June 2, 2016
by Mr. George Dalbo, Social Studies Teacher
Seventh grade Social Studies students have 
explored the Payne-Phalen neighborhood in St. Paul as part of a unit on local citizenship. Payne Avenue, the heart of St. Paul’s East Side, is one of the oldest and most diverse areas in the Twin Cities. Although Payne Avenue is in close proximity to MPA, for many students, the realities of the neighborhood seemed initially very distant. My goal was to help students understand the neighborhood in the broader context of the political, economic, and social landscape of the greater Twin Cities.
This project began with an initial, exploratory trip. In three shifts, we took the Metro Transit bus #64 to Plaza del Sol, a small Latina/o marketplace playing host to mostly women-owned businesses, to enjoy an authentic Mexican buffet at Señor Sol. After eating lunch, students toured Payne Avenue’s working-class and immigrant history from the towering former Hamm’s Brewery to the innovative Arlington Hills Community Center. Students traced the early Swedish, German, and Italian immigrants’ footsteps from the industrial sites along Phalen Creek to their homes and businesses along Payne Avenue. These architecturally-diverse buildings now host the markets, restaurants, and community organizations serving the largely African American, Latina/o, and Hmong populations today.
Back in class at MPA, students took their impressions and observations from the trip to formulate research questions about the neighborhood. These questions ranged from issues of whether gentrification was a positive or negative force within the community and why there are no chain restaurants along the street to questioning the amount of negative media attention focused on the neighborhood. As a class, students began to explore the assets and challenges for the neighborhood and its residents, both past and present, as well as their own biases and (mis)conceptions of Payne Avenue and similar communities. After formulating and exploring their research questions further, students were ready for their next trip, but this time to talk to some members of the community.
Back on Payne Avenue for a second afternoon, 
students met with the staff at the Arlington Hills Community Center to hear about the role of this vital and innovative space in the community. The group then walked south to Browntown, a digital media studio owned by MPA alumnus Sam Brown, who talked to us about his reasons for locating his studio on Payne. Lastly, students walked to Caydence Record and Coffee Shop. Caydence is the collaborative effort of three high school friends from the Twin Cities to open the only coffee shop on Payne Avenue and the only record store on St. Paul’s East Side. All in their mid-20s, the three co-owners are doing the majority of the work to renovate the storefront themselves, while sharing apartment space upstairs. They enthusiastically talked with the students about everything from what it takes to start a small business, their relationship with their neighboring businesses, and the effects of gentrification on the neighborhood to their shared music tastes and what records should be stocked on the shelves. One of the three, Mat, remarked that after meeting the students on their first trip to Payne Avenue, as they sheltered from the rain under Caydence’s awning, that he had been inspired by them to learn more about the history of the building they were renovating. By the end of the afternoon, students were invited to add their favorite band names to the back of the wooden signboards that will be displayed in the front windows when the shop opens this summer.
As students wrapped up their final project, an interactive map of Payne Avenue, their class discussions and personal reflections showed the complexity of what it means to be a citizen in an urban area as large and diverse as the Twin Cities. Many students are still wrestling with how they see themselves as connected to Payne Avenue. Recently, in a heated discussion, seventh graders debated the merits of simply making monetary donations to the Salvation Army Community Center versus more-frequent patronage of local restaurants and shops. In another conversation, students discussed what potential businesses and services would best serve the needs of the community by occupying vacant storefronts, until one student suggested that we should ask the local residents for their thoughts on the matter. As students sort out their role in the East Side and the greater Twin Cities, one thing is for sure, they have become thoughtful, engaged community learners.
