South High School (Minneapolis) - Student Body and Academics

Student Body and Academics

There was so much interest in the school during the 1990s that local newspapers printed articles with parents stating that if their child's application to the magnet program at South was not accepted, they would send their child to private school. South has extensive offerings in general education, special education, athletics, and world languages (French, Spanish, German, Latin, Chinese, Ojibwe, and for many years also Russian). In 2012, Somali was added as a language class. The school is renowned for its cultural diversity, with students from White, African-American, Asian (particularly Hmong), Northeast African (particularly Somali and Oromo), American Indian, and Hispanic communities. There is an increasing number of Eastern European students.

While many academic programs at South are widely respected, the South student body also experiences a significant achievement gap. Students from wealthier and more educated families tend to be enrolled in Advanced Placement and College in the Schools classes, and attend college after high school much more frequently than students from other socio-economic backgrounds. This trend is also discernible by ethnic background. In fact, a significant percentage of South students drop out of school completely before graduation. These trends exemplify the sociological concept of social reproduction, whereby barriers to social mobility prevent the poor from leaving poverty. The state of Minnesota, to comply with the federal No Child Left Behind legislation, has given SHS two stars out of five in both reading and mathematics. This means that South failed to meet federal accountability standards in both categories in the preceding academic year. The school received nationwide press in 2005 after it introduced online physical education classes. The program allows students to select a physical activity of their preference and then engage in that activity three times a week in order to meet the P.E. requirements of the school.