Thinking about the supportive community in St. Louis Park, Assistant Principal Jessica Busse said that was what made her apply for the administrative position at the high school.  

“I think that we are a great community and a great school,” Busse said. “I’ve always heard great things about St. Louis Park, so I was excited to see the opening and put my name in the ring. I was really excited about the focus on equity, and I had a friend who worked here and really enjoyed her experience here.”

According to Busse, she has been in education for 12 years and has carried out many roles in the field.

“I’ve taught for eight and have been in leadership for four,” Busse said. “I was a high school math teacher in Phoenix, Arizona for eight years. I got into an aspiring principal program through Olson Middle School in Minneapolis, and I worked at Kenny Elementary for a year and I’ve been at Ashanabey Academy as the assistant principal for the last two years.”

According to Assistant Principal Todd Goggleye, he became involved with the District through meeting Principal Scott Meyers at the courageous leadership staff development program.

“I got to know Scott a little bit, and so when I found out this position was one I thought it was a great opportunity because of the diversity that’s here in the building and all the work that we have done through courageous leadership,” Goggleye said. “I knew it was a place I wanted to be, where there are high expectations for all students.”

Junior Ava Tronson said she feels the assistant principals could utilize their leadership positions to unify the Park community.

“I think (they) could help Park come together if they know how to handle more diverse population, because St. Louis Park is really diverse. They should help us come together to solve problems,” Tronson said. “I think they could work on maybe helping to integrate the grades because I feel like we’re pretty separated.”

Goggleye said his experience as principal at American Indian Magnet School (AIMS) in St. Paul will be beneficial to carrying out this administrative position.   

“The school is the most diverse school in the state of Minnesota, so that was a connection too, knowing that how diverse the student body is here,” Goggeleye said. “When I was at AIMS we celebrated all cultures no matter where you were from. So, it’s important to come together with differences, work through things and celebrate all the different cultures that are represented.”  

According to Busse, she is working alongside Assistant Principal Todd Goggleye to reevaluate the practices of existing policies.

“We are looking at attendance and tardy policies and we are looking at some of the ways that we do behavior intervention,” Busse said.

Tronson said improvements to high school facilities should also remain a priority to the administration.

“Upgrading things around the school like the bathrooms would be nice,” Tronson said. “I know a lot of hand dryers and clocks in hallways are broken.”

Goggleye said many of his goals revolve around the community within the high school.  

“I want to get to know the students and staff,” Goggleye said. “I’m still learning what are the needs here at St. Louis Park High School. As we’re building a team, a collaboration, there’s some things that have changed, and we just really look forward to working with the staff and building that up.”