T h u r s d a y, Fe b r u a r y 1 4 , 2 0 1 9
Vo l u m e 3 9 , I s s u e 5
6 7 5 4 Va l l e y V i e w R d . E d i n a , M N , 5 5 4 3 9
w w w. e d i n a z e p h y r u s . c o m
EHS ranked number one college prep high school in MN page 3
EHS thespians pursue future careers in theatre page 4
Budget cuts impact registration No schedule changes: Students will no longer be able to change course levels under the new registration policy, which is a result of projected budget cuts.
In-Depth: ZHarmony pages 6-7
ZHarmony Opinion: Schools are not adequately preparing students for real world jobs page 10
Edina wrestling tackles the competition page 12
R
Kyra Bergerud page editor
egistration has historically been a time of great anticipation and anxiety for students attempting to choose their classes for the next year. On Thursday, Jan. 24, the process became even more stress-inducing when students were warned they would no longer be able to change their classes the following year due to budget cuts. Despite the tension surrounding the cuts, schools saving on their budget is more common than realized. The state allocated education funding has not been sustainable, making funding insufficient to meet the needs of Minnesota schools. Edina is one of those. “We’re not different than schools around the state of Minnesota that have to make reductions in their budget when they don’t keep up with their costs,” Principal Andy Beaton said. The real problems come with how funding is managed by government services who don’t account for issues such as inflation. “State aid formulas that come in do not keep up with the cost of inflation,” Beaton said. Although most students are just now becoming aware of the cuts, they have
Submit an Op-Ed or Letter to the Editor online by going to the ‘Contact Us’ tab and clicking ‘Send Us A Letter’ For more, visit edinazephyrus.com
will have less flexibility to move around or to change their schedule. However, the budget cuts may provide a surprising benefit for motivated students. Before the budget cuts, many students bank on the option of changing their classes. With that option now gone, many are forced to be more selective with their class choices. For some like sophomore Divya Danthuluri, the stiff schedules next year have been a necessary push, “I have decided to take more AP classes than I would if I could change classes. It was not an easy decision, but I knew that I would regret not taking an AP class more than I would regret not taking a regular class since I think that a good challenge would ultimately benefit me,” Danthuluri said. These new schedule and policy changes being made in the district can be a benefit to students, as long as they are aware that class choices are permanent and potentially costly. But if students take an active role in their class choice, registration should be a thoughtful process that will set students up for success. Beaton concluded, “[Students] should think about their dreams and aspirations that they have for their future coursework and areas of study and register for those classes.”
From Edina to South Korea: The upcoming departure of one of EHS’s favorite Spanish teachers Michael Crater & Sadie Johnson Sieben staff writers
Want to have your voice heard?
been in effect since last year. “We cut some positions, we shifted some costs, we made those reductions. This is year two of those reductions,” Beaton said. Those changes consisted mostly of trying to scale back funding on a little of everything, instead of forcing one program to suffer. The Edina Schools budget is created based on enrollment levels, which went down this year, causing a smaller budget and generating further needs for budget cuts. “That’s why [the cuts] are a bit bigger this year because it’s those two parts put together. The cuts that were going to be made already plus the reduction in enrollment,” Beaton said. These further cuts have translated to stricter policy around changing classes, but based around the same class size policy that is already in place. That means that there are no actual changes in class sizes next year or classes that will be cut as a result of the budget cuts. In previous years, students were able switch course levels in the middle of the semester, but next year that won’t be an option. “We’re not increasing the ratio. It’s district policy that classes have 30.9 students… for next year we just have to be a lot tighter,” Beaton said. Because the district policy will be imposed more tightly next year, students
F
or the last 20 years, Edina High School has been gifted with the presence of Alejandro Diaz-Andrade in the language department. He has been a favorite among students for his humor in class, full of impersonations and goofy remarks, as well as for his aptitude as a teacher. While he keeps his class focused and interested by blending humor into the lesson, he allows kids to enjoy the class and sets
them up to succeed. In his 20 years with EHS, Diaz has provided his students with the tools needed to succeed in Spanish classes. “He’s made taking Spanish fun, and I feel like he’s one of the teachers that really cares about his students and his teaching. He really wants you to be successful and to be good at Spanish. He also makes it fun, so you enjoy going to his class every day. If anything, it makes me want to continue learning Spanish,” sophomore Tess Bernstein said. His students say his success comes from
his combination of humor and his unique and effective teaching style. “He has helped me improve so much, and find a love for Spanish that I don’t want to go to waste, and now I want to do something with Spanish in the future because of him. Diaz made me feel like I was really improving my speaking, and with having him as my teacher verified the fact that I want to keep taking Spanish,” Bernstein said. ...continued on page 4