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Old 04-22-2010, 04:17 AM
 
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We are a two mom family moving to St Paul from Britain with an early elementary aged child and a pre-schooler. Are there any gay-parented families/ gay friendly families out there that can recommend either: a) schools that have gay-parented families in the western side of St Paul (partner will be working on the East Bank of the U of M campus) or b) schools where our family will be embraced and my children will experience their family's make-up in the school library/ examples by teachers/curriculum (ie. two mom/dad stories read by the teacher at story time). Which are, of course, also excellent schools! We are thinking about Groveland Park, St Anthony Park and Randolph Heights. Any information regarding family inclusion in these schools or any other schools that side of the city would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
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Old 04-22-2010, 10:13 AM
 
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I'm sorry I don't have any specific comments about specific schools, but I think the question will actually be are there ANY non-gay friendly schools. My experience has been with Minneapolis, but I doubt there's anything different in St. Paul. There are many openly gay teachers and administrators and plenty of other gay parents. I do know they have a GLBT program that seems to also encompass gay-headed families, and not just GLBT students: Out for Equity - About Us (http://outforequity.spps.org/aboutus.htm - broken link)

Kids with two moms or two dads are pretty normal around here, so your children probably won't even be the only kids in their classroom with two moms, let alone in their school.
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Old 04-23-2010, 07:38 AM
 
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I may be way off base here.... but this is based on my experiences. I had kids in a preschool in Minneapolis and there were several GLBT parents there. They were very much accepted and integrated in to the community- and I thought it was great to expose my kids to different types of families.
We now live in St Paul and have our kids in public school there, but I have yet to meet any GLBT parents. I know there MUST be some- I just have not encountered them. I believe that the reason for that may be that St Paul is seen as more conservative than Minneapolis. I don't think there will be any problem with acceptance- but there may not be books in the library and you probably won't have curriculum addressing GLBT issues. The public schools are just not wanting to get into anything that might be seen as controversial by parents.
There is a very strong GLBT community here- and my best advice would be to get hooked into that and get advice from others in your shoes. I have a number of GLBT friends and co-workers- but few have children. The majority of those I know live in Minneapolis- but then again, this is just my experience and might not be others.
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Old 04-23-2010, 08:58 PM
 
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I live in St. Paul, 2 blocks from Groveland Elementary. My kids don't attend public schools, but we do many activities in the community and know families who attend many different schools, including the ones you mentioned. In my limited experience/knowledge I would say you will have much better luck finding what you are looking for in South Mpls. St. Paul is a lovely place to raise children and I love living here, but I have to say I see very little evidence of GLBT families (I look for it because my sister and her partner are thinking of moving here and having children some day, and so far I keep recommending South Mpls, even though I'd love having her in my neighborhood). I don't think that anyone would be anything less than gracious and welcoming, but I believe that you will find many more GLBT families in South Mpls than you will here on the western side of St. Paul. Again, this is in my limited experience, so I think the previous post offers excellent advice - talk to GLBT moms and dads and see where they send their kids and what their experiences are.
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Old 04-23-2010, 09:36 PM
 
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I'm finding this interesting; are these areas really that different? I admit -- I just assumed that the demographics of St. Paul were going to be similar to what I'm used to in Minneapolis, especially with all the colleges.

There's a local group called Rainbow Families that you could contact; their website wasn't working when I tried it, but as far as I know they're still active.
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Old 04-25-2010, 07:13 AM
 
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Thanks for the responses! I am originally from the Cities but have been out of the country for 10 years and was in Duluth for 5 years before that. The cities are now pretty unknown entities. We were looking into SW and S Minneapolis but then heard the commute to the East Bank would be extremely long during rush hour. We are used to British working hours so really aren't keen to extend the day by another 3 hours through driving/bussing. Are we correct about that commute time?

There does seem to be gay clusters in MSP especially in the Seward neighbourhood. But coming in with school aged kids post the enrolment date= not getting into the better magnet schools in the TC. I've been in touch with Rainbow Families and they have less info on St Paul than MSP so thought I'd put an internet call out.

We like the way St Paul boundaries cut more across demographics than the MSP new system. If anyone does hear good news (or bad reports) on schools in St Paul please let us know. Looks like we need to shake up St Paul! Family of Five, get your gay sister to move there and we can start forming a cluster in St Paul!

I would also really appreciate what the commute would look like from the Kenny and Hale neighbourhoods in MSP to the East Bank.

Thank you all so much. It really is all very helpful.
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Old 04-25-2010, 11:01 AM
 
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The commute from south or SW Minneapolis to the East Bank wouldn't be too bad, even y car. Certainly not 1 1/2 hours.

I don't believe Kenny has a direct express bus to the U, unfortunately; the best bet is probably to take the 4 bus (one branch of it runs up 56th) to Bryant or Lyndale, and from there grab one of the express buses. It's not too bad, but you could find something easier. You might want to look into the Kingfield neighborhood; it's not too far away from Hale and Kenny, but the bus situation would be much easier. I think there a number of gay families in the neighborhood, too.

I'll also throw in a recommendation for my own favorite Minneapolis neighborhood, CARAG; it's part of both the Lyn-Lake and Uptown areas, and is an easy commute to the U via bus (not too bad if driving, but bus is easier). The nice thing about CARAG is that there are express buses running up both Lyndale and Hennepin (the east and west borders of the neighborhood), as well as the regular 6 bus (slower than the expresses, but a nice option to have for odd hours; it goes past the East Bank). I remember reading that at one time CARAG had one of the largest percentages of GLBT-headed families in the country; no idea if that's true or if it's still true. I think Rainbow Families has its office in CARAG, actually. Or check out the Lyndale neighborhood just to the east of Lyndale; very diverse (both in terms of race/ethnicity and economics), very GLBT-friendly, some nice parks for kids, and a VERY active and community-minded neighborhood organization.
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Old 04-25-2010, 11:47 AM
 
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bekahrondac, you are certainly welcome in our neighborhood! I live in the Highland Park neighborhood of St Paul and we have an excellent neighborhood school- Horace Mann. I would suggest making sure you're comfortable with whatever neighborhood school you'd have, as the odds of getting in a magnet school may be low now.

As far as commuting... it would be a 5 mile, scenic drive along Mississippi River Blvd to get to the U from our neighborhood. If you are a bike rider, it's perfect, as the paths along the river will take you right there. Plenty of buses to get you there as well. You might want to look on either side of the Mississippi, as commute to U would be a breeze. But then again, the commute from anywhere in Minneapolis to the U should be easy- with plenty of alternative routes.

I would hope that your family would be welcome in any part of the Cities, regardless of the number of GLBT families in that area.
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Old 04-28-2010, 02:15 PM
 
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Thanks again! It's an incredible search. And thanks for the invite Libby01. We may just end up in Highland! We like the look of both Highland Elementary and Horace Mann.
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Old 05-11-2010, 08:25 PM
 
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I know that Friend's School of Minnesota (Quaker) in St. Paul is super accepting and friendly. They are a K-8 school with a low teacher to student ratio and they do a great job with education, social justice, and non-judgment.
Plus, I've been very much accepted in SW Minneapolis. My partner and I live in a nice neighborhood and feel welcomed and included in the community by our neighbors.
Welcome to Minnesota!
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