Please Introduce Yourself What's your connection to St. Paul public schools? mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] _________________________________________ I'm Paul Gleeson and the youngest of my five children is a senior at St. Paul Central this year. The four others have graduated from Central, Humboldt, St. Thomas Academy and St. Paul Open School, respectively.
I am a product of 12 years of private/parochial schools in New York and Michigan, including an all-boys Catholic high school. Bachelors degree from Western Michigan University. My children have attended St. Paul Public Schools, with a couple of them spending some time in local parochial schools. We have tried to match the school to the learning style and social needs of each child. Schools my children have attended: Webster Magnet, Expo, Saturn, IHM/St. Luke, Ramsey Jr. High, Open School, Humboldt Jr. and Sr. High, Central, St. Thomas Academy, and St. Agnes HS. We have had kids in Special Ed programs and programs for high potential students. One of my children has a significant physical disability and a lesser developmental disability. This child has also taken advantage of a post-secondary transition program of the SPPS. I was last in a St. Paul Public School last week for a two hour Individual Education Plan conference. At the Elementary level, a school is as good as the primary classroom teacher in your child's classroom. Some are great, some not so good. At the Secondary level, quality personal relationships with adults in the building have been key. Favorite teachers, on-site coaches, band directors, play directors, ROTC staff, Special Ed case managers, etc. have made all the difference for my children. I like the idea of "Small Learning Communities", but don't see how the atmosphere of a small school can be replicated in a large building. Public vs. Private? The choice depends on the needs of the child. Everything else being equal, I'll take public because of the wider cross section of society. My first impression of the SPPS? When we moved from a small city in Michigan to St. Paul 18 years ago, I was amazed by the number of school busses that passed in front of our house every day. I wondered then if there wasn't a better way. I'm still wondering. Paul Gleeson A couple of blocks away from Linwood A+ -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of List Manager Sent: Monday, February 23, 2004 3:57 AM To: St. Paul Issues Forum Subject: [StPaul] SPPS: Monday Introductions Post news and information from your neighborhood: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] _________________________________________ I'd like to try something a little different this week and ask that as many participants as possible post a short introduction (we haven't done this in a while) focusing on your relationship to the school district. PLEASE, give this a try! Including you lurkers :-) This will not only be a reminder to all of us about WHO is participating in our discussion, but it will also reveal some interesting information about the reach of the school district into our daily lives. Some things you MIGHT include (don't answer each question - just one short summary - 5-10 lines): - brief comments about who you are - are you a St. Paul public school graduate - do you have children in the SPPS district - do you have children in charter or private schools - do you work for the district (or have you in the past) - when were you last in a school district building - do you volunteer in the schools - are you completely unconnected to the school district - how informed do you consider yourself about the school district - are you a close neighbor of a SPPS school SPECIAL REQUEST TO DISTRICT or SCHOOL EMPLOYEES: ------------------------------------------------ Even if you don't plan on participating (posting) in the discussion, PLEASE let us know that you are out there and reading, with a brief introduction (a couple of short lines). Knowing who is participating or lurking in the forum should lead to a much higher quality discussion. SPECIAL REQUEST TO EVERYONE ELSE: --------------------------------- Lets try to limit ourselves to introductions today (Monday). If we exercise a little patience and save the comments/critiques for tomorrow, I think that the discussion will go better. Once a hot-button issue is on the table, we loose the valuable opportunity to hear each others introductions - because the focus has already moved to controversy. Don't worry, we'll get to the controversy :-) -- Tim Erickson List Manager St. Paul Issues Forum http://www.e-democracy.org/stpaul/ Hamline Midway Resident 651-643-0722 [EMAIL PROTECTED] St. Paul Links - http://www.e-democracy.org/stpaul/links.html "The St. Paul Issues Forum is a interactive e-mail discussion on important issues about St. Paul public policy. Participation is free and open to anyone. We currently have about 350 concerned citizens and community leaders subscribed to our discussion." _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/ _____________________________________________ For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/ _____________________________________________ For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract
