Welcome to “Schollville”

Math teacher Scott Scholl’s wide scope of influence enriches the lives of students

Math equations.

They are the first thing you see when you walk into Scott Scholl’s third-floor math classroom written across all three whiteboards. Occasionally, among the graphs and equations, you might even see the word “Schollville” written in whatever space is left. The term “Schollville” is more than just a name for Scholl’s classroom; it is used to describe the atmosphere students experience when they walk into one of Scholl’s classes. Scholl began at Minnehaha Academy as a student teacher for fellow mathematics teacher Rich Enderton in 1986.

“I remember when he was my student teacher,” said Enderton. “The first day he kind of took over the class, and I sat back and watched him for about 10 minutes and I thought I might as well just go get coffee. This guy’s got it.”

Scholl didn’t start at MA. After graduating from Bethel College, he taught at Archbishop Brady High School in West St. Paul. Scholl started teaching mathematics fulltime at Minnehaha Academy during the school year of ‘94-’95. He joined Minnehaha Academy after teaching at Benilde Margaret’s in St. Louis Park. Today, Scholl teaches Pre-Calculus, Enriched Pre-Calculus and Statistics for grades 9-12.

In “Schollville,” the walls are covered with math jokes and more math equations, but on the walls surrounding Scholl’s desk, there are pictures of the football team, girls’ basketball team, and track team. This is because Scholl is also a coach at MA.

“I love working with teenagers, love sports, love math,” Scholl stated. At Minnehaha Academy, he has made an impact in all three areas. Scholl started coaching during his first year as a student teacher in the fall of ‘86. He now coaches three varsity sports: football (quarterbacks and special teams coordinator), girls basketball (varsity assistant and JV head coach), and track & field (assistant coach, JV head coach and jumps coach). In these sports, Scholl is able to extend his influence beyond the classroom.

“[My goal is to] bring out students’ and athlete’s God-given gifts, to the best of their abilities,” said Scholl.

Scholl’s students and players see him as a hardworking and caring teacher and coach. He goes the extra mile to ensure students and athletes understand what needs to be done — and how to do it well. Senior Mia Curtis has known Scholl since sixth grade when she used to practice with the varsity basketball team for extra practice. Curtis also had Scholl as a math teacher in her sophomore year. “If you have a question, [Scholl] will explain the answer to your question until you understand it,” said Curtis.

“If you don’t understand it, he will not walk away from you until you get it. He’s big on just seeing his students succeed, so he gives you that opportunity in almost anything.”

On average, Scholl spends 12 hours at school a day teaching and coaching. Sometimes two of his sports will even overlap. This has caused Scholl to earn the respect of teachers and students. “He’s just that solid guy that’s always going to be there…,” said Enderton. “He’s really good at what he does, whether that’s in the classroom or it’s coaching and you know that what he does is always going to be quality.”

“Schollville” is more than just a place, it’s an atmosphere of kindness, support and success.