# Highland Park High School (Minnesota)

Highland Park Senior High School is a public secondary school in Saint Paul, Minnesota serving grades 9 through 12. It is located in the Highland Park neighborhood.
The school offers the International Baccalaureate program. It is a national Blue Ribbon School. Newsweek ranked the school #973 in their "2005 List of the 1200 Top High Schools in America."

## Academics

The school has received grants from the Bush Foundation and Gates Foundation to develop the Small Learning Communities model. Motivated students in all three Communities may take International Baccalaureate courses.

### Languages

Highland Park offers a number of foreign languages, including:
* Spanish, including the secondary component of Saint Paul Public Schools' Spanish immersion program.
* French
* Mandarin Chinese, including Chinese immersion program.
* Formerly American Sign Language; ASL was offered in the connecting Highland Park Junior High School, however the language does not continue into the high school, and the immersion program for deaf students was removed in 2008.

## Athletics

Highland Park has enjoyed moderate success in its athletic program. The boys basketball team qualified for the state championship several times in the 1970s before winning the class AAAA state championship in 1999. The girls basketball team made two state tournament runs in 1985 and 1986, finishing second in the 1986 class AA state championship.
As of 2007, Highland Park had also won two conference titles for football, six for girls basketball, eight in boys basketball, four for wrestling, including three in a row from 2005 to 2007, five for baseball and one for boys hockey. The school also boasted a soccer team that won the conference 4 straight years 2003-07. Tony Levine played wide receiver for the football team and was chosen for the Minnesota All-State team his senior year, in 1991. The Highland Park girls cross country & nordic skiing teams have also won several championships, respectively.
The baseball team coached by Peter Brown won the Saint Paul City Conference from 2011–13 and held the second-longest winning streak in conference play in the state of Minnesota.

## Campus

Highland is connected to Highland Park Middle School, a 1958 Miesian building.
Mattocks Schoolhouse is a historic landmark now used as part of Highland Park's facilities. The one room limestone building, originally called Webster School Number 9, was built in 1871. The building became part of the Saint Paul Public Schools system in 1887 and was renamed at that time. For thirty years the building served as an American Legion post before being moved to its current location in 1964 after residing one mile north of the high school. The classroom has most recently been used for Spanish classes. Mattocks Schoolhouse is "essentially a Greek Revival building with some Italianate details."

## Demographics

As of the 2023-2024 school year, the school's enrollment is 1456. 36% of students are White, 22% are African American, 12% are Asian American, 23% are Hispanic American, 7% are Multiracial and 1% are American Indian. In addition, 11% are English language learners, 8% are in Special Education programs, and 46% are eligible for the free and reduced lunch program. The student-to-teacher ratio is 24:1.
| Enrollment profile | 2023-24 | 2022-23 | 2021-22 | 2020-21 | 2019-20 | 2018-19 | 2017-18 |
| White | 36% | 38% | 36% | 37% | 36% | 36% | 38% |
| Black or African American | 22% | 21% | 22% | 23% | 22% | 23% | 22% |
| Asian | 12% | 11% | 13% | 14% | 15% | 15% | 17% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 23% | 23% | 22% | 22% | 23% | 23% | 23% |
| American Indian | 1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander | <1% | <1% | <1% | - | - | - | - |
| Multiracial | 7% | 6% | 7% | 4% | 4% | 3% | 2% |

## Notable alumni

* Dick Cohen, Minnesota state senator (DFL) (1967)
* Steven Greenberg, musician and record producer (1968)
* Debbie Friedman, singer/songwriter (1969)
* Earl Grinols, Distinguished Professor Economics (Baylor University) (1969)
* Jack Morris, Hall of Fame Major League Baseball pitcher (1973)
* Duane G. Carey, former U.S. astronaut (1975)
* T.D. Mischke, radio personality (1980)
* Emily Larson, Mayor of Duluth, Minnesota (1991)
* Tony Levine, former head coach for the Houston Cougars football team (1991)
* Eyedea, born Micheal Larsen, rapper (1999)