacher leaders, should be engaged in these types of exercises and conversations regarding the daily schedule. If there is a time in the future in which High School administration and teacher leaders make a schedule change recommendation we will most certainly engage students, parents, guardians and caregivers in a process. 

Facebook Post: "The principal was upset about the survey. She said several times that no one approved it. She also said it had "inaccurate information," but I don't think she identified what was inaccurate. Her main complaint was that the survey revealed the possibility of switching out of a 7-period schedule, which she said was supposed to remain with the "leadership team.""

It is unfortunate and concerning that this survey was given to students in their Science classes.  The survey which was framed as an administrative survey was unauthorized and contributed to confusion about the schedule for next year.  In addition to causing confusion about the schedule for next year, this poorly designed unauthorized survey also contributed to the confusion and frustration around the future of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and Concurrent Enrollment Courses at the High School.  Please know that enrichment course options are a critical aspect of our strategic direction and will continue to be offered at the High School.  Not only will we continue to offer these courses but we will work to increase the number of offerings we have available to students. We believe every student should take at least one Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or Concurrent Enrollment Courses before they graduate from St. Louis Park Public Schools.

I recognize that social media is an avenue that many people get their news and information about what is happening in the school district.  I would caution anyone on reacting to information on social media about the school district that is not provided by the District.  While I believe many people in our community who post on social media about the school district are well intended, sometimes the information that they have is incomplete or inaccurate which is harmful to our community.   

If you have questions about what is happening in the area of curriculum and instruction in our school district, please visit our website, talk to your student’s principal, or contact me via email osei.astein@slpschools.org or work phone 952-928-6003 or cell 651-494-2600.

Respectfully,

Astein K. Osei, Ed.D.

Superintendent 

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

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