In a message dated 6/30/2004 9:16:38 AM Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: The other day I heard on NPR where they discussed that the Hmong refugees have a videotape of the school enrollment process, including what forms they have to fill out, what paperwork they have to have, what buildings to go to, what their choices are, etc. >>There's a reference at http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2004/06/25_randolpht_hmonged/
I called the student placement office at (651) 632-3700 and was told the video is available in English and can be requested from the Communications office at: 651-767-8110. Also asked about preschool openings and all 4-year-old programs in the schools are full. There ARE early childhood programs available through community ed. You can learn more about them at http://ww2.spps.org/familyed/ ... but my repeated calls to the St. Paul school system, posts on this board and questions to other adults have been met with silence on the issue of HOW a person goes about getting their child enrolled. What you need is a copy of the school choice catalog. They are available at the front desk at the main administration building at 360 Colborne and the student placement office at 2102 University Ave. Since most school site are open for summer school right now, you might be able to pick a copy up at a nearby school office, but I would recommend calling first. I've been left wondering if what I'm supposed to do is just show up on the first day of classes to a random location where I imagine they might teach children. I don't know where the nearest school is. I don't know what my choices are. The catalog will give you the information you need about the process and choices. What's more, it has a handy-dandy map that shows you where all the schools are. Before going to any school, you need to set up an appointment with the student placement center. Again, (651) 632-3700. They can answer many of your questions. I've found more than half the links on the St. Paul school website are broken (the private school links are almost all functional, though). The district just converted to a new Web platform a couple of weeks ago which is probably why you're finding broken links. I looked and found school choice information at: http://ww3.spps.org/Choosing_a_School.html Confirmed all links work but for the one to the schools. Use http://ww3.spps.org/Schools.html There's also information about choosing a school at http://parentresources.spps.org/index.asp?SEC={D569310C-1612-4654-A920-E8285E3 C877B}&Type=B_BASIC Didn't have time to check links here. For what it's worth I'm a lot more interested in preschool than anything else, but I haven't even been able to figure out if preschool is mandatory, or if kindergarten is mandatory! So far as I know, preschool and Kindergarten are not mandatory by Minnesota state law. Resources for Child Care has information posted for parents at http://www.resourcesforchildcare.org/ They offer a referral service that includes preschools in Ramsey County. They could probably tell you better than me what the state requires. Everyone I talk to says, "Oh, you should have signed up in March or April! All the good places are gone now." I say, "Which places are those?" And they say, "I don't know..." So I say, "How does a person sign up or find out what places are nearby?" And they say, "I don't know..." or "I don't know, maybe you should call the local school district." So I say, "What school district am I in?" And they say, "I don't know..." You know what? I don't know either. Nor do I know where or how to find out! If you live in East Saint Paul, your resident district is the Saint Paul Public Schools. Choosing a school is a matter of finding a good fit between the child, the parent(s) and the school program. As parents, those of us who've been around can share our impressions; but it really isn't possible or legitimate for us to say this school or that school is the best. What you can do, however, is look at the data. There's a lot of information about individual schools at http://mis.spps.org/data_center/index.cfm?CFID=46441&CFTOKEN=94450775 You can also find MCA data at http://rea.spps.org/vertical/Sites/{E1D3F0E3-35E7-4DD7-B1FE-875A4D6825A8}/uplo ads/2004_MCA_Results_(section_3)_6-3-2004.pdf If you're going to use test score data, you should look more at the SAT10 results than the MCA scores. Also, when narrowing the field you should look at the longitudinal data available through the Minnesota Department of Education at: http://education.state.mn.us/html/intro_mde_analysis.htm This will give you a sense of a school's gains (improvements in student achievement over time). These should give you some good starting points. I would urge you to pick up a copy of the school choice catalog and if your child is of Kindergarten age to make an appointment at the placement center. --Jennifer Armstrong, President NEAT - the St. Paul Network of Education Action Teams 651/774-2957 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.stpaulneat.org NEAT engages, strengthens and empowers all St. Paul public school parents, parent organizations and community members working together to improve public education in St. Paul. _____________________________________________ To Join: St. Paul Issues Forum Rules Discussion Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _____________________________________________ 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/
