Schools - Ramsey Co. - Maplewood Review

High school students learn hands-on while building a house

Northeast Metro 916 Career & Technical Center’s construction occupations class is not like any shop class students might otherwise take in high school. In this class about 40 high school students work together to build a house from the ground up in a single school year.

“There is no better collaboration that I’ve seen ever,” says 916 Career Tech principal Jill Stewart-Kellar. 

Instructor Tom Spehn adds, “The students who take my class typically are the hands-on learners, so a lot of students might not have a lot of success in the typical classroom setting that has you sit behind a desk for an hour and memorize theory. Here they actually apply it.”

“I like to do work with my hands mostly,” says North senior Reid Olson who was drawn to the program because of his interest in construction. He is especially excited to see how all the individual pieces of the project come together as a whole.

During the 2015-2016 school year, the students are building a single-family home at 2341 14th Ave. E., North St. Paul.

The North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale Schools Community Education Advisory Council will be recognizing individuals and groups for their outstanding contributions to community education with the 2016 Excellence in Community Education Leadership (EXCEL) Awards. 

Julie Swanson was recently named one of the 34 semifinalists for the 2016 Minnesota Teacher of the Year award. 

A 16-year-old boy received multiple stab wounds when a fight broke out after a North versus Tartan high school boys basketball playoff game at East Ridge High School March 3.  

Heading into holiday season, some might envision Santa's elves in the North Pole making shiny new toys for all the good little girls and boys.

Area schools held programs to honor veterans and to celebrate Veteran's Day with them. (Linda Baumeister photos/Review)

Across the state, voters approved at least one operating levy request in 47 districts on Election Day, for a passage rate of 90 percent.

Avion Miller, 10, helps usher underclassman across the street, on their way to Weaver Elementary in Maplewood.

While total enrollment is nearly the same this school year as last, District 622 has seen a small spike in the number of students enrolled in special-education programs, and needs to hire additional staff to meet state requirements for student-tea

Levy would remain flat if referendums fail this fall

The North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale School Board approved District 622's preliminary property-tax levy at its Sept. 22 meeting.
Board members certified the proposed levy maximum of $41,339,197 for 2016. If the preliminary levy is approved at its maximum in December when board members will vote on a final levy, it would be the same amount approved by the board last year.