St. Anthony Park Elementary School

Principal Karen Duke reported a successful start to the new school year with, among other things, two Reading Corps members and two reading specialists focusing their support on students in kindergarten through third grade.

And, the school’s partnership with Hamline University’s Schools and Society course is back.

“We have a great group of 12 Hamline students here to learn about schools and support our students,” Duke said.

Also, worth noting: For the first time in five years, the school library is fully staffed and the library program began in mid-October.

“It has been a month of all of us getting to know each other, as our many new staff members learn about SAP, and we benefit from their new energy and ideas,” Duke said.

Murray Middle School

According to Principal Jamin McKenzie, “Murray is happy to continue launching partnerships and traditions that are exciting and supportive for our students.”

One of these programs, Classroom Partners, connects University of Minnesota volunteers with classrooms to directly support students and teachers. This is the second year of the Classroom Partners program.

Meanwhile, another program Murray also welcomed back in October was Flipside, an after-school program offered in only six St. Paul public schools.

“This program offers a whole range of enrichment classes and experiences for our young Murray Pilots,” McKenzie explained. “We are grateful to have these partnerships and are looking forward to providing as many opportunities as possible to foster students’ success.”

Sarah CR Clark is a regularly contributing freelance writer for the Bugle.