Article from Twin Cities Daily Planet:

Loving it and leaving it: Phalen Lake hopes to reverse the trend

Though families love Phalen Lake Elementary School, they have been leaving it. Why? “Every family that has left has been related to a change in housing,” Principal Catherine Rich says. “Parents call all the time, saying, ‘We had to move. Do you have transportation? Can we get transportation? We want to come back.’ Some families have left the attendance area – or even St. Paul – and drive their children back here. But that’s a huge hardship, with work shift changes and other factors.” (Click link for full story)

Expansion of Farnsworth Aerospace curriculum

Farnsworth Aerospace Elementary and Cleveland Middle School will become a dual campus pre-K through 8 aerospace program, starting next fall. Younger kids will be at Farnsworth, older students at Cleveland.

In the past two years, Farnsworth has received a Minnesota Future Award from the Minnesota Business Partnership for reducing achievement gaps and a Minnesota Academic Excellence Foundation's School Spotlight Award. It was the only Minnesota school recognized by the federal government at the start of last school year for effective practices, primarily based on its aerospace-based curriculum and gains in test scores among low-income students.

"Schools that are working, we need to replicate them or expand them," Silva said.

Farnsworth parents are pushing to expand the school to preK-8, and many would like to see their children be able to continue with aerospace education in high school as well, Silva said. Johnson Senior High, across the street from Farnsworth, has been mentioned as a logical choice, Silva said, but no decisions have been made