Saint Paul Public Schools

Saint Paul Public Schools
Location of Saint Paul within Minnesota
Saint Paul, Minnesota Minnesota USA
District information
Type	Public
Motto	A World of Opportunities
Grades	K-12
Established	1856
Superintendent	Dr. John Thein
Budget	$629.1 million (2007-2008)
Students and staff
Students	39,086
Staff	5,376
Athletic conference	Saint Paul City Conference
Other information
Website	www.spps.org

Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS) is a school district that covers all of the city of Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Saint Paul supports a robust network of publicly funded primary and secondary schools. Saint Paul Public Schools is the state's largest school district and serves approximately 38,380 students. The district runs 67 different schools including 48 elementary schools, 8 middle schools, 7 high schools, 3 alternative schools and one special education school. The district also employs over 6,500 teachers and staff. The entire school district also participates in the University of Minnesota's College in the Schools program.

The school district also oversees community education programs for pre-K and adult learners, including Early Childhood Family Education, GED Diploma, language programs and various learning opportunities for community members of all ages.

In 1993, St. Paul became the first city in the U.S. to sponsor and open a charter school, now found in most states across the nation. Saint Paul is currently home to 21 charter schools.

In 2006, the St. Paul Public Schools celebrated its 150th anniversary. Notable graduates of St. Paul Public Schools include former U.S. Supreme Court justices Harry Blackmun and Warren Burger, civil rights leader Roy Wilkins, creator of the Peanuts cartoon strip Charles M. Schulz, and many others from various professions and among notable achievements.

The district has students from families speaking 70 different languages, although only 4 languages are used for most school communication. Those languages are English, Spanish, Hmong and Somali. 73.91% of students are students of color. 69% of the district's students qualify for free or reduced lunch, 17% of students are considered Special Education and 40% of students are ELL (English Language Learners). The school district currently receives $22 million a year in desegregation funding from the state. However, because of two United States Supreme Court cases, schools are no longer allowed to assign students to schools based on race.