Study Gives St. Louis Park Schools Low Grades for Achievement Gap

The Minnesota Campaign for Achievement Now graded schools on student performance, subgroup performance, performance gains and the achievement gap.

St. Louis Park students perform better than most in the state—but the difference between white and minority students is also bigger, according to report cards the Minnesota Campaign for Achievement Now (MinnCAN) released last month. While the state as a whole has a 34.4-point difference between white and black students at the high school level, St. Louis Park has a 40.3 point gap. The achievement gap is a persistent problem across the state. While Minnesota's public schools excel in test scores, the achievement gaps between white kids and students of color—and low-income and high-income students—are still significantly larger than national averages. In a March report, the MinnCAN sliced and diced public school data and published "report …

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SLP Residents are Pleased Pollock is Permanent Principal

After we posted a story Tuesday about St. Louis Park Schools officially naming Clarence Pollock the head of Aquila Elementary School, comments poured in.

On Tuesday, St. Louis Park Schools announced that interim Aquila Elementary School Principal Clarence Pollock is now the permanent head of the school. Almost as soon as we posted the story on our homepage, in our email newsletter and on social media, compliments came in supporting the decision. Here's a sampling of the thoughts posted on St. Louis Park Patch: The District put former Principal Freida Bailey on leave in April 2011. In January 2012, the district announced Bailey was to immediately start her new position of "principal on special assignment." Readers liked our post on our Facebook page 21 times. We received even more comments on Facebook than we did on our website. Here's what readers said: Have you weighed in yet? Tell us what…

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Pollock Named Permanent Principal at Aquila

He’s been the school’s interim principal since the district placed the former principal on leave in 2011.

Pollock Named Permanent Principal at Aquila

He’s been the school’s interim principal since the district placed the former principal on leave in 2011.

The St. Louis Park school district selected Aquila Elementary School’s longtime interim principal to be the school’s permanent head, the district announced Tuesday. Clarence Pollock has been Aquila’s interim principal since April 2011, when the district placed former principal Freida Bailey on leave. Parents, including several members of the school's parent-teacher organization, accused Bailey of mishandling three bullying incidents, "lacking school spirit" and displaying poor leadership that—they claimed—created a poor learning environment for their children. Pollock took the job as interim principal after having been the assistant principal at St. Louis Park High School between 2004 and 2011. He’s also been a: Pollock received a …

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More Than 60 Get Flu Shots At Community Breakfast

More than 300 people ate pancakes at the annual event at Aquila Elementary on Saturday.

More than 300 people attended the annual community breakfast at Aquila Elementary School on Saturday morning, according to Lou Ann Olson. The Parent Teacher Organization invited the Minnesota Visiting Nurse Agency to administer flu vaccinations to anyone who needed one. Olson said 60 people received vaccinations. About one-fourth of those people did not have insurance, so Olson said they received free or discounted vaccinations. Clarence Pollock, Aquila principal, helped cook the pancakes at the event. The Star Tribune reported he got a flu shot at the breakfast. "With everything going on in our community with Carly ... this year, it's become a serious year," Pollock said, according to the Star Tribune. Carly Christenson died Jan. 8 of flu…

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SLP District Might Build School Additions

'Temporary additions at elementary schools could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars while permanent additions of four classrooms would cost an estimated $3.2 million, according to Paul Aplikowski of Wold Architects and Engineers.'

Bailey to Stay in District on Special Assignment

The former Aquila Elementary principal will focus on the achievement gap.

Freida Bailey, the former Aquila Elementary principal who was put on paid administrative leave last April after a group of parents called for her ouster, has been given the job of "principal on special assignment" within the district. The full-time job, which is effective immediately, will have Bailey looking at ways to address the achievement gap between white students and black students. Interim Aquila principal Clarence Pollock will remain in that position at least until the end of this school year, district spokeswoman Sara Thompson said. Scott Meyers, who took on Pollock's previous job as assistant principal at St. Louis Park High School, will also remain in that role through this school year. Thompson said no decisions have been made…

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State, Local Officials Critical of NCLB

Local and state officials say tests linked to No Child Left Behind don't tell a full picture, and the state is requesting a waiver from the program.

St. Louis Park Public Schools didn’t meet No Child Left Behind standards this year, but district and state officials say the evaluation process isn’t a full and accurate measure. The federal law, which was passed in 2001, requires school districts across the country to administer standardized tests to see if schools are making adequate yearly progress (AYP). This year, nearly half of the state’s 2,255 schools are not hitting the mark, according to data made public on Friday. State Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius has labeled the process as “unfair,” and she is leading the push for Minnesota to apply for a waiver that would release the state from certain sanctions tied to NCLB, including requiring some schools to provide students …

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Aquila Makes Math, Literacy Gains Despite Principal Turmoil

Students jumped by 13 percent in math, 6 percent in reading.

At Monday night's school board meeting, Aquila Elementary Interim Principal Clarence Pollock presented the school's gains in teaching reading and math, made despite the sudden replacement of the former principal last month. Using a nationwide standardized test called the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) test, given three times a year, Aquila's students jumped from 54 percent proficiency to 67 percent proficiency in math, and 55 percent proficiency to 61 percent proficiency in reading. Pollock pinned the increase on a range of new instructional approaches that tailored teaching to individual students' needs. Still, Pollock and Olivia Tolzin, Aquila's International Baccalaureate program coordinator, acknowledged that the gains were …

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Mayoral Minute: Jacobs Wants Crowd 'Under Control' for Freight Talks

St. Louis Park Mayor Jeff Jacobs also said he would be in favor of trapping coyotes if possible.

St. Louis Park Patch sat down with St. Louis Park Mayor Jeff Jacobs last week for a monthly chat. St. Louis Park Patch: What are your expectations for the freight rail listening sessions this week (on Wednesday and Thursday)? Mayor Jeff Jacobs: Well, we’ll see. We’re trying to keep people’s behavior under control. What I’m hoping for is what I’ll call a “St. Louis Park-level discussion.” We (often) conduct hearings like this, and I’ve been particularly proud with the way people have conducted themselves. This is probably the most important decision (City Council) will make, frankly, in my time as a mayor. I want to send a signal to the people who are really going to make the decision. And frankly, that’s not going to be the City Council. …

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