Como Park Senior High School

Como Park Senior High School
Location
Saint Paul, Minnesota
United States
Coordinates 44°58′33″N 93°7′52″W / 44.97583°N 93.13111°W / 44.97583; -93.13111Coordinates: 44°58′33″N 93°7′52″W / 44.97583°N 93.13111°W / 44.97583; -93.13111
Information
Type Public
Established 1979
Principal Theresa Neal
Vice Principals Patrick Coyne, Rashmi Vashisht, Chou Chang
Number of students 1474 [1][2]
Mascot Cougar
Information (651) 293-8800
Colors Black and Gold         
Website http://comosr.spps.org

Como Park Senior High School (CPSHS or commonly known as CPHS) is a public high school located in the Lake Como area of Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, serving grades nine through twelve. Along with six other public high schools, Como Park comprises the Saint Paul Public Schools. Newsweek ranked the school in their "List of the Top High Schools in America" for the fourth time in five years (2006, 2007, 2009, and 2010).[3]

History

Como Park Senior High School opened its doors for classes in 1979 and remained the youngest high school in the district until Arlington Senior High opened in 1997.

Originally opened in 1957, Como Park Junior High School was converted into a senior high school in the fall of 1979, accepting students from the just closed Washington and Murray High Schools, both of which became junior highs that same year. The school originally began with only three classes - sophomores, juniors, and seniors. The freshman class was added in 1980. Construction was not completed when the school year began.[4]

Education

Como Park's average score on the ACT exam was 21.2 compared to a state average of 22.6 and a national average of 21.1.[5][6][7] 51.56% of students were considered proficient in reading while 22.08% were proficient in math. The school is currently meeting 83.9% of the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirements but is not meeting AYP due to low proficiency in mathematics. Como Park has an AYP graduation rate of 96%.[2]

Enrollment

Como Park is the fourth largest high school in the Saint Paul Public Schools district with 1474 students attending in the 2007-2008 school year.[1] The plurality of students identified as Caucasian, with 32%, while students identifying as Asian and Black composed 31% and 28% of the student body respectively. Finally, 8% of students identified as Hispanic and 1% American Indian. A little more than half, 65%, qualified for Free and Reduced Price Lunch, a measure of poverty. 35% of students have limited English Proficiency and 15% qualify for special education.[1][2]

Classes

Como Park offers classes for students hoping to excel in their studies, through Advanced Placement (AP) and CIS classes. In AP classes, students are given the opportunity to take the AP Exam in May to possibly earn college credit. College in the Schools (CIS) classes are vigorous classes similar to AP classes, however they are based on actual University of Minnesota curriculum. The classes are college-oriented and passing the class with a C or above allows students to earn college credit which can be transferred to the college of their choice.[8] There are currently four CIS classes offered at Como Park: English (which encompasses of Literature (Intro to Literature) first semester and Composition (University Writing) second semester, French, Physiology and Anatomy, and Physics. Como Park also offers various electives students can choose from. There are over 40 electives available.

AP Classes

Current AP classes offered to students:

AP Classes
Division Class
Language English
French
Spanish
Social Studies European History
Human Geography
Psychology
United States History
U.S. Government and Politics
Macroeconomics
Math Calculus AB
Calculus BC
Science Biology
Chemistry
Environmental Science
Physics C
Art Art History
Studio Art
Total: 16

Physics C was removed from the 2008-2009 school year curriculum due to very few students signing up for it, but it was reinstated in the 2009-2010 school year curriculum.

Clubs and Sports

Clubs

Como Park Senior High School has several student-organized and teacher-supervised student groups:

Anime Club, Asian Club, Chess Club, Cricket Club (CCC), Dance Team, Debate Team, Environmental Club, French Club, Fresh Force, Gay Straight Alliance, Hmong Woman's Circle, It's Not a Gang It's a Club Club, Latino Club, Math Team, Peer Mediation, Peer Mentoring, Robotics Club, Spanish Club, Speech Team, Student Government, Ultimate Frisbee: CAU (Open) & Aurora (Girls), Yearbook Group, Young Democrats, Young Republicans.

Sports

Cougar athletic programs compete in Class AAAA of the Minnesota State High School League.[9]

Fall Sports:
Boys': Cross-Country, Football, Soccer
Girls': Cross-Country, Soccer, Swimming, Tennis, Volleyball

Winter Sports:
Boys': Basketball, Hockey, Nordic Skiing, Swimming, Wrestling
Girls': Basketball, Gymnastics, Hockey, Nordic Skiing

Spring Sports:
Boys': Baseball, Golf, Tennis, Track & Field, Ultimate
Girls': Badminton, Golf, Softball, Track & Field, Ultimate

City Championships

City Championships
Season Sport Number of Championships Year(s)
Fall Football7 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2009
Cross Country, Boys 1 2010
Soccer, Boys 4 1992, 2000, 2009, 2012, 2013
Soccer, Girls 1 2005
Tennis, Girls 2 2007, 2009
Volleyball 2 1979, 1994, 2013
Winter Hockey, Boys 2 2001, 2005
Nordic Skiing, Girls 1 2009
Swimming, Boys 5 1980, 1981, 1983, 1990, 1991
Wrestling 10 1980, 1982, 1984, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004
Spring Badminton 5 1980, 1982, 1998, 1999, 2002
Baseball 2 2005, 2007, 2014
Golf, Boys 4 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008
Softball 3 2007, 2008, 2009
Tennis, Boys 1 2006
Total 45

State Championships

Season Sport Number of Championships Year
Fall Soccer, Boys 1 2013

The Boys Basketball team won Section Championships in 2003 and 2008. In 2003, Como Park took 3rd Place in the Class AAAA State Tournament. In 2008, Como lost in the Quarterfinal game of the Class AAAA State Tournament.

The Boys Soccer team won Sectionals Championships in 2012 and 2013. In 2013, Como Park Defeated Hill-Murray in the Class A State Championship game.

Notable alumni

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Como Park Senior High School". Saint Paul Public Schools. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
  2. 1 2 3 "COMO PARK SENIOR HIGH (212)". Minnesota Department of Education. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
  3. "America's Best High Schools 2010". The complete list of the 1600 top U.S. schools. Newsweek. 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
  4. Sigvertson, Jene T. From the Past to the Present: An Inventory of Saint Paul Public School Facilities. (PDF). Saint Paul Public Schools. p. 266.
  5. Hawkins, Beth; Allison Wickler (September 2008). "Making the Grade". Minnesota Monthly. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
  6. Associated Press (2007). "Minnesota's Class of 2007 leads the nation in ACT scores". KARE 11. Retrieved 2007-08-15.
  7. "2008 Average ACT Scores By State". ACT, Inc. 2008. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
  8. "College in the Schools - Participating Schools". College in the Schools. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
  9. "Saint Paul Johnson High School". Minnesota State High School League. Retrieved 2008-07-08.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, January 28, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.