Arlington Senior High School
Encyclopedia
Arlington Senior High School is a public high school located in Saint Paul, Minnesota
. It is located north of Downtown Saint Paul on Rice Street
, west of Interstate 35E
in the city's North End neighborhood. The school enrolled 875 students in grades 9-12 and has the capacity to enroll 2,000. Arlington opened on September 3, 1996 as the newest high school for the Saint Paul Public School district. The school was the first high school to be built since Humboldt Senior High School
in 1976.
Arlington is the only high school in Saint Paul with no attendance boundaries and enrolls students from throughout the city. The school has the percentage of poverty and ethnic minorities in the district. Starting in the 2009-2009 school year, the school's main educational focus will be a program dubbed "Bio-SMART". The program will emphasize bioscience and the use of technology in health care. The school currently offers several Advanced Placement classes as well as several College in the Schools
classes, in conjunction with the University of Minnesota
.
In the spring of 2010 Saint Paul Public schools faced a $27.2 million budget shortfall. To save money plans to close the school began. The school's projected enrollment would only be 650 students. 2009-2010 Juniors would have been allowed to graduate from Arlington as the high school's last class but only half of the required number of students committed to attending Arlington for the 2010-2011 school year. The district set a goal of 150 Junior students staying for a viable program. 2009-10 Junior and Sophomores were required to transfer to other schools with Freshman able to stay on as part of Washington Middle School's BioSmart program. The high school was closed for the 2010-2011 school year with Washington Middle School's grades 7-10 taking over the school's space. Eventually Washington Middle School will add grades each year until it is a 7-12 grade school.
and Johnson
high schools and for being located in a residential neighborhood. Original estimates for the project cost $54.3 million and as a result the Saint Paul school district authorized a $20 million bond. Knutson Construction Co. was chosen for the project.
, a 1925 graduate of Mechanic Arts. However, the school board's policy of naming schools after local neighborhoods and street names eventually won out with the name Arlington being chosen in a 5-2 vote. The chosen school colors, blue and white, were the colors of Mechanic Arts.
Before the school was built many of the high schools in the Saint Paul Public Schools District were not up to date in technology. Consequently, an emphasis was placed on technology being built into the school and providing the ability to add to the existing facilities in the future. The school has extensive high tech facilities. The entire campus comprises 29 acres (117,358.9 m²) in a residential neighborhood. The outside of the building is composed of tall narrow windows and a curving facade which has led to one architectural critic comparing it to a suburban office park. The "houses" that the freshmen and sophomores are divided into can be seen as wings projecting from the building. The houses were planned to separate the school into manageable sections so that the school does not seem as large to the students.
graduation rate of 83% while roughly three out of five students who initially enroll graduate within 4 years. 35% of students had grade level reading proficiency and 13% of students had proficiency in mathematics. Enrollment dropped considerably in the last years with only 875 students enrolled in 2010 and projections of only 650 for 2011.
Arlington offers language classes in French and Spanish. The school also participates in the University of Minnesota
's College in the Schools
program. Advanced Placement classes are also offered. Arlington uses a teaching program called "Small Learning Communities". These smaller learning communities separate particular student interests into different areas of the school. They provide goal- or interest-oriented learning. Freshmen and sophomores are separated into "houses" of smaller learning groups. Upper classmen follow specified career paths. Originally the school was opened with four focus areas; liberal arts, medical and environmental sciences, informational technologies and communication and policy-making and government but beginning with the 2008-2009 school year those career paths will change.
In October 2007, the school received a three-year, $6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to help transform the school. The grant will be used to create a "Bio-Smart" school for grades 11-12. The money will be use for hiring additional staff and adding more high-tech equipment and supplies to the school's "extensive" existing facilities. Students will choose between three career pathways: bioengineering and technology, bio-business and marketing or biomedical and health sciences. Students will take elective classes related to their pathway as well as core classes, such as math and English. The grant was sought to help reinvent the school. Arlington has the lowest test scores and highest concentration of poverty for Saint Paul Public Schools
. In addition, the school has been described as an "academically struggling high school". As a result of not meeting Adequate Yearly Progress
as a part of No Child Left Behind Arlington faced restructuring. However, the school's restructuring is already underway with the biotech program.
's youth department produced a short video, reporting on Arlington's diminishing financial support for its art program, a video that would win SPNN the 2007 Alliance for Community Media Hometown Video Award for Visual Art-Youth entry. Arlington is one of three schools in Minnesota and one of two in Saint Paul to have a Naval Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps
unit. Arlington's NJROTC unit was named a Distinguished Unit for the fifth consecutive year. Only 20 percent of units earn the Distinguished Unit recognition yearly. The Mural is the school's student published newspaper. Issues are published monthly. A number of partnerships with community organizations are offered. Local colleges such as Saint Paul College
, Century College
and the University of Minnesota
's Carlson School of Management
. Internships with local multinational conglomerate 3M
are also offered. The school also participates in Upward Bound
with the University of Minnesota, Advancement Via Individual Determination
Program (AVID) and Admission Possible
, a program that helps low-income students attend college. The school has a Multicultural Excellence Program (MEP) that gives guidance to students of color who wish to earn a college degree.
. The school's athletic teams compete in the Saint Paul City Conference
. The first year the school opened the athletic teams only competed in junior varsity
competitions. The following year the school competed fully with varsity teams. The school has won two boys Cross Country conference championships in 2001 and 2002. The school has also won three boys track and field conference championships in 1998, 2000 and 2003.
Arlington offers nine boys' and nine girls' varsity sports. These include football
(boys), wrestling
(boys), tennis
(boys and girls), basketball
(boys and girls), baseball
(boys), softball
(girls), golf
(boys and girls), soccer (boys and girls), volleyball
(girls), badminton
(girls), cross country
(boys and girls) and track and field (boys and girls). Sports that are not offered at Arlington are played in co-ops with other Saint Paul City Conference members.
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
. It is located north of Downtown Saint Paul on Rice Street
Minnesota State Highway 49
Minnesota State Highway 49 was a state highway in Minnesota. It originally followed Rice Street from downtown St. Paul into the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities, shifting a northern termini between Interstate 35W and also the Lino Lakes Correctional Facility. In the late 1990s, the route was...
, west of Interstate 35E
Interstate 35E (Minnesota)
Interstate 35E is an Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Minnesota, passing through downtown Saint Paul. It is one of two through routes for Interstate 35 through the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, the other being Interstate 35W through Minneapolis. Thus, both ends of I-35E are...
in the city's North End neighborhood. The school enrolled 875 students in grades 9-12 and has the capacity to enroll 2,000. Arlington opened on September 3, 1996 as the newest high school for the Saint Paul Public School district. The school was the first high school to be built since Humboldt Senior High School
Humboldt Senior High School
Humboldt Senior High School is a public high school located in Saint Paul, Minnesota which serves students in grades 9-12. The school is the smallest of the seven high schools in the Saint Paul Public Schools district with an enrollment of 858 students. It is the only high school located on the...
in 1976.
Arlington is the only high school in Saint Paul with no attendance boundaries and enrolls students from throughout the city. The school has the percentage of poverty and ethnic minorities in the district. Starting in the 2009-2009 school year, the school's main educational focus will be a program dubbed "Bio-SMART". The program will emphasize bioscience and the use of technology in health care. The school currently offers several Advanced Placement classes as well as several College in the Schools
College in the Schools
College in the Schools is an educational program for high school students run by the University of Minnesota. It allows students to take college level classes in their high school and, as a result, earn college and high school credit for free. The classes are taught by high school teachers who...
classes, in conjunction with the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
.
In the spring of 2010 Saint Paul Public schools faced a $27.2 million budget shortfall. To save money plans to close the school began. The school's projected enrollment would only be 650 students. 2009-2010 Juniors would have been allowed to graduate from Arlington as the high school's last class but only half of the required number of students committed to attending Arlington for the 2010-2011 school year. The district set a goal of 150 Junior students staying for a viable program. 2009-10 Junior and Sophomores were required to transfer to other schools with Freshman able to stay on as part of Washington Middle School's BioSmart program. The high school was closed for the 2010-2011 school year with Washington Middle School's grades 7-10 taking over the school's space. Eventually Washington Middle School will add grades each year until it is a 7-12 grade school.
History
As early as 1991 the school district began to plan for an additional high school. Initial projections were to add 2 new high schools to the then 6 operating by 2000. However a lack of funds allowed the construction of only one high school. The increasing number of children who attend public rather than non-public schools was attributed to part of the need. In 1974, 53% of children born in St. Paul later entered kindergarten in the city public schools. In 1990, 67% of the city's children attended public schools. Overcrowding was so severe that in 1992 a citizen's group recommended moving 9th grade back into junior high buildings. The overcrowding was blamed on a surge in the birthrate in Saint Paul and a sudden influx of students from the suburbs, an unusual occurrence in an inner city school district. Plans for a "high tech" high school were put in place in as early as 1992.Construction
In order to accommodate an estimated 4,000 additional students, existing commercial buildings were sought to convert into high school buildings. After scouring the city, two possible sites were chosen. One near the Minnesota State Fairgrounds and the other near the school's current location. The proposed area was the former site of an auto scrap yard. Officials were worried that the location would be polluted and would require an expensive cleanup. As a result the location was moved to a site approximately 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) west. Of the current 29 acre (0.0453125400641318 sq mi; 0.11735894 km²) acre campus, roughly 20 acre (0.0312500276304357 sq mi; 0.0809372 km²) were from a failed housing project and the other 9 acre (0.0140625124336961 sq mi; 0.03642174 km²) were from homes that were bought and cleared. Some of the soil on the site was unstable and was replaced. Critics considered the location for being too close to Como ParkComo Park Senior High School
Como Park Senior High School is a public high school located in the Lake Como area of Saint Paul, Minnesota, serving grades nine through twelve. Along with six other public high schools, Como Park comprises the Saint Paul Public Schools...
and Johnson
Johnson Senior High School (St. Paul, Minnesota)
Johnson Senior High School is a comprehensive high school for grades 9 to 12 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA. Originally named Cleveland High School, the school was renamed after Minnesota governor John A. Johnson in 1911. Johnson is the second oldest high school in the Saint Paul Public Schools...
high schools and for being located in a residential neighborhood. Original estimates for the project cost $54.3 million and as a result the Saint Paul school district authorized a $20 million bond. Knutson Construction Co. was chosen for the project.
Naming
The high school was the first new high school to be built in Saint Paul or Minneapolis since the 1970s. The school district was also not expecting to build another high school for 40 years after. As a result the competition to name the school was fierce. The name Arlington High School was eventually chosen from a list of 85 suggestions. Two names, Arlington and Mechanic Arts, were quickly favored. Mechanic Arts was the initial favorite after alumni of the former school campaigned for the name to be reused after the first Mechanic Arts High School was closed down in 1976 after operating for 86 years. The alumni created a lobbying group and even enlisted the help U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry BlackmunHarry Blackmun
Harold Andrew Blackmun was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1970 until 1994. He is best known as the author of Roe v. Wade.- Early years and professional career :...
, a 1925 graduate of Mechanic Arts. However, the school board's policy of naming schools after local neighborhoods and street names eventually won out with the name Arlington being chosen in a 5-2 vote. The chosen school colors, blue and white, were the colors of Mechanic Arts.
Campus
Students
Students were enrolled from throughout the city. Often the school was used to reassign students who could not be enrolled into other high schools. As of the 2006-2007 school year, Arlington enrolled 1,825 students. The plurality were Asian, at 48%, with Black, 35% and Hispanic, 11% being the other major ethnic groups. 5% of students identified as White. The school has the highest rate of poverty in high schools from the Saint Paul Public School system with 89% of students qualifying for Free and Reduced Price Lunch. Free and Reduced Price Lunch is the measure of poverty for the district. The school has a large percentage of students who have limited English proficiency (58%). 14% of students qualify for special education. The school has an Adequate Yearly ProgressAdequate Yearly Progress
Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP, is a measurement defined by the United States federal No Child Left Behind Act that allows the U.S. Department of Education to determine how every public school and school district in the country is performing academically according to results on standardized...
graduation rate of 83% while roughly three out of five students who initially enroll graduate within 4 years. 35% of students had grade level reading proficiency and 13% of students had proficiency in mathematics. Enrollment dropped considerably in the last years with only 875 students enrolled in 2010 and projections of only 650 for 2011.
Education
As the first new high school built in several years, many unorthodox ideas were suggested. After many of the ideas were criticized the school district requested parental input on the direction of the school's curriculum and held meetings around the city to show their plans for the curriculum. School officials wished to create a balance of college prep classes and vocational programs. The school was planned as and is now a citywide magnet school with no attendance boundary. An emphasis on technology was integrated into the plans for the school.Arlington offers language classes in French and Spanish. The school also participates in the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
's College in the Schools
College in the Schools
College in the Schools is an educational program for high school students run by the University of Minnesota. It allows students to take college level classes in their high school and, as a result, earn college and high school credit for free. The classes are taught by high school teachers who...
program. Advanced Placement classes are also offered. Arlington uses a teaching program called "Small Learning Communities". These smaller learning communities separate particular student interests into different areas of the school. They provide goal- or interest-oriented learning. Freshmen and sophomores are separated into "houses" of smaller learning groups. Upper classmen follow specified career paths. Originally the school was opened with four focus areas; liberal arts, medical and environmental sciences, informational technologies and communication and policy-making and government but beginning with the 2008-2009 school year those career paths will change.
In October 2007, the school received a three-year, $6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to help transform the school. The grant will be used to create a "Bio-Smart" school for grades 11-12. The money will be use for hiring additional staff and adding more high-tech equipment and supplies to the school's "extensive" existing facilities. Students will choose between three career pathways: bioengineering and technology, bio-business and marketing or biomedical and health sciences. Students will take elective classes related to their pathway as well as core classes, such as math and English. The grant was sought to help reinvent the school. Arlington has the lowest test scores and highest concentration of poverty for Saint Paul Public Schools
Saint Paul Public Schools
Saint Paul Public Schools is a school district that covers all of the city of Saint Paul, Minnesota.Saint Paul supports a robust network of publicly-funded primary and secondary schools....
. In addition, the school has been described as an "academically struggling high school". As a result of not meeting Adequate Yearly Progress
Adequate Yearly Progress
Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP, is a measurement defined by the United States federal No Child Left Behind Act that allows the U.S. Department of Education to determine how every public school and school district in the country is performing academically according to results on standardized...
as a part of No Child Left Behind Arlington faced restructuring. However, the school's restructuring is already underway with the biotech program.
Extracurricular activities
In 2006, the Saint Paul Neighborhood NetworkSaint Paul Neighborhood Network
Saint Paul Neighborhood Network, or SPNN is a non-profit community media center and cable television station located in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota. Cable-casting on five channels, it reaches more than 52,000 cable households.- History :...
's youth department produced a short video, reporting on Arlington's diminishing financial support for its art program, a video that would win SPNN the 2007 Alliance for Community Media Hometown Video Award for Visual Art-Youth entry. Arlington is one of three schools in Minnesota and one of two in Saint Paul to have a Naval Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps
Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps
The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps is a Federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools across the United States...
unit. Arlington's NJROTC unit was named a Distinguished Unit for the fifth consecutive year. Only 20 percent of units earn the Distinguished Unit recognition yearly. The Mural is the school's student published newspaper. Issues are published monthly. A number of partnerships with community organizations are offered. Local colleges such as Saint Paul College
Saint Paul College
Saint Paul College, Minnesota is a community and technical college located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was founded in 1910 and has about 7,500 full-time and part-time students.It was formerly known as St. Paul Technical College...
, Century College
Century College
Century College is a two-year community college located in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. As a part of the MnSCU system, it is the largest two-year community and technical college in Minnesota...
and the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
's Carlson School of Management
Carlson School of Management
The school offers a bachelor's, MBA, and doctoral degrees, as well as executive education programs hosted domestically and abroad . Dual-degree programs include a JD/MBA, MD/MBA, MHA/MBA, and a MPP/MBA...
. Internships with local multinational conglomerate 3M
3M
3M Company , formerly known as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation based in Maplewood, Minnesota, United States....
are also offered. The school also participates in Upward Bound
Upward Bound
Upward Bound is a federally funded educational program within the United States. The program is one of a cluster of programs referred to as TRIO, all of which owe their existence to the federal Higher Education Act of 1965. Upward Bound programs are implemented and monitored by the United States...
with the University of Minnesota, Advancement Via Individual Determination
Advancement Via Individual Determination
Advancement Via Individual Determination is an American college-readiness system designed to increase the number of students who enroll in four-year colleges, focusing on students in the academic middle. The formula is to raise expectations of students...
Program (AVID) and Admission Possible
Admission Possible
Admission Possible is a nonprofit AmeriCorps organization whose mission is to make college admission and success possible for academically motivated, low-income students in the United States through an intensive curriculum of coaching and support...
, a program that helps low-income students attend college. The school has a Multicultural Excellence Program (MEP) that gives guidance to students of color who wish to earn a college degree.
Athletics
Arlington is a member of the Minnesota State High School LeagueMinnesota State High School League
The Minnesota State High School League is a voluntary, non-profit association for the support and governance of interscholastic activities at high schools in Minnesota, United States. The association supports interscholastic athletics and fine arts programs for member schools...
. The school's athletic teams compete in the Saint Paul City Conference
Saint Paul City Conference
The Saint Paul City Conference is the conference for seven high schools in the city of Saint Paul, Minnesota. Much like the divisions in professional sports, the Saint Paul City Conference is one of many in the state that divides schools in close proximity into different conferences. It is the...
. The first year the school opened the athletic teams only competed in junior varsity
Junior varsity
Primarily in North America, junior varsity or JV players are the members of a team who are not the main players in a competition , usually at the high school and college levels in the United States and Canada. The main players comprise the varsity team...
competitions. The following year the school competed fully with varsity teams. The school has won two boys Cross Country conference championships in 2001 and 2002. The school has also won three boys track and field conference championships in 1998, 2000 and 2003.
Arlington offers nine boys' and nine girls' varsity sports. These include football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
(boys), wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
(boys), tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
(boys and girls), basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
(boys and girls), baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
(boys), softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
(girls), golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
(boys and girls), soccer (boys and girls), volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
(girls), badminton
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
(girls), cross country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
(boys and girls) and track and field (boys and girls). Sports that are not offered at Arlington are played in co-ops with other Saint Paul City Conference members.