Leo’s little book crisis: St. Paul teacher raises money for books

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Tall and taciturn, Leo Bickelhaupt moseys among the tables in his classroom at St Paul’s Open School, tossing questions at his students. “What did you think of the ghost?” “Yeah, why did the director do that?”The 10th, 11th, and 12th graders of Leo’s Advanced English class had just finished a class period comparing different film adaptations of Shakespeare’s Macbeth as a way to understand how the script turns into a production.Leo and Megan are still accepting donations, and giving out receipts for tax-deductable donations. Working through Open School, they will be buying the remaining sets of books through the Red Balloon Bookstore, which offers 20-25% discounts for teachers. Checks should be made out to Open School” (memo:”Leo’s Book Fund”) and should be mailed to:Leo BickelhauptOpen School90 Western Avenue SouthSt Paul, MN 55102“Leo’s class is unbeatable for English,” Daniel, an 11th grader, proclaimed excitedly to me as he left the classroom at St Paul’s Open School. John, another of Leo’s 11th grade students, tells me he’s had Leo for English every year since 7th grade. Continue Reading

Struggling to succeed at North End

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Despite years of declining enrollment, staff and many parents are enthusiastic about the new, district-funded program of gender-segregated classes at North End Elementary. Their enthusiasm holds in spite of the challenges the school faces this year: a 9% drop in enrollment and a $395,133 budget cut, or 13.4% from last year. Both enrollment and total budget are likely to continue decreasing as total numbers of elementary-school aged students in St Paul drops, part of larger demographic trends nation-wide.Background on gender-separated program at North EndThe district applied for and received grant funding to support a “University Academy of Excellence for Boys” at North End. The grant application said the program would focus on increasing achievement for African-American boys through culturally specific curriculum and teaching practices. North End has low enrollment, and the district hoped to attract more students to the new, gender-separated “academy.” Continue Reading