Pillsbury Elementary School

Overview

Pillsbury Elementary is a Community School built in 1991. Pillsbury Elementary does have air conditioning in the building and does not have its own kitchen. The building does not have a Safe and Welcoming Entrance, as defined by Capital Planning, Construction, and Maintenance. The building is 87,705 square feet in size and has a design enrollment of approximately 648 students.

Between school years 2014 and 2023, Minneapolis Public Schools has invested $2,966,286 in capital expenditures for the building. In 2017, a facilities condition assessment classified the building as being in poor condition. The Operations Division will be conducting another facilities condition assessment in calendar year 2025.

Pillsbury Elementary had an enrollment of 464 students as of 01 October, 2024, with approximately 69.6% of those students qualifying for Free or Reduced-Price Lunch benefits. Note that families are still submitting Applications for Educational Benefits, so this proportion may change over the course of the school year. Total enrollment is approximately 72% of the building’s designed enrollment, making the current building use efficient [‘efficient’ is defined as enrollment totaling between 70% and 90% of the design enrollment].

Building Use

At direction of the Board of Education, in October 2024 district staff performed a physical space study of all District schools. This included a walkthrough of the buildings that included many different stakeholders – Board directors, principals, teachers, central office staff, custodians, and others. The tables, figures, and plots below are a summary of data collected during the walkthrough of Pillsbury Elementary.

Classroom Spaces

See Table 1 below for how classrooms and labs are being used in the building.

Plan Use	Actual Use	N Rooms
Classroom	Classroom	22
Classroom	Music Room	1
Classroom	Office - General	1
Classroom	Office - Private	1
Classroom	SEL Space / Calming Room	1
Classroom	Special Ed Resource Room	2
Classroom	Special Ed Self Contained Room	5
Lab - Art	Lab - Art	1
Lab - Computer	Family Room	1

Table 1. Classroom and instructional spaces

Building Layout

The below figure[s] are building floorplans as annotated by building staff.

Figure 1. Floorplan for Pillsbury Elementary, floorplan pages 1 through 2

Guided Discussion

A guided discussion consisting of three questions was held with those who participated in the walkthrough. The major themes are included below, as are more detailed summaries of walkthrough participants’ answers.

Question 1: In what ways does the physical environment in this building best support learning?

Pillsbury Elementary has sufficient space for its students, utilizing flexible classroom layouts that allow for small group work and specialist offices. Most classrooms are spacious and have windows, contributing to a welcoming atmosphere. The gym is large and can be divided for multiple activities, offering flexibility. The school also benefits from a small, fenced-in playground right outside the classrooms and a beautiful library and media center that doubles as a meeting space. There is adequate office space, restrooms near the younger classrooms, and designated areas for social-emotional learning, mental health support, and special education needs. The building is well-equipped with air conditioning and heating, although windows can sometimes cause temperature imbalances in some classrooms.

Question 2: In what way does the physical environment in this building interfere with how we would like learning to happen today and in the future?

The playground for older children is located across multiple streets, next to a condemned building in a public park, which creates safety and logistical concerns. The “tot lot” is outdated and not appropriate for older children. There is no stage or auditorium for performances, limiting opportunities for larger school events. Temperature regulation is inconsistent across rooms, and the school faces transportation challenges with only one block of space for buses, making pickup and dropoff complicated. The staff parking lot lacks lighting, creating safety concerns, and there are no official crosswalks for students walking to school. Additionally, the building has only one elevator, which is located on one side, making accessibility difficult for students with mobility needs, especially since maintenance of the elevator is becoming increasingly difficult due to parts availability.

Question 3: What should the district know or appreciate about the physical environment of this building?

Overall Discussion Themes

Flexible classrooms support learning
Spacious with natural lighting
Older student playground requires off-site travel
Inconsistent temperature and HVAC issues
Safety concerns with outdoor park and accessibility issues

Survey Results

Fourteen questions were asked of walkthrough participants at the end of the walkthrough. There were 5 respondents to the survey at Pillsbury Elementary. The questions the participants were asked are included in Table 2 below, and the response breakdowns are included in Plot 1 below.

Question	Question Short	Question Text
1	welcoming main entry	The main entry is welcoming and able to be used by all students and visitors.
2	physical space design supports program	Generally, the design of the learning spaces in the building supports the way we teach and learn (e.g. classrooms are large enough to fit student desks, small group work space, etc.; there is storage for necessary curriculum, tools, manipulatives; all students can hear when the teacher is talking).
3	enough classrooms	The building has enough classrooms to support the number of students enrolled in the program.
4	entire student body can meet together	The school has a space large enough for the entire student body to be together.
5	adequate academic intervention space	The school has sufficient pull-out space to support instructional needs.
6	adequate regulation space	The school has sufficient pull-out space to respond to student behaviors.
7	adequate SPED space	There are sufficient spaces to meet the needs of the school’s Special Education programming.
8	mental health space	There are sufficient spaces to meet the mental health needs of students.
9	adequate lunch room	The cafeteria can accommodate the entire student body in three lunch services.
10	gyms large enough	The gyms are large enough to meet the needs of the program.
11	enough admin space	There is enough administrative space to meet the needs of the program.
12	functional outdoor space	The outdoor environment provides space for both learning and play.
13	adequate restrooms	The restrooms in the building meet the needs of the student body in terms of location, quantity, and inclusion.
14	building feels bright and welcoming	The building feels bright, welcoming, and efficient.

Table 2. Survey questions

Survey Question Results: Pillsbury Elementary

Plot 1. Survey results for Pillsbury Elementary

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