Stillwater Educators Protest: 'Teachers Are Not Being Heard'

STILLWATER, MN — Stillwater Area High School teachers are protesting decisions made by leaders in the school district that could leave educators with less classroom space. Around 50 teachers signed a March 17 letter to the school board criticizing the Stillwater Area High School construction project. In it, educators stated that "Teachers are not being heard."

"We find it increasingly challenging to remain diplomatic when we need to explain to stakeholders that after spending millions of their tax dollars, some teachers at the high school will not have their own classroom, an office to meet with students and parents, or a media center worthy of a progressive twenty-first century high school," the letter said, according to the Pioneer Press.

Stillwater Area School district responds

In a statement, school officials recently noted that construction and remodeling at the high school, and the subsequent movement of teaching spaces, has caused some confusion and sparked several rumors in the community:

"The fact is our high school is not too small, and there will be space for students and teachers alike in the coming years," the school district wrote in a "fact check" on its website April 21:

Here are a few important things to know:

Architects and district and school staff have worked hard to design the high school efficiently to ensure we didn’t overbuild, which would have resulted in unused spaces and unnecessary expense.

By working together with staff, we've found ways to convert some larger flexible spaces into learning spaces that teachers will utilize more frequently throughout the day.

Next year's junior and senior classes are the largest within our system - creating an enrollment bubble that will make things tight, but manageable for the coming year. Subsequent classes are smaller and the high school will continue to have ample room into the future.

"Administrators are currently working to finalize staffing for next year, and working along with high school staff to begin the task of assigning classrooms to teachers," the statement continued. "It sounds like a simple task - just assign one teacher to each of the classroom spaces in the building."

"And while that is generally what happens, there are a few exceptions. There are a handful of teachers in the building who do not teach full-time. Some teachers split their time between the high school and another building; others have non-teaching responsibilities for a portion of their day.Because these teachers teach less than five periods per day, that would mean that their classroom spaces, if assigned, would remain empty for a large portion of the school day."

"That’s not an efficient use of space," the statement read:

Most full-time teachers (who teach five periods each day and have one period off for prep time) will have their own classrooms spaces. During their prep period, a few of those classrooms may be used by part-time teachers. Teachers who are not in their own room for a prep time have access to spaces where they can collaborate with other teachers or work on their own. Because of the enrollment bubble, it’s tightest in the Humanities wing (Language Arts and Social Studies) next year. But that pressure will decline in subsequent years.

High school administrators are continuing to work with teachers and staff to finalize plans for the coming year. They’re developing creative solutions to efficiently utilize space and best meet the needs of our students.

Related: Court Affirms Stillwater Board's Decision To Close Schools

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