Type Public school Principal Micheal Thompson Grades 9 to 12 Mascot Governors Number of students 1,647 | Established 1897 Faculty 127 Phone +1 651-293-8890 District Saint Paul Public Schools | |
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Motto "Pride of the East Side" Address 1349 Arcade St, St Paul, MN 55106, USA Similar Harding Senior High Sch, Central High School, Humboldt High School, Saint Paul Public Schools, Como Park Senior High | ||
Johnson Senior High School is a comprehensive high school for grades 9 to 12 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Originally named Cleveland High School, the school was renamed after Minnesota governor John A. Johnson in 1911. Johnson is the second oldest high school in the Saint Paul Public Schools district and is only surpassed in age by Central High School. The school has operated in three different buildings since 1897, all located on the East Side of Saint Paul.
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Johnson is the third largest high school in the district and enrolls 1647 students. The school offers Advanced Placement classes as well as the University of Minnesota-affiliated College in the Schools program. In 2002 the school received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation which led to the introduction of eight Small Learning Communities.
Johnson offers over 40 extracurricular clubs and organizations including an Air Force Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (AFJROTC) unit, one of only three in the state. The school was a founding member and currently competes in the Saint Paul City Conference. The school's hockey team has had success, winning four state titles, but in the last decade has suffered from low participation.
History
Johnson High School was established in 1897, making it the second oldest high school in the Saint Paul Public Schools district and the oldest on the East Side of Saint Paul. The school was originally named Cleveland High School, after the U.S. President Grover Cleveland, although some sources state the school was named after Horace Cleveland, a local landscape architect.
In 1910 increasing enrollment and overcrowding led to the construction of a second school building at 740 York Ave. The school was renamed John A. Johnson High School in honor of the recently deceased Minnesota governor John Albert Johnson (1861 – 1909). Students attended class at the second location from 1911 to 1963.
By 1959 overcrowding as a result of the post-World War II baby boom forced the construction of a third school building. Land was purchased in 1960 at the former site of Hastings Pond, which had been filled in during construction of Interstate 94 through Saint Paul, and the building was completed at a cost of $3,663,529.78. Johnson High School has been located at the third school building since the fall of 1963.
Enrollment
Students are able to enroll from throughout the city, however most students live on the East Side. Johnson is the third largest high school in the Saint Paul Public Schools district with 1647 students attending in the 2006–2007 school year. The plurality of students identified as Asian, with 46%, while students identifying as Black and White composed 29% and 14% of the student body respectively. Ten percent (10%) of students identified as Hispanic and 2% American Indian. Eighty-one (81%) qualified for Free or Reduced Price Lunch and 34% of students had limited English Proficiency.
Education
Johnson participates in the Advanced Placement (AP) program, offering college-level courses in twelve subject areas. Students can also earn college credit through College in the Schools (CIS) classes offered by the University of Minnesota, and Post Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) classes at area colleges and universities. Language classes in Spanish and French are offered.
In 2002 Johnson received $1.1 million in grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education. Johnson used the money to create eight smaller learning communities for the 2003–2004 school year. In the first five years the graduation rate at Johnson increased 19% with state-required 10th grade reading and writing tests also seeing double digit increases. The money from the grants ran out before the 2006–2007 school year. Currently, there are eight smaller learning communities within the school. All students start in the Freshmen FOCUS Academy and then choose one of seven other academies for the remainder of their high school career based on their interests. Beginning with the class of 2006, graduating seniors are required to engage in the Senior Project, a program designed for students to showcase the skills they have developed during their stay at Johnson and as a practice for building a résumé or portfolio when applying for jobs.
The senior project consists of four main P's project, paper, portfolio and presentation. The students are required to work on a project outside of class that takes at least 15 hours of their time. This project can be anything. Their paper then has to relate in some way to their project, so if the project is creating a bird house the paper could be able the best type of bird house. The portfolio then brings everything together with evidence to prove that the project was completed. The presentation is then given at least 3 times and ties all of the items together. All the projects are judged throughout the year, and the top four receive a scholarship to help finance their college education.
Athletics
Johnson athletic programs competed in class AAAA of the Minnesota State High School League, until the 2007-08 school year, when the school was moved to class AAA. The school was a founding member of the Saint Paul City Conference in 1898 when the school was still Cleveland High School.
The Governors have won the Saint Paul City Conference title for football 13 times, their last conference title coming in 2006. Johnson's chief rival is Harding Senior High School, and the two football squads play each other annually for the Hatchet trophy. The rivalry is the oldest continuous one in the Saint Paul City Conference with the teams meeting each year since 1932.
In 2010, the Governors won their first boys' basketball state title, beating out Grand Rapids High School and capping off an undefeated season. Johnson made another state tournament appearance in 2006, but lost in the semi-finals to eventual state AAAA champion Hopkins.
Hockey
Johnson also has a history of success in ice hockey including four State Championships (1947, 1953, 1955, 1963), three second-place finishes, and three third-place finishes in 22 State Tournament appearances. Johnson was the only Twin Cities high school to win the Minnesota high school boys' hockey tournament for the first 25 years. Herb Brooks, who coached the Miracle on Ice gold medal winning team, played on the school's 1955 state championship winning team. Brooks' number five jersey was retired following his death in 2003. During the 1950s students shoveled off parts of Lake Phalen because there were no enclosed ice arenas. Most of the bantam hockey team players from the East Side attend either Johnson or Hill-Murray School. During the 1950s and 1960s Johnson was considered a feeder school for the University of Minnesota's ice hockey team. Recently the school's teams have suffered from lack of enrollment in the sports teams. Johnson is along with Como Park the only Saint Paul City Conference school to field a hockey team.
Clubs and organizations
Johnson's literary magazine the Gleam was first published in 1912 but stopped publishing in 1926. In 1992 the magazine began again to help students improve scores on writing tests. The current literary annual is titled the "Mirror." Johnson is one of only three high schools in Minnesota to have an Air Force Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (AFJROTC). There are over 40 extracurricular clubs or organizations for students.