new semester at Park brings the renewal of parking permits for the student parking lot. However, some are concerned with how the school enforces parking policies. Junior Richie Stoeckel said he’s parked his car in the lot before without a permit. “I have parked in the parking lot without a pass, and I did not get in trouble for that,” Stoeckel said. “It went unnoticed.” Assistant principal Kari Schwietering said 185 parking permits are available for students. Permits cost $50 and the money goes to parking lot maintenance. The student handbook states the first two times a car is found in the student lot without a permit, a warning slip is put on the car. The third time a car violates the policy, the car is towed. “We sell permits by semester, and they’re sold first-come-firstserve, so the first day of the semester, students were coming in and some parents and buying them,” said Schwietering. “First semester, we didn’t run out of them until it was at least a couple of weeks into the semester.” Mary Quinn, who monitors the parking lots, said she checks permits daily. “I usually just drive really slow and check each row, and if there is something I can’t see, I get out of my car and check. I also not only check for permits, but for the safety of the cars for flat tires; lights left on,” Quinn said. Schwietering said parking permits should be enforced to be fair to students who paid. “If we aren’t going (to enforce the permits) then we should just open it up to anybody,” Schwietering said. “It doesn’t seem fair if there are students that are paying and other students who are parking all the time there anyways.” Senior Ketki Hotaling said permits should be tracked. “(With) going to college next year, $50 is really expensive, so those of us who actually spent the money to get the parking passes, it’s only fair that they should get (spots in the lot),” Hotaling said. “While I understand that some people might not be able to afford them, there’s parking spots right over along the roads.”
reshman Deonta Miller looked at the layout for the remodeling of his civics classroom, excited for the opportunity to participate with new equipment and a flexible learning environment. “I became interested when I heard about having more technology,” Miller said. “I think it’ll make working in class much easier for students.” Ninth grade civics teacher Mike Nordean’s classroom, C367, will be the first within St. Louis Park Schools to receive a redesign from a new task force called the Learning Design Team (LDT), according to superintendent Rob Metz.
Metz said the task force will begin fully evaluating district facilities in March, with hopes of bringing a referendum — a direct vote on a single political question — on facility upgrades to taxpayers in November 2017. Nordean said the LDT chose his class because of the full wall already built in, compared to collapsible walls in other C3 rooms. Metz, who helps lead the LDT, said he hopes the remodeling of Nordean’s classroom creates a better class environment. “The idea is more flexibility, so the furniture is all moveable and on wheels,” Metz said. “If a teacher wants rows (of desks), they can have rows. If they want tables, they can have tables.” Nordean said he looks forward to having the added technology and mobility in his classroom, attributing his eagerness to past teaching experience. “I don’t have a problem being
the guinea pig,” Nordean said. “I’ve taught for 20-something years and have been at the junior high and high school, as well as in the district office and a summer school principal. All those things give me a view of things that other teachers don’t have.” Freshman Nechama Buchbinder, a student in Nordean’s class, said she hopes more technology results in more chances for students to finish classwork. “The more technology we have, the more work we’ll be able to get done in class,” Buchbinder said. “I think it’ll help a lot with getting homework done.” Nordean said although the remodeling will present new opportunities, he also understands it may take time to adjust to a completely new classroom. “It’ll be a learning curve because it’s going to present nuances to a classroom where desks sometimes help,” Nordean said.
“This configuration might exacerbate issues like who’s going to sit on the couches, or noise when they’re working in groups.” Nordean said he not only looks forward to being the first classroom with new equipment, but believes the room will be easier to facilitate as a teacher. “I think that there will be less clutter in the room,” Nordean said. “(The new configuration) should streamline or simplify the classroom layout. I can see everything being a cleaner show.” According to Metz, the district plans to create four other task forces, all of which will begin operations in other schools within the district. These task forces handle matters such as evaluating the Gifted & Talented program and improving communications within St. Louis Park schools. Metz said the room will be remodeled during Presidents Day weekend.