Teachers and parents urge Saint Louis Park schools to abandon proposed 5.5 teaching schedule and cuts to specialists

Summary

At the March 25 Saint Louis Park School Board meeting teachers, coaches and dozens of parents urged the board to reverse proposed secondary schedule changes that would require teachers to teach an extra half-class during a transition year and to preserve elementary specialists such as daily physical education and library time.

Dozens of Saint Louis Park teachers and parents pressed the school board on March 25, 2025, to drop a proposed shift that would have secondary teachers teach 5.5 out of 7 periods and reduce specialist time at elementary schools. Speakers said the changes would significantly increase teacher workload and reduce students’ access to physical education, library and other specialist instruction.

The speakers’ concerns centered on a proposed “transition year” in which some secondary teachers would teach six classes for one semester instead of the current five instructional classes plus a supervision/prep period. “We have been informed that we will be teaching 5.5 sections out of 7 next year … This means that for 1 semester of the year, we would be teaching 6 classes out of 7 periods daily,” said Keisha Peel, who identified herself as a Saint Louis Park resident, parent and high school teacher and as a teachers-union representative. Peel and other teachers said the change would be unusually heavy compared with neighboring districts and would sharply reduce prep and student support time.

Why it matters: parents and teachers said increased classroom…

Teachers and parents urge Saint Louis Park schools to abandon proposed 5.5 teaching schedule and cuts to specialists

Summary

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