Edison Senior wins Rose Rees Peace Award

On April 29, 2009, Ashlee Hill, an Edison Senior, received the Rose Rees Peace Award. The award commemorates Rose Rees, who died in 1935 while serving as president of National Council of Jewish Women’s (NCJW) Minneapolis Section and founder of the World Affairs Council of Minneapolis. Her passion was international peace and cooperation. NCJW gives an honorary award each year to a graduating senior from metro area participating schools with a demonstrated commitment toward international relations and world peace.

Summer Activities at NEMS

Minneapolis Puplic Schools is striving to make summer school fun and educational for sixth, seventh and eighth-grade students. The District’s curriculum will incorporate iPod touches, Moodle and VoiceThread technologies into math and reading coursework.

Each program features hands-on learning activities. At Northeast Middle School, students will be introduced to a new language – Chinese, French or Spanish. Students also will participate in a theater production, cooking meals from different cultures and physical fitness activities such as swimming.

Now is the time to enroll. Families may call 612-668-0440 for enrollment information or access the form online at: http://alc.mpls.k12.mn.us/.

MPS Title I Meeting

There will be a Title I meeting on Thursday, June 4, at 5:30 p.m. at the district’s main office, 807 NEBroadway St., in the Assembly Room. The meeting will include a review of feedback given at the last meeting and the district’s Title I plan. There will also be a discussion about the Title I stimulus funds.

Planning to attend? Please RSVP to Sunnel MacLeod at (612) 668-2096 or Sunnel.MacLeod@mpls.k12.mn.us. A light dinner will be served, and transportation, childcare and interpreter services will be available upon request.

Camp for Middle School Mathletes

There are 200 openings left at B.A.S.E. Camp for students currently in grades 5 through 8. Northeast Minneapolis currently has the least amount of students registrations. The program runs from 8:30 am - 1:30 pm from August 3 - 7, 2009, and includes tranportation, breakfast, and lunch free of charge. Class sizes are 10 or less, divided by gender, grade and site. All learning is hands-on, interactive, engaging and fun, helping kids gain an understanding of algebra without fear. There will be a raffle for iPods (each day a student attends they put their name in the raffle)

Call Elizabeth at 612-668-0053 for more information.

PEN Minutes: 5/18/09

Attendees: Dean DeGroot, Carla Steinbach, Ann England, Jenny Arneson, Mandy Larson, Jenn Bennington, Mike Iacarella, John Vandermyde, Mike Minnema, John Washington, Bridget Altmann, Jamison Rusthoven, Kevin Reich, Charlita Williamson, Gretchen Tate, Julia Janousek, Penny Hinderaker, Kris Solz, Larry Umphrey, Tammy Rusnacko, Kurt Nowacki, Lloyd Winfield, Paul Werni, Shaun Wakarek, Liz Wielinski

Community Theater Initiative:

Macy Ashby couldn't make it tonight, but is willing to be a leader in the community theater initiative sub-committee.

Carla Steinbach, Edison Principal, is in the midst of putting together an Arts Council at Edison. She has a contact at Perpich that is working with her, but she would also like names of people that would good for her to contact in that regard. Please email suggestions to Carla at: carla.steinbach@mpls.k12.mn.us

Rod Nelson volunteered at our last meeting to put together a list of theater activities currently existing at NE schools. He has received information from Edison, Northeast Middle, and Waite Park, but not heard from Pillsbury or Sheridan. Representatives from those schools, please email Rod at: lerone01@comcast.net

Julia Janousek, who is a Marcy Open parent, provided the name of Marcy's parent liasian and Jenn Bennington will follow up with him to receive information about Marcy for Rod, and for the PEN blogsite in general.

John Vandermyde mentioned that Dave Larson, at the Guthrie, could bring something to the community theater group. John will provide Dave's contact information to Carla.

Laura McQuiston, a Pillsbury parent who attended our last meeting, is interested in being part of Community Theater Initiative sub-committee as well.

Community Theater Initiative Sub-Committee Leaders:

Macy Ashby - macyashby@hotmail.com

Laura McQuiston - Laura.McQuiston@anoka.k12.mn.us

Bridget Altmann - bridget.altmann@mpls.k12.mn.us

Changing School Options (CSO) Update:

The school board asked district to figure out attendance boundaries prior to deciding about school changes, and to focus the CSO recommendations on closing the achievement gap. Dean DeGroot stated that now is the time to advocate for a vision for this region of the city. We have fewer schools in NE than the rest of the city. The only real feeder into Edison is Northeast Middle School (NEMS) and many of those kids choose to go to Henry in order to follow the IB program. Edison has fewer paths leading to it than any other high school in the city. In this regard, the last set of recommendations presented to the board appeared to be setting up Edison to fail. How can we plug more kids into Edison so that it can grow, thrive, & provide a well-rounded education that is attractive to local residents? This is a good time to gather ideas, Sheridan was left a "TBD" magnet school, with the NE community to provide input as to what sort of a school Sheridan will become. Right now, Sheridan has a Global Arts focus which serves primarily residents of North rather than Northeast. Providing greater connections and pathways between Sheridan and Edison are needed.

Jenny Arneson and Tammy Rusnacko pointed out that families in North need to be part of the conversation about Sheridan's future. Sheridan is a K-8 that has not been "pathed" to any specific high school in the city. Northeast residents tend to head to South HS from Sheridan. Tammy mentioned that busing changes could effect kids at Sheridan in that most of them will not end up at Edison because 70% of them live in North Minneapolis. Conversations need to happen with both Sheridan and Marcy Open about pathways to Edison.

Julia Janousek, a Marcy parent, said that the Edison Arts Council is a good idea, and will pair well with the Northeast community, Sheridan & Marcy. The Marcy Arts Partnership would also be a good contact for Edison's Arts Council. With NE Minneapolis having the only designated Arts District in the city, and Edison being the closest high school to it, art avenues would appear to be a great connection.

Kevin Reich commented that parents of younger children are the easier to talk with about their eventual high school destination (Edison vs. South) from Marcy Open. Linking the programs with extra-curricular opportunities will make the decision a simple one.

Tammy said that strengthening attendance boundaries, however, may be the only way to change a school's reputation and culture - once people enter the school and discover the reality of it rather than the rumors, its reputation changes. She pointed to the changing perception of Washburn High as an example. Dean DeGroot brought up the idea of conducting a survey about high school options of Northeast students, specifically focusing on the importance of curricular and extra-curricular offerings in making school choices.

John Washington, Director of Athletics for MPS, stated that a student survey is already done every three years about athletics. The results will be made available to PEN.

Sports in Northeast Discussion:

Jenny Arneson facilitated a discussion about what athletics pathways currently exist in Northeast, and where there might be gaps in these pathways. The challenge that presents itself is that we loose kids to St. Anthony because of what is seen as increased vigor at a young age. There seems to be a conflict between participatory and competitive programs, Minneapolis Park & Recreation focusing more on the former.

Paul Werni spoke up about wrestling as an excellent example: The Park/Rec programs can be limited because athletes end up competing against the same kids over and over. Maybe a "united" team that could compete against other teams and would raise competition and retain kids in the city? Northeast park/rec programs tend to loose kids at about age 11/12 because St. Anthony Middle School has a wrestling program, and Northeast Middle School does not.

John Washington explained there is no more funding from the sports commission, which is why we have trouble maintaining or starting middle school teams.

It was largely agreed by representatives of athletic programming that the Parks/Rec programs are a great way to get kids started in sports, as participatory programs. However, kids want to compete at a more advanced level in the schools, so we must create a pyramid-style pathway for those opportunities to exist withing the community. It may seem that we loose kids when they begin middle school, but actually 4th/5th grade is when we begin to loose them because they begin to look ahead to sports and school pathways at that age. St. Anthony has a clear pathway for those kids in a variety of sports, and NE Minneapolis does not. This table shows some of the sports currently available in NE and where there appears to be a gap/break in the logical pathway for students:

Sport	Pre-K (age 3-4)	Early Elementary (age 5-7)	Middle Elementary (age 8-11)	Middle School (age 12-14)	High School (age 15 - 18)
Wrestling		Park/Rec	Park/Rec		Edison
Hockey	Association	Park/Rec Association	Park/Rec (small) Association	Park/Rec	Park/Rec Combined school team
Soccer	Park/Rec	Park/Rec NE/SE	Park/Rec NE/SE	Park/Rec NE/SE	Park/Rec Edison
Football		Park/Rec (flag)	Park/Rec (?)	Park/Rec (?) NEMS	Park/Rec (?) Edison
Baseball		Park/Rec	Park/Rec NE Boosters	Park/Rec NE Boosters NEMS	Park/Rec NE Boosters Edison
Softball			Park/Rec	Park/Rec NEMS	Park/Rec Edison
Track/CC	Hosp. House*	Hosp. House*	Hosp. House* Park/Rec	Hosp. House* Park/Rec	Hosp. House* Edison
Tennis		Park/Rec	Park/Rec	Park/Rec Edison	Park/Rec Edison
Basketball	Park/Rec	Park/Rec	Park/Rec	Park/Rec NEMS	Park/Rec Edison
Volleyball			Park/Rec	NEMS	Edison

*Hospitality House Youth Directions, Inc. is a non-profit, church-based organization in North Minneapolis that offers competitive athletic opportunities for neighborhood youth.

Lloyd Winfield said that right now they in the process of hiring a new athletic director at NEMS.

Jamison Rusthoven talked about how Edison is adding athletic opportunities and he is working to create the same type of successful program in the NE community as the one he put together at Southwest High School and that neighborhood. The marketing of Edison's athletic offerings will begin next year.

Mandy Larson pointed out that student athletes can create coaching connections through the parks, and that her tennis players at Edison have done so already. Getting older students into elementary schools makes a big impact.

It was decided that middle school age is site of the main gaps, where we need more parent involvement. NEMS and Edison athletic directors need to know where to recruit, so would like a list of what is happening around Area A when it comes to athletics.

ACTION ITEMS:

- Identify who is doing what with athletics. Jenny Areneson will collect names and contact information of coaches/athletic directors from all sports. Please email this information to her at: thearnesons@att.net

- John Washington will get survey data to Dean DeGroot.

- Mike Iacarella and John Vandemyde said that Edison Sports Foundation could produce funding for mailing/marketing purposes regarding NE athletics.

- Jamison Rusthoven will use the information gathered by Jenny to make connections with existing programs so that Northeast student athletes will only see one path: the path to Edison.

- Attend the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board meeting at Bottineau Park on June 3, 5:30 pm. See attached flyer for more details.

PEN needs your help! A few people are needed to step up and get involved with the planning process and commit to a role of leader. If you are on this e-mail list, you must have a passion for NE schools. Keep our efforts strong and get involved! Contact Dean about your interest: 612-789-9596 or email: deand@visi.com

“Fun & Events Calendar”: Each school will provide a listing of musical, sport, theatrical, and other fun events on one master calendar for the community. This listing of activities will now be both emailed on the present email list (over 215 names) as well as on Facebook and our blogsite: http://publicedne.blogspot.com/ . We are also asking each school to link to this blogsite from their individual school websites. Jenn Bennington is our wonderful webmaster. She can be contacted at: jbennington@gmail.com . If there’s an experience worth sharing, we’ll send it out ASAP!

Future Considerations/next meeting:

PEN will meet on Monday, June 15 at 6:30 – 8 PM, location TBA. The agenda: Changing School Options: NE Area Academic Needs. We’re hoping to have Bernadeia Johnson and other Chiefs and Area Superintendents available.

Arbor Day at Waite Park Community School

Find more videos like this on Northeast Beat

New Timeline from MPS for Changing School Options decision-making

Below you will find the letter from Dr. Green and Tom Madden about the new timeline for making Changing School Options (CSO) recommendations & decisions. At the Area A meeting last night (May 21), reactions to the new timeline were voiced to Willie Fort, our Area A Assistant Superintendent. The majority of parents attending the meeting seemed to feel that waiting until September to resume community-input was not going to give the district and the board time enough to react to community feedback before the high school recruiting season begins in October. What do you think? (click the "comments" link at the bottom of this post to respond)


May 21, 2009

Extending the Timeline for Changing School Options: Building a plan that will bring the hope and promise of a better school system for all of our students

The Board of Education and the leaders of the Minneapolis Public Schools’ administration are working collaboratively to revise the recommendations for “Changing School Options,” originally submitted by the administration to the Board on April 28, 2009. Board members and the administration are on common ground and are working together to further develop the best recommendation possible to right-size the district, given current financial realities and the shared desire to create a major urban school district that offers academic excellence for all students in all schools and is also financially sustainable over the long haul. The Board of Education has raised a number of questions related to the administration’s original recommendation, and the administration is now revising the plan and evaluating the impact of each of these changes with the Board. The administration is taking the next six weeks to analyze the impacts of the affected school communities and to draw the proposed attendance boundaries for the District. This preparation will provide time for the board and administration to fully collaborate in refining changes for the final plan recommendation. To complete the cycle of community engagement on the plan, we will reconvene with the community after school starts in the fall. We anticipate a Board vote on the plan at the end of September. Revised recommendations will include: variations as needed; actual boundaries for all schools; race, cultural and economic impact statements for plan elements; decisions on types of magnets in each zone; recommendations for transportation parameters and cost savings expected throughout the district with the revised plan. And of course, woven throughout the final recommendation will be the academic underpinning of the Strategic Plan and strategies to continue our progress on graduating every student from the Minneapolis Public Schools “College Ready” by 2012. We believe we can still make a final decision that will allow us to implement changes in fall 2010, involve staff and families in transition planning and capitalize on the cost savings for the 2010-2011 school year. We know this extended timeline means living with some uncertainty a little while longer, but we also believe the community wants us to get this right. Board, administration, families and community working together can do it. Please bear with us while we build the foundation for a brighter future for our students. This challenging work process has shown us we all share the same goal: a plan that will bring the hope and promise of a better school system and higher academic achievement for all of our students. Thank you.

Thomas Madden Chairman of the Board

Dr. William Green Superintendent of Schools

Area A Meeting Agenda: May 21, 2009

May 21, 2009
Sheridan Global Arts and Communications School
1201 University Avenue NE• • Minneapolis, MN 55413
Phone (612) 668-1130

Agenda

6pm – Call to Order Markeeta Keyes/Buzzy Bohn – Co-Chairs

Welcome and Introductions –
Name, child’s school, what brought you here tonight?

6:30pm – Changing School Options Update – Willie Fort

6:45pm –
General Discussion –
Opportunity to share about this year at your childern's school. Likes/Dislikes? How to improve?

Parent Questions
A. - How the schools that have the most need will be allocated more funding, etc; and,
B. How teachers are encouraged to work in high poverty areas.

8pm Adjourn

Light refreshments will be served
Translators & Childcare provided

Area A
Community/Family Liaison
Lynne Crockett
612.668.1700
Ext. 35870

For more information, please contact:
Lynne Crockett, Community/Family Liaison
Office of Family Engagement - Area A
Office: 612-280-6024

The Pillsbury/Windom Park Carnival

The Pillsbury/Windom Park Carnival is one of the largest community/volunteer run carnivals in Minneapolis. This year it is on June 5, 5:00 - 8:00pm

Over 20 rides - ponies, moon walk, duck pond, and much more. Fun for all ages. Music, food, bingo, raffle, and you!

Support Pillsbury and have some good old-fashioned NE fun!

For more information:
phone: 612-788-2912
email: info@windompark.org

MPS Presentation: The New Teacher Project

As one of our key partners, the Minneapolis Public Schools is pleased to invite you to attend a presentation sharing the results of a recent study conducted by The New Teacher Project (TNTP), “Strengthening School Staffing in Minneapolis Public Schools.”

Monday, May 18, 2009, 6:00 pm-8:00 pm

807 NE Broadway

3^rd floor Assembly Room

Last spring, MPS unveiled its 2007-2012 Strategic Plan, which set as its goal: Every Child College Ready, with specific sub-goals for academic achievement and closing the achievement gap. Two of our core strategies focus on talent:

• Develop a highly effective principal corps with capacity to establish and lead outstanding instructional teams and
• Develop a high performing teacher corps, and provide professional development and supports to get excellent results for all students.

In September 2008, with support from the Robins, Miller, Kaplan and Ciresi Foundation, MPS retained The New Teacher Project to analyze the District’s human capital policies, contracts and practices, including teacher recruitment, hiring and staffing processes; teacher and principal evaluation processes; teacher and principal pipelines and teacher retention.

At this meeting the MPS team leaders from The New Teacher Project will present their findings and recommendations for increasing the concentration of high quality teachers in MPS schools. Pat Pratt-Cook, Chief of Human Resources and Accountability, will discuss next steps to move this critical work forward, and there will be opportunities for Q and A and discussion.

Please RSVP to Chrissie Carver (chrissie.carver@mpls.k12.mn.us or 612.668.0543) if you are able to attend this important session. If you are unable to attend (and we recognize that there are several important community events also occurring on the 18^th), we will be hosting another session, likely the week of June 1^st. Please let us know if you20would like to be contacted with the information about that event. The formal presentation to the Board of Education is being given tonight, May 12^th, and will be available by podcast on our website along with the written presentation.

Thank you for your consideration, and we hope you can attend on the 18^th.

Dr. William J. Green, Superintendent

Bernadeia Johnson, Deputy Superintendent

Pat Pratt-Cook, Chief of Human Resources and Accountability

The New Teacher Project

Founded by teachers, The New Teacher Project was formed in 1997 to address the growing issues of teacher shortages and teacher quality nationally. In its first year, TNTP embarked on projects to create and implement high-quality alternative routes to certification programs to bring new streams of accomplished individuals into hard-to-staff urban schools. Since then, TNTP has worked with more then 200 school districts and has become a nationally –recognized authority on new teacher recruiting and hiring. TNTP partners with educational entities to 1) increase the numbers of outstanding individuals who become public school teachers and 2) create environments for all educators that maximize their impact on student achievement. TNTP four core service areas include: Teacher Fellows Programs, Staffing Initiatives, Training and Certification Programs, and Policy and Research.

Edison Student Ambassadors

The Edison Student Ambassador Program is a group of student leaders who represent their school and help to make Edison a school where everyone feels welcome, safe and involved. There are currently 65 student ambassadors who represent the diversity of Edison's student body. Students appreciate the way the program allows them to represent their school and welcome new students. Student ambassadors welcome every new student by providing a tour and helping them get acclimated to Edison, and ambassadors also participate in other community and school events. They have held an after-school social and have participated in a workshop with the University of Minnesota's Voices Merging.

Edison's Jay Olson becomes the first Minneapolis student to complete the IC3 Computing Core Certification.

IC3 certification is an industry standard, and is recognized as a major step towards becoming A+ certified. To become IC3 certified requires taking three 45 minute exams, and Jay managed to finish each one in about 15 to 20 minutes. The Exam topics covered: Fundamental Computer Knowledge, Internet and Email usage and security, as well as knowledge about Key Computer Applications.

Agenda: May 18 Meeting

Welcome/Introductions: 5 minutes (All)

Enhancing Sports Opportunities in Northeast Schools: Please join MPS Director, John Washington, Edison coaches and AD, Park & Rec. representatives, and other Sports Boosters (youth hockey, wrestling, and others). Jenny & Dean (50-60 minutes)

Specifically, we hope to accomplish by the end of the meeting:

What pathways currently exist and where are the gaps.

At what level do we move from fundamental to competitive? How do we balance the need for both.

How can community boosters connect with all of NE.

How can we make sure all families are aware of sport options.

Look at Community Theatre options: Follow-up (5-10 mns.)

Changing School Options: Advocating for equity and excellence: Jenny & Dean (15 mn)

Announcements: (5 mn)

• Area A Meetings

Future Considerations/next meeting: Possible speaker: Bernadeia Johnson, Deputy Superintendent, MPS

Time: June 15, 2009: Location TBD: 6:30 – 8:00

MPS Postpones Changing School Options Timeline

The following is a statement from Superintendent Bill Green on alterations to the Changing School Options timeline.

Last night at a working session, the Minneapolis Board of Education raised additional questions and submitted alternative ideas to the administration’s recommendation for Changing School Options submitted Tuesday, April 28, 2009. The Board was scheduled to vote on the plan on May 26, 2009, for changes that would go into effect in the 2010-2011 school year. Board members indicated the recommendation in its current form would not gain the majority vote required to pass on May 26.

Minneapolis Public Schools’ leadership is in the process of studying the potential impacts of the Board’s ideas. Because these decisions are complex and critical, the process of analyzing the impact of different ideas requires time and careful deliberation. Therefore, previously announced community engagement meetings for May will be postponed. We will notify our families and communities as soon as we are able to establish a new schedule, likely within the next week.

In the meantime, please know that doing what is best for our students, raising academic achievement and creating a sustainable school district for the future is at the heart of our decision-making. We would like to acknowledge the families’ investment of time and energy that has informed our planning every step of the way. We need, appreciate and want our families’ continued involvement.

Superintendent Bill Green

Take Action for NE Schools Now!

Some of you have already taken action with letters but others want more guidance. Below is a sample letter and some clearer talking points. Plan to attend a meeting at Sheridan on May 21 from 6-8. If NE parents and community members aren't present, the district will assume we don't care and will decide our fate for us. Do not leave your community's fate in others' hands.

ONE NE PARENT'S LETTER:

Dear _____________:

I am a Northeast Minneapolis parent. My son attends Waite Park Community School and I am happy to say that my husband and I are very pleased with the education he has received there thus far. Waite Park is a fantastic example of a naturally integrated school with a lot of community support, a strong teaching staff and a principal who makes smart and balanced decisions about how to put her limited budget to the best possible use.

I am excited about the recent and dramatic improvement of Northeast Middle School, and look forward to sending my son there when he reaches 6th grade. I would very much like to send my son to Edison for high school eventually. I congratulate the district on its decision to "fresh start" Edison, and I see the potential for dramatic improvements there via the excellent teaching staff and administration.

My concern is for the future of Edison in light of the recommendations made to the Board by the district recently. Right now Edison has a chance to become a strong academic institution, but it will not succeed in that endeavor unless it is given a chance to educate the students living in the community surrounding it. As you well know, over the last decade or more, residents of Northeast have been sending their children to schools outside of their neighborhood and sometimes out of the district. Many Northeast parents send their kids to St. Anthony, South and/or Henry because they offer stronger college-bound programs than their own neighborhood high school. Edison has been perceived as an academically weak high school due to their focus on various vocational programs, their very large ESL program, and their low college entrance statistics.

I strongly support the Board's commitment to the standardization of high school programming across the district, and I will send my son to Edison if it offers the same opportunities for academic excellence that the rest of the schools in the city enjoy. I would like to see a strong college prep curriculum at Edison. I would like to see a full spectrum of AP courses, a continuation of the strong IB programming that currently exists at Northeast Middle School, and the return of academic co-curricular opportunities such as Theater, Debate, Model UN, Youth & Government, etc.

We have a chance to send more college-bound students to Edison due to the new district policy to provide transportation only to the school closest to home. Over eighty percent of the children that attend Marcy Open live in Northeast. Due to the relationship between Marcy Open and the Open program at South, Northeast effectively looses all of those children to South, when they could attend Edison and make it a stronger and more-populated school. If the district is committed to its busing policy, as well as to maintaining an equal curricular focus in all of the seven high schools in the city, it is incongruous to keep the Open magnet program at South and allow Marcy Open students to be bused there. This will effectively drain Northeast Minneapolis of a very large percentage of its high school student population. Edison should be given the chance to meet the needs of the children who attend Marcy Open and live in Northeast Minneapolis, and Edison should be given the resources to do so well.

If the district can be true to its stated intention and provide equal academic opportunities to students throughout the city, Edison High School will have a chance to continue its work toward becoming a strong academically-focused institution. If this happens, I will be extremely happy to keep my son in Minneapolis Public Schools throughout his K-12 education.

Thank you for your attention and all of the hard work that you do.

TALKING POINTS:

KEY CHANGES FOR NE:

1. Make all high schools in Minneapolis standard. 6 high schools (excluding North) will offer the “4 core” that includes: Advanced Placement courses, IB (http://www.ibo.org), “College in the schools” and Tech Ed classes. Equality will exist between the high schools removing the need for high school students to bus across the city for what they need. (If you have followed Edison in the past, a primary issue for our community has been inequity among academic pathways for our students forcing our families to leave our neighborhood for college prep classes – these changes will do away with those inequities).

2. A pathway has been established from Waite Park/Pillsbury to Northeast to Edison. With this proposal Northeast Middle School children will go to Edison (busing provided only to closest school to home). Note: this will begin for children who are now in 7^th grade. Imagine the kids in your child’s class or neighbors – the vision is for your family to stay with the same kids in the same neighborhood all the way until 12^th grade – with everyone getting the education they need to go to college.

3. Attendance boundaries have not yet been identified. Two options exist: (a) Allow NE residents to choose between Waite and Pillsbury or (b) assign residents to one of the two schools based on home address

The month of May is giving us a rare opportunity to give feedback to the district about what we want in our schools. We can suggest our ideas for an ideal K-12 pathway in our community.

To participate in this conversation, we suggest a couple of action items:

1. Attend upcoming community meetings (see below).

2. E-mail district officials with your opinion (contact information below)

Suggested points to include in your letter

• First, tell them that you live NE and attend school in NE.

• NE is going to have 2 community schools: Pillsbury and Waite. Tell them if you prefer that NE residents be assigned to specific community schools OR if you prefer to choose between the two.

• The proposal for equal programming for all high schools is a good thing for NE and something public school advocates in our community have been working to achieve. Most of NE wants a community school with strong academic offerings. (Who really chooses to leave the neighborhood for school?) To accomplish this, the district needs to hear that NE parents want and support a community high school (i.e. Edison) and we want it have the following: (Note: Edison already has many of the things listed below, but needs NE to reinforce this with district officials.)

  • A college bound curriculum at Edison for all students, including a full spectrum of Advanced Placement classes

  • Academic extra-curricular activities (in addition to sports) – i.e. Community Ed after school activities, debate, math clubs, etc.

  • Extend academic programming already offered at NE Middle to Edison (i.e. Chinese, College Prep assistance, band, theater)

• Allow NE students the option to continue academic programs they begin in middle school if they choose, particularly IB in both middle and high school. For information on that program go to http://www.ibo.org

• In short, the district needs to hear that NE is interested in supporting a community high school, and that we want to send our kids to Edison if it continues the excellent education that our students are receiving in elementary and middle school!

Community Meetings: There are a series of community meetings coming up. You can attend and follow the discussion. Check out www.mpls.k12.mn.us to get more details.

• School board meeting: Tuesday, May 12 Public Comment, 5:30-6:00, regular meeting 6-8 PM

• May 21: Public meeting, 6-8 at Sheridan

• Tuesday, May 26 Board meeting: Vote on changing school options.

Write the following people: Contact:

Bill.Green@mpls.k12.mn.us

Bernadeia.Johnson@mpls.k12.mn.us

jill.davis@mpls.k12.mn.us

tom.madden@mpls.k12.mn.us

Pam.Costain@mpls.k12.mn.us

Carla.Bates@mpls.k12.mn.us

T.Williams@mpls.k12.mn.us

Lydia.Lee@mpls.k12.mn.us

Chris.stewart@mpls.12.mn.us

Steven.liss@mpls.k12.mn.us

This is Northeast’s chance to influence and support the schools in our neighborhood! Everyone’s help is needed and your voice matters.

Waite Park Carnival

Come one, Come all! The Waite Park Carnival is scheduled for Friday, May 15th from 5:30 - 8:00 pm. There will be games, a raffle with many SIGNIFICANT prizes available, entertainment, and lots of good food (including our famous homemade tamales!)

The carnival will end just in time to catch the 8:30 pm showing of "The Muppet Movie" at Johnstock. Make it a beautiful day (and night) in your neighborhood.

All proceeds will benefit Waite Park Community School and Park.