District proposing an area learning center for 2007-08

Much of Tony Scallon's teaching career involves working with Henry Sibley High School students labeled "at-risk" - those in danger of not graduating, teen parents, working students, the learning disabled and others who find typical classrooms a bad fit.
By fall, these students in the West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan school district could have their own school.
Superintendent Jay Haugen said the district is moving toward a plan to better serve at-risk students by establishing an area learning center in northern Dakota County for the 2007-08 school year. The district hopes to submit a collaborative proposal with Intermediate School District 917 and possibly Inver Grove Heights schools to the Minnesota Department of Education before the school year ends.
"Schools have to serve students of all backgrounds," Haugen said. "Whether you're high-achieving or not, we still have to do our best to look out for you - for your success in school and life."