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Preparing for Investments Along the University Corridor
Racial change in the schools: IRP created maps of the racial makeup of each school in St. Paul and in the suburbs south of St. Paul to show how they are changing over time. By using pie charts to represent each of the individual schools, we can convey a number of pieces of information at once: the relative size of the pie chart indicates the size of the student body, and the color of the wedges of the pie correspond to the percentage of students of each race attending a given school. By focusing on just a few of the schools at a time and scrolling through the 10 years of data from 1995-1996 through the 2004-2005 school year, you can quickly capture the trends. The University Corridor is visible with its grey background so you can easily identify the schools that fall within its boundaries.
The most noticeable overall trend in St. Paul is the increase in Hispanic students, particularly in the schools on the West Side. As you scroll through the time series, you can see the yellow pie wedges expanding, indicating the increase in share of Hispanic students in many of the schools. In the University Corridor, the main trend of note is the general decline of white students in most of the schools. Jackson Magnet and Franklin Magnet Elementary, for instance, each follow a similar trend: they start in the mid-1990s time series with a very diverse student body with fairly equal proportions of children of different races, the largest proportions being about 1/3 white and 1/3 Asian. But over the 10-year span each of these schools see a large shift in the demographics as the white student population drops to about 10 percent at each school and the Asian population in particular expands dramatically. There are a number of all-Black schools in the Corridor as well, including Higher Ground Academy charter school and St. Paul Family Learning, which was far more diverse in the mid-1990s.
Student poverty rates: Additionally IRP created annual maps of the free and reduced lunch eligibility of the student bodies by school from 1997-1998 through 2004-2005. The red portions of the pie charts indicate the percentage of students at the school that are eligible to receive either free or reduced-price lunches at their school. We use the free-lunch eligibility as a proxy for student poverty. The eligibility cut-off for this program is 165% of the poverty rate. This is a figure that is in some ways even more useful than the poverty rate, since the poverty rate is set so low that it would only capture the very lowest-income households. By using the free-lunch eligibility, you can get a better sense of the extent of low-income students in the overall student body.
The free-lunch eligibility maps indicate that most of the University Corridor schools have populations where over three-quarters of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch. There are a few exceptions, such as JJ Hill Montessori and Benjamin E. Mays School, as well as St. Anthony Park Elementary. While the rates of eligibility are relatively high, they are at least stable. The differences from 1995-1996 to 2004-2005 are hard to discern; the percentages fluctuate slightly up and down each year, but there is not an overall trend toward higher rates of poverty in the schools, and this is very positive.
The maps described above can best be viewed by opening the “St. Paul/Suburban Schools PowerPoint,” the first item available below. Alternatively, the individual maps can be downloaded one at a time using the files that follow below.
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St. Paul/Suburban Schools PowerPoint
This PowerPoint contains only St. Paul and suburban public schools maps, all of which are available individually below. Some people may find it simpler to launch this PowerPoint and scroll through it, since the maps make the most sense when they are viewed chronologically as a time series.
(PPT - 2.0 MB)
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St. Paul/Suburban Schools by Race/Ethnicity, 1995-96
(PDF - 392 KB)
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St. Paul/Suburban Schools by Race/Ethnicity, 1996-97
(PDF - 396 KB)
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St. Paul/Suburban Schools by Race/Ethnicity, 1997-98
(PDF - 398 KB)
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St. Paul/Suburban Schools by Race/Ethnicity, 1998-99
(PDF - 401 KB)
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St. Paul/Suburban Schools by Race/Ethnicity, 1999-00
(PDF - 397 KB)
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St. Paul/Suburban Schools by Race/Ethnicity, 2000-01
(PDF - 398 KB)
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St. Paul/Suburban Schools by Race/Ethnicity, 2001-02
(PDF - 397 KB)
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St. Paul/Suburban Schools by Race/Ethnicity, 2002-03
(PDF - 399 KB)
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St. Paul/Suburban Schools by Race/Ethnicity, 2003-04
(PDF - 400 KB)
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St. Paul/Suburban Schools by Race/Ethnicity, 2004-05
(PDF - 398 KB)
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St. Paul/Suburban Schools by Lunch Status, 1997-98
(PDF - 395 KB)
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St. Paul/Suburban Schools by Lunch Status, 1998-99
(PDF - 397 KB)
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St. Paul/Suburban Schools by Lunch Status, 1999-00
(PDF - 392 KB)
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St. Paul/Suburban Schools by Lunch Status, 2000-01
(PDF - 398 KB)
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St. Paul/Suburban Schools by Lunch Status, 2001-02
(PDF - 392 KB)
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St. Paul/Suburban Schools by Lunch Status, 2002-03
(PDF - 395 KB)
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St. Paul/Suburban Schools by Lunch Status, 2003-04
(PDF - 395 KB)
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St. Paul/Suburban Schools by Lunch Status, 2004-05
(PDF - 392 KB)
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