Tag Archives: Galtier Community School

St. Paul Mom Fights to Keep Galtier Community School Open

April 21, 2016

Ms. Gant, a St. Paul Public Schools parent, is in the process of adopting two young boys, and, because the situation is delicate, has asked that only her last name be used in this story. But–it is her story, and she wants to tell it.

Gant has three children: a baby boy, and the two foster children–twin boys–that she and her husband are adopting. The twins are kindergartners at Galtier K-5 Community School in St. Paul’s Midway neighborhood, and Gant loves the school. Last year, it was not clear whether or not–or when–Gant and her husband would be able to adopt the boys, so Gant says she missed the district’s spring enrollment deadline. 

Shawn Stibbins, Galtier principal

Instead, she had to trek down to the St. Paul student placement center, and was directed to sign the twins up for kindergarten at Como Park Community School, the one closest to her house. But Gant toured Como Park, and the atmosphere just didn’t feel right to her, which she says “meant a lot.” 

Gant and her husband decided to also check out Galtier, another school near their home. There, they attended an Open House, but it was unlike any they’d ever seen before. “So many teachers were around, and coming up to us. I thought, ‘Either these people are crazy, or they really want to talk to us,'” she remembers with a laugh.

Another thing Gant and her husband noticed? The school’s principal, Shawn Stibbins, was manning the grill. “My husband thought, ‘That can’t be him!,” Gant says, but it was. “The whole thing was just beautiful.” Another teacher came up to Gant and offered to hold her baby, so she and her husband could look around the school with their twins. 

It all felt very non-traditional and welcoming to Gant, who is an African-American parent, and well aware of the stereotypes about who does and who doesn’t get involved in their kids’ education. But when she asked Galtier teachers how often she could volunteer at the school, they didn’t miss a beat, telling her, “This is your school, too.” The message Gant heard? Come as often as you’d like.

And she has. Gant has thrown herself into Galtier, but not quite in the way she’d expected. Shortly after her boys started kindergarten, just this fall, she heard rumors that the district was planning to close the school, citing low enrollment (the school is about half full). Instead of planning bake sales to fund an art program or a field trip, the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) has had to launch a PR campaign on behalf of Galtier.

“I took my three boys with me on a Saturday this winter,” Gant recalls. “We hit the barbershop, the clinic. We recruited families to come and check out the school. And for our Open House, we had 17 families show up. Last year, there were only two.” What Gant didn’t realize is that the St. Paul Public Schools left this kind of recruiting up to parents.

“We asked the district to help us highlight the school and how great it is. Well, that didn’t happen. We asked them to update Galtier’s brochure, which still showed kids in red uniforms, from when the school was a science magnet.” The district converted Galtier from a magnet school to a community school in 2013, when the school also underwent a substantial, grant-funded overhaul. 

Clayton's daughter 2
Fellow protester!

When Galtier became a community school, it lost enrollment, and it lost the confidence of some neighborhood families, according to Gant. As a science magnet, Galtier’s numbers were higher (partly because it could bus kids in from outside the neighborhood). It was also able to offer a wide array of programming, such as art classes, that Galtier, as a community school with fewer students, has not been able to afford.

But Gant says that hasn’t stopped the school from becoming a great place to be. After getting a redesign, it offers open classroom spaces and flexible, small groups, so that kids can work more at their skill level–and not be confined to their grade level. “It’s all so aligned!” She remarked with joy. “From preschool, to kindergarten and first grade, the kids can move up and around and get to know the teachers. What a beautiful transition plan for kids! I was so excited for my boys to have this.” 

Despite the recruitment efforts, the St. Paul Public Schools told parents in March that Galtier will close next year. Gant doesn’t mince words about the impact of this: “I felt misguided, misled, lied to by SPPS. You don’t tell parents to go recruit, and then give them an empty box to do it with.”

“I told them, ‘This Mama Bear s already upset. You don’t want this Mama Bear upset and pissed off. That’s a deadly combination. Education is very important to me, especially for my three Black boys.” And the boys are doing well at Galtier: My boys didn’t have very strong English skills, but one boy ran home recently and said, ‘Mom, I’m in Level C!’ They have come so far with reading.”

Gant says she is giving nearly everything she has to the school: “I’m there almost all day. I’m trying to keep the school open. My energy should be with my children, but my voice is for all the children. That’s my vehicle that I’m using, but it upsets me a little bit that I have to.”

Her frustration comes from all the good things she sees happening at Galtier, despite the fact that the school looks “low performing” on paper (Galtier’s population is racially diverse, and they serve a high number of kids from marginalized groups): 

How can we really support it and help it grow? Let’s spotlight some of the good things. The data is subjective, and no one is talking about the number of homeless kids we have. A lot of kids transition in and out because of housing issues. There are so many different factors that are not looked upon.

Galtier was just redesigned three years ago. Anyone in business or the corporate world knows it takes at least 5 years to be viable. We’ve lost a year because we’ve been trying to save the school. We can’t do fundraising for the other things we’d like. Any event this year has been on the backs of the PTO. We do yard sales, donations–all done by the PTO. It’s been exhausting.

Gant and her fellow Galtier parents are not giving up without a fight. Tonight, they have invited district administrators to the school, to answer parent questions about Galtier’s fate. “I’m not waving the white flag yet,” Gant insists. The district might assume other Galtier parents aren’t paying attention, but Gant is ready to dispute that:

History has shown that people of color won’t always speak up, don’t always feel comfortable at meetings, or feel their voices will be heard. Families don’t always like board meetings. But we have to keep advocating for parents, helping them understand they have power. I want to start out the meeting by telling parents that. 

  • Meeting today: 5:30 p.m., Galtier Elementary, 1317 Charles Ave, St. Paul, 55104 

No grant, no guru, no outside funding source. My work is entirely funded by my very kind and generous readers. Thank you to those who have already donated!

[Exq_ppd_form]