Year in Review 2012: Schools

Hopkins schools left their mark on 2012—whether it was claiming yet another basketball title or debating a controversial boundary change request. Here’s a look at some of the biggest school stories of 2012.

Yo-Yo Champ Asks Girlfriend to Prom During Hopkins Pep Fest Show

Hopkins High School senior and 2005 world yo-yo champion John Narum wanted his last Pep Fest show before he graduated to be big. As his fellow students have come to expect, Narum wowed Friday’s crowd with eye-popping tricks that involved lying on the floor, doing handstands and kneeling on the ground—all while slinging yo-yos through the air. But when the March show drew to a close, Narum surprised everyone by asking senior Olivia Hvass, his girlfriend of four months, to go to the prom with him.

Edina Residents Try to Leave Hopkins School District

Parkwood Knolls and Walnut Drive property owners—organized as advocacy group Unite Edina 273—asked to leave the Hopkins school district for Edina schools because they think Hopkins schools are not in locations that serve the families’ educational needs. After a push for a new law to make it easier to leave the district failed, the group petitioned the school district for permission to leave. On Dec. 20, School Board directors decided unanimously vote that it’s in the district’s best interest for the neighborhoods to remain in the Hopkins school district.

• UPDATED: Hopkins School Board Rejects Edina Detachment Bid
• Why Does the Hopkins School District Cover So Many Cities?
• What Role Does Wealth Play in Edina Request to Leave Hopkins Schools?
• Hopkins Prepares to Vote on Unite Edina Detachment Request
• Report Estimates Unite Edina Detachment Would Cost Hopkins $550K
• Unite Edina Leaders Downplay Financial Impact of Detachment Request
• Edina Residents Ask Hopkins School Board to Start Detachment Work

Hopkins Claims Second Consecutive State Basketball Title

Hopkins girls’ basketball claimed a second consecutive state championship with a dominating 77-55 victory over Osseo on March 17.

Hopkins school district enrollment dropped below 7,000 students for the first time in recent years—likely the result of demographics and a narrowing open enrollment gap. Those numbers likely reflect a larger trend called “aging in place.” Couples who might have once left their homes for smaller residences when their children left are keeping their homes longer. That makes it harder for families with school-age children to move into the district.

In the “Hopkins Votes” mock election, students picked President Barack Obama by more than a three-to-one margin and favored Sen. Amy Klobuchar nearly five to one. The amendment questions that were up in the air for so long in the actual election lost in a landslide. The Hopkins school district Election Day activity teaches students about how voting works, voting etiquette and what it means to be a good citizen. 

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