Minutes: January 25, 2010

Attendees: Dean DeGroot (NEMS), Mark Jensen (Edison), Jerry Pedersen (Edison), Jean Neuman (Sheridan), Lloyd Winfield (NEMS), Marcia Thomas (Pillsbury/NEMS), Kate Anderson (Waite Park), Alita Bergan (Waite Park CC), Jill Davis (NEMS/School Board), Liz Wielinski (Parks), Jenny Arneson (Waite Park), Michelle Woster (Pillsbury), Jenn Bennington (Waite Park), Mike Iacarella (Edison), Lupe Castillo, Suzanne Durkacs (Marcy), Tony Schrepfer (Edison), Bridget Altmann (Edison), Troy Wellington (Edison), Donna Andrews (Marcy), & Pamela Vertina (Edison).

MPS Board Update: School Board Director, Jill Davis

Jill told the group about some details families should consider regarding Changing School Options (CSO).  No major time changes for kids in NE, except that all K-5 and K-8 programs will have 15 minutes added to their school day.  Transportation changes will occur for Pillsbury and Waite Park, with families receiving transportation to their community schools only, depending on where they live.  Families that live north of Lowry will be bused to Waite Park; those that live south of Lowry will be bused to Pillsbury.  Jill suggested that principals collaborate with one another to make this transition as smooth as possible rather than be competitive in these efforts. 

Pam Vertina asked about the impacts of CSO on ELL.  Apparently, no clear details have been provided on this issue but should be shortly.

Suzanne Durkacs inquired about letters being sent to 8th grade families informing them of where their children are going next school year to high school.  Jill was unaware about when/how the letters would be sent by the District but was going to get clarification.

Edison has recently been approved for offering IB, which is good news for the community.  There have been some special education program shifts made as a result of CSO.   Life Skills will be located at Edison.  Principals can exert influence over special education programs, but the community also has a say in programming. 

New schools initiatives.  Jill mentioned that February 9^th is when the Board will vote to consider recommending the start-up of two schools to start for the 2010-11 school year: Pierre Bottineau French Immersion School will start as a K-1 program and eventually become a K-5 school, located in North Minneapolis.  When asked why the District is interested in French Immersion, Jill explained that similar programs in the country have done well at reducing the achievement gap.  The other school considered for 2010-11 is the MN School of Science Charter School.  It will start as a K-6 and eventually become at K-12.  This program still needs to apply with the State of MN before it becomes operational.  These schools' focus will be the lowest performing 25% of kids in the district.

The self-governed Art School planned to be housed at Edison High School is going to be provided with more time to develop math and science resources.  It could possibly be approved to start in 2011, if all the details are completed and in place.

What’s Happening at Our Schools?—Representatives from each NE school provided a brief update based on the following points:

·       Key activities/initiatives/changes this year

·       Challenges & concerns

·       Ways PEN can help out (1-3 wishes/needs)

Suzanne Durcaks (parent) and Donna Andrews (Principal) provided an update on Marcy Open:  Currently, the school has 630 kids, which was described as “packed” and provides “Open” education and highlights arts integration, its international peace site theme, great fundraising opportunities, Labyrinth (an Artist-in-Residence program), Project Success, Minneapolis Kids, and Community Education.  The school also has connections with five colleges, with student teaching opportunities.  Marcy offers music opportunities as well, including band, rock band, and orchestra.

Wishes for Marcy: More space—like a parking lot (pretty land-locked) and having a greater partnership with Edison.

Jean Neuman (Principal - Sheridan Arts Magnet), told of the various activities happening at the school.  Although Sheridan is comprised of mostly Northside kids, efforts are underway to establish some connection with Edison.  Jean told of February being “I want to Read” month, with February 8^th being Parent Involvement Day.  Arts integration and service learning opportunities are available at the school. 

Dreams/wishes for Sheridan include: having local performance artists provide theatrical experiences for the school and community.  Also, on a practical note, having more navy blue/Kelly green uniforms available for kids would be nice.

Marcia Thomas (parent - Pillsbury) provided an update about this soon-to-be community school.  Their chess team won local City awards, and students took part in a Lego League tournament.  One of the GEMS (Girls in engineering, math, and science) teams won a regional competition, and a 5^th grade teacher won a learning fellowship in science education. 

Wishes: boots, mittens, gloves, especially for younger grades as well as snow pants, new or gently used.

Kate Anderson (staff - Waite Park Community School)  told of the various activities/efforts provided by their PTA.  Hi-5 is now available at WP, and data indicates that 75% of kids who start Hi-5 stay throughout the elementary school grades.  Kate told of some parents being rather sad about the boundary changes at WP, which will impact a number of kids/families.  She shared information about math and reading programming occurring. 

Wishes for WP: perhaps an information packet could be created which highlights programming at WP, NE Middle, and Edison HS.  Otherwise, having all 3 schools available at the school showcase downtown Minneapolis would necessitate greater recruitment.  Help the community deal with boundary issues, be an advocate, and assist with marketing efforts.

Lloyd Winfield (Assistant Principal -  Northeast Middle School):  NEMS will continue to have a 9:30 start time, offering a variety of sports, with the possibility of a wrestling program to start.  A fundraiser was recently completed, raising sufficient funds for the spring musical (“Seussical”).  Band offerings have expanded and there is now choir available.  NEMS has a debate team; some discussion was in regard to partnering with Edison in debate competitions.  A new parent group was established this school year and Mr. Winfield reminded the group that NEMS has the only middle years IB program in NE.

Wishes for NEMS: Money, equipment, signage, and PR.  There was a suggestion of possible literature drops in the blocks near NEMS, with the hope that the community better understands the great programs and opportunities that exist at the school.

Jerry Pedersen (Asst. Principal), Pamela Vertina (staff), & Bridgett Altmann (staff) gave an overview of happenings at Edison High School.  Fundraising opportunities have emerged at the school, with several events scheduled. Several new features at Edison include: recently certified as IB program, a drum line is now in place, efforts are being made to bolster the arts, with 4 Artists-in-Residence in place.  A human rights initiative started this school year, whereby several public events have and will take place. One event happening in April is about the Holocaust with a survivor providing insights to the participants; students gain service hours by taking part in these forums.  A talent show will also take place.  Later in the spring, Edison will be showcasing their first musical theatre production in years: “Bye Bye Birdie”.  The Morris Community Players will also be collaborating with Edison on productions.  During Art-A-Whirl, Edison’s parking lot will be a Park & Ride stop.

Wishes for Edison: Art props, helping kids with scripts for the musical, establishing more arts in-roads (e.g., NEMAA--) http://www.nemaa.org/, and community support in PR for  productions.

Future Considerations/next meeting: 

PEN will meet on Monday, February 22 at 6:30 – 8 PM at the Edison media center.  The agenda:  Revisiting sports opportunities in Northeast: coaches, athletic directors, park board people, and other interested community members will be present.

Wondering what all the talk about CSO is about?

Changing School Options (CSO) is a Minneapolis Public Schools initiative that creates three regional zones for transportation.  The North/Northeast area of Minneapolis is in Zone 1.  (Maps are available on the MPS website under "Transitioning for 2010-11").  With the exception of a few citywide options, students will attend an elementary, middle and high school in their zone.  This three zone transportation model reduces transportation costs, retains choice for families since each one offers at least three magnet options in addition to a community school and allows students to attend schools closer to home.

Each zone will offer K-8 students access to the following magnet programs:  International Baccalaureate (IB:  Elizabeth Hall & Northeast Middle School) ; Teaching philosophy:  Open or Montessori (Open: Marcy); Spanish Dual Immersion (Emerson); Curricular:  Arts and Science (Arts: Sheridan).  Each zone will offer 9-12 students access to comprehensive high school programming. Edison and Henry are the community highs schools for Zone 1.

Families with children enrolled in a citywide special education or English Language Learner program will continue to receive transportation across zones.  Based on the state's open enrollment law, families still have the option to enroll at any school in the city provided there is space available and they provide their own transportation.  Students currently attending magnet, middle or high schools outside of their home attendance area or zone will have the option of grandfathering, or being guaranteed a seat in their current school, but must provide their own transportation.

For more information:  Transitions office - 612.668.0478.  Zone 1 parent contacts:  DPAC Area A Chairs, Todd Bennington (Waite Park) and Celeste Brown (Parkview), and Zone 1 Community Liaison, Lynne Crockett.

Each month parents of all Zone 1 schools are invited to attend the Zone 1 (Area A) Parent Advisory Council Meeting.  These meetings are held to share current information about District issues and policies as well as to collect ideas and concerns from parents to take to the District at DPAC meetings. Area A meetings are the third Wednesday of every month at a different Area A school each month.  The next meeting will be at Parkview on January 27, 2010.  Please check the DPAC Meeting Schedule website for the dates and locations of future Area A meetings  (the February meeting will be at Waite Park).

Minutes: October 19, 2009

Attendees: Dean DeGroot (Henry/NEMS), Marcia Thomas (Pillsbury/NEMS), Pamela Vertina (Edison), Pam Costain (School Board), Jill Davis (NEMS/School Board), Holly Siasoco (Edison), Jenn Bennington (Waite Park), Jenny Arneson (Waite Park), Lilly Bubser (Waite Park), John Vandermyde (Edison alumn), Mike Iacarella (Edison), Alita Bergan (Waite Park Community Council), Jean Neuman (Sheridan), Maggie Knoke (Pre-K), Bridget Altmann (Marcy/Edison), Carla Steinbach (Edison), Willie Fort (Assoc. Sup. Area A), Tammy Rusnacko (Waite Park)

Jackie Turner, Director of Community Relations & Student Placement, joined us to discuss the CSO transition process, and answer questions about how CSO implementation will affect the Northeast community.

• High School - the three zone concept was introduced (plus city-wide options). High School students can be grandfathered in to their current school, but they will not be bused. Because the size of the Open program (which is considered city-wide and therefore will provide busing across zones) impacts how many Marcy Open students may potentially attend Edison rather than South High, there was a discussion about how large the Open program at South was going to be with the CSO changes. The current cap is 200, it will probably go down to about 150. There are about 90 students in 8th grade who are attending open schools, so there are additional spots for 30 - 40 kids currently not in K-8 open programs next year. The first High School Open House will be held on Nov. 16 1st and they will continue through the 1st week in Dec. Families will now apply to schools rather than to programs. In response to questions about the high school busing zones, Jackie confirmed that there was still at 2 miles (except at North High, where it is 1 mile due to safety concerns). The district is currently working with MTC on "Go-Passes," which will allow students to use the city bus system for free. The pilot program this summer worked extremely well, but it is currently still too expensive to implement year-round for every high school student. The zone concept made CSO changes much less disruptive for high school students. Ms. Turner estimated that Edison's enrollment would be effected by the zone transportation changes very minimally. Many of the families who don't live in the neighborhood are enrolled in ELL programs, and therefore will still receive busing to Edison.
  

• Anwatin/Bryn Mawr - families in the Bryn Mawr & Harrison communities have the option to attend Southwest High School, although they are still considered part of Zone 1 (N & NE) for K-8. An exception was made for these two communities via an amendment to the CSO recommendations by the Board because of their unique location on the boundary between SW & N.
  

• K-8 - Maps of the city with K-8 boundaries were distributed. See this map at: http://mpls.k12.mn.us/Changing_School_Options.html and click on the "Maps (10.25.09) link on the right-hand sidebar. What is now the Pillsbury attendance area used to be considered an "open area," meaning it had no specific community school assigned to it. Now that Pillsbury has been "de-magnetized," residents of this area will go to Pillsbury if they choose to attend a community school. Ms. Turner estimated that about 140 kids will flip/flop between Waite Park and Pillsbury due to this change. Ms. Turner and Courtney Kiernat met with the Waite Park Site Council and listened to feedback from parents and staff about the possible effect of the boundary placement. If people choose to drive, most families currently attending Waite Park who live south of Lowry Ave. will still be able to attend Waite Park if they prefer not to change schools. Pillsbury is a more crowded school, but will probably still be viable to families who wish to drive to Pillsbury and live north of Lowry Ave. However, the 140 estimated number of children effected by this change includes ELL families who will continue to be bused, as ELL is considered a city-wide program. PEN membership asked what the district was doing to project capacity in NE schools. Will Pillsbury be able to support a significant increase in ELL students eventually? Ms. Turner replied that, yes, Pillsbury has room. It is estimated that about 60 students will leave Pillsbury due to demagnetization.
  

Q & A:

- How will new boundary & transportation policies be communicated to families?

District staff will be attending family events, such as Waite Park's upcoming Family Dinner Night. Also, the school messenger phone service, and letters to families.

- Will student athletes have to stay out of athletics for one year when/if they change schools due to CSO?

The district has asked for a waiver of that policy from the state during CSO transition.

- Could Waite Park eventually loose its ELL program due to the loss of its large Spanish-speaking population as new families are encouraged to attend Pillsbury and are no longer bused to Waite Park?

At least 100 students must be in program to keep it open. Pillsbury is currently 40% NLL, and Waite is about 30% ELL. Moving kids from Waite to Pillsbury will concentrate Spanish Speaking families in one school, shrinking WP program to non-viable number, leaving only one bilingual choice in community schools in NE.

- Would it be possible to change the Lowry Ave. boundary to include some of the southwestern part of NE? Then Waite Park could keep more African American and ELL students, lessoning segregation and overcrowding at Pillsbury.

Ms. Turner asked for a possible new boundary to be drawn on the map and said that she would take it back to the office to have her staff take a look at the possibility. She will get back to us about this suggestion.

- When will there be a discussion about the magnet status of Sheridan?

There are some Arts discussions coming up…the district placement staff is sill in the midst of scheduling a time to meet with Principal Neuman and Sheridan's site council.

- Will ELL students in high school still be able to attend Edison if they live closer to Roosevelt?

No.

******

Pam Costain & Jill Davis, from the School Board, joined us to invite PEN to meet with Board members discuss the process for hiring our new Superintendent - doing community meetings. Would we like to convene a specific PEN/Eastside meeting re: superintendent search. Answering questions of the board. Shall we fold the meeting into the previously scheduled Area A meeting? Yes. Jenn Bennington will include an invitation to the Area A meeting on the 28th in the PEN e-Digest, as well as the PEN Facebook group and blog.

******

Jenny Arneson & Bridget Altmann requested that PEN members do their utmost to promote the NE School Showcase, passing out fliers and posters about the event and asking that everyone present post notices and pass out fliers to whatever NE business, pre-schools, and daycare centers that they can.

******

Dean DeGroot announced that the Arts School Application being proposed by a group of Edison teachers, including Mark Jenson, will meet on Wednesday, October 21 from 4-6 pm in order to review the application to the office of New Schools one final time. The "review party" will be held at the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers office, and snacks will be provided.

"Coupons Now" fundraising opportunity was proposed by Dean for all NE schools. Pamphlets were distributed. Please take a look and decide if PEN would like to pursue in future.

NEXT MEETING: Monday, November 16, 2009, 6:30 - 8:00 pm at the Edison High School media center.

PEN Members Invited to a Special DPAC Meeting

Community members' role in developing the CSO transition plan and supporting its implementation is critical and we need your input at a special DPAC meeting Monday, September 28, 6:30-8:00 p.m. in the Assembly Room at 807 NE Broadway.

We will focus our discussion on two main areas:

• Tool Box- What kind of services/resources do schools need to successfully make their transitions (e.g. marketing tools, translation services, traveling placement center)?

• Hot Spots- What are families most concerned about in making the transition (e.g. availability of public transportation, Spanish only PA announcements in dual immersion program)

If you are unable to attend the September 28th meeting please e-mail your input to Courtney, at courtneyck@comcast.net .

Agenda: September 21, 2009 Meeting

Welcome/Introductions: 5 minutes (All)

Changing School Options (CSO): Impacts/considerations for NE—Open Discussion (30-40 minutes)

NE School Showcase: Planning Ideas—Bridget/Others (20 mns.)

Edison Art Proposal: Follow-up from August—Dean/Jenny/Others (20 mns)

PEN Initiatives for 2009-2010: --Dean/Jenny/Penny (10 mns)

Announcements: (5 mn)

• Area A Meetings
• Other

Next meeting: October 19, 2009 @ Edison High School: 6:30 – 8:00 PM

August 13 Meeting to Discuss Future Magnet Status of Sheridan Elementary

Please join us on Thursday, August 13, 6:30 - 8:00 pm for a special Area A/PEN meeting. We will meet at Logan Park (location has changed from Sheridan to Logan Park). Sheridan is currently listed as a "TBD" magnet school, and the district would like the community to decide what sort of a magnet school it will become. This meeting will bring together the main stakeholders in this discussion: Current Sheridan families; Northeast & North community members; Sheridan teachers; District personnel; NE principals; and we hope at least one MPS board member.

Some of the ideas that have been proposed include relocating the Spanish dual immersion program at Sheridan, creating a Montessori program for the displaced families from Parkview Montessori (scheduled to close in 2010), and making Sheridan a Pre-K - 5 school, rather than a K - 8. Sheridan's future will impact the future of all of the schools in our community. This is an opportunity for the concerned citizens from both Northeast and North Minneapolis to work together for the good of our children. Come learn and share your ideas. Be a part of big changes to our public education landscape.

MPS Board Meeting 7-14-09

The MPS Board Meeting on Tuesday, July 14 chiefly concerned K-8 preliminary Changing School Options (CSO) revisions to the recommendations that were presented to the board by MPS district personnel. The final recommendations are due at the end of August, but there has been continual discussion about the desired changes to the original recommendations throughout the summer. For a look at the latest set of possible recommendations, click here and download the three links under item "II. Changing School Options - Revised Plan and Variations."

We urge all PEN members to take a look at the progress that the district has made. There is a significant ripple effect to the closing of any MPS school, and all of the current K-8 recommendations have at least five schools closing, and other changes to magnet schools and attendance boundaries.

PEN Action: Letter to MPS Board, Superintendent Green, Assoc. Superintendent Fort & Assoc. Superintendent Cassellius. Sent June 29, 2009

On behalf of Pubic Education in Northeast (PEN), we are concerned about the future of our local schools and the vitality of the Northeast Minneapolis community. As you know, schools play a major role in creating a sense of community. Currently, a growing percentage of Northeast students attend schools or plan to attend schools outside of Northeast. This represents a loss of cohesion to our community. PEN's goal is to promote Northeast schools, and to increase connections between the community and its schools. If we are to keep our community viable and thriving, we believe we must create clear educational pathways that will maintain a sense of continuity and connection throughout our children's school years.

The realization of this goal requires the Minneapolis School Board to stand by their stated intention to offer community schools throughout the city that provide equitable and rigorous programs. We believe that the MPS Board would like every child, regardless of their economic background or where they live in Minneapolis, to have access to a safe, secure, successful school experience. Our Northeast K-8 and middle schools need to offer programs that create a natural pathway from elementary through high school. PEN strives for equity with all Minneapolis Public Schools, including viable resources to fund International Baccalaureate (IB), Advanced Placement (AP), College-in-Schools (CIS) and other programming options. Survey data and self-reports indicate that families make school choices based on extracurricular activities as well as academic opportunities, such as arts and athletic programs. Clearly, Edison High School has suffered the loss of many of these opportunities over the years. There needs to be a sustained effort to rebuild these options at Edison.

We have recently learned that there is a proposed plan to bring a contract-alternative school into Edison as a co-location partner—Heritage Academy (http://www.heritagetech.net/). We believe that this could be detrimental to the perception of Edison as a community school. Housing another school on Edison's campus creates an inherent competition between schools. Also, if Heritage Academy grows (which we understand is part of their proposed plan), this would limit Edison’s ability to expand it’s own current and future programming. Before any decision is made regarding co-location partnering, the people of Northeast would appreciate the opportunity to have a voice in how this will affect our school and our community. We believe that there are other options that the District could consider to better utilize space at Edison High School.

Edison could be the temporary home of the Northeast branch of the Hennepin County Public Library while its space is being remodeled. This would open up Edison to the community and allow all to experience Edison as a desirable place to be and, perhaps, help make Edison a school of choice for their children. As you may know, Northeast Minneapolis is the only officially-designated arts district in the City. There are hundreds of artists currently working and living in Northeast, with a good number of artists waiting for more studio space to become available. An arrangement could be negotiated between local artists and Edison to provide more arts opportunities to the students. Please, do not once again make the mistake of placing programs at Edison High School that have little neighborhood support. This has happened in the past and the results have always backfired for the school and the district as a whole!

In summary, schools have a huge impact on the livability of a community. The following are ideas that support keeping our Northeast schools, the schools of choice for our community:

• Provide pathways from Elementary to Middle School to Edison High School with IB, AP, CIS, Arts and Sports Programs. This is necessary for Edison to survive.

• Provide equitable programs and support for those programs.

• Create clear pathways that include Northeast Middle School, Sheridan Elementary, and Marcy Open to assure that more neighborhood kids are attending Edison High School.

• Provide a marketing plan to attract students to Edison High School. Furthermore, support this marketing plan with extra funding and staff recognizing that Edison has lost ground in attracting students due to inattention to its needs in the past.

• Provide support for currently successful programs and expand arts, theater and sports programming.

Before any decisions are made regarding Northeast schools, PEN would like to make sure that the Northeast community is informed about the options available and be given a chance to take part in this crucial decision-making. We believe the discussion surrounding our schools should be focused on collaboration and cooperation.

Please contact PEN and notify us of any discussions surrounding our schools in the future. PEN can be contacted via email at: PublicEdNE@gmail.com. Our phone number is 612-789-9596. We also have a website, which can be found at http://publicedne.blogspot.com.

Thank you for your leadership during this difficult time of transition for Minneapolis Public Schools.

Sincerely,

PEN Committee Members:

Dean DeGroot, Northeast Middle School/Patrick Henry Parent

Bridget Altmann, Edison Staff

Jenny Arneson, Waite Park Parent

Jenn Bennington, Waite Park Parent

Mike Iacarella, Edison Staff

Vicky Iacarella, NE Community Member

Mandy Larson, Edison/Pillsbury Staff

Tammy Rusnacko, Waite Park/South High Parent

PEN Minutes: 6/15/09

Attendees: Dean DeGroot (NEMS/Henry Parent), Julia Janousek (Marcy Parent), Pam Costain (MPS Board), Tammy Rusnacko (Waite Park/South Parent), Jenny Arneson (Waite Park Parent), Bridget Altmann (Edison Staff/Marcy Parent), Gary Arntsen (Waite Park Community Council), Brenda Cassellius (MPS Asst. Superintendent), Vicky Iacarella (NE Community), Mike Iacarella (Edison Staff), Pamela Verina (Edison Staff), Carla Steinbach (Edison Principal), Padmini Udupa (NEMS Principal), Jamison Rusthoven (Edison Staff), Jenn Bennington (Waite Park Parent)

Changing School Options (CSO):

Dean DeGroot opened the meeting by welcoming Brenda Cassellius, Assoc. Superintendent of MPS (Area B & all Secondary Schools), who was asked to attend the meeting to talk about the current status of the Changing School Options process. Brenda first provided an overview of CSO, emphasizing that the intent of the changes were to provide sustainability, save money, reduce the city's achievement gap by 75%, and raise test scores. The CSO goal is to provide cost savings that will then be reinvested into our classrooms. Due to the MPS budget deficit as well as changes in state funding, there will be layoffs/downsizing, but the district is attempting to keep the community engaged during this painful process. The new timeline will mean that the Board will vote on the revised recommendations in late September, 2009.

Pam Costain, MPS Board member, elaborated on the new timeline. Decisions about the new CSO recommendations will be made in time for the 2010-2011 academic year publicity. Pam assured the group that the NE quadrant of the city was not meant to be touched, but Pillsbury will be demagnetized, and Sheridan will be a magnet but the district will work with the broader NE community to determine the status of that magnet program. The biggest decisions being made are about high schools. Right now there is a commitment on the Board's part to retain all 7 city high schools, and to build up Edison & North. Pam stated that the CSO changes will have less of an impact in NE than in other parts of the city.

Brenda then answered questions about changes at North High School. The "SUMA TEC Prime" program will be rolling out next year, and will require incoming students to submit an essay in order to be "admitted" to the school. North will no longer be a comprehensive community high school, but will become a rigorous, specialty school. Current students at North who are not interested in attending a school of this type will have to go elsewhere. In 2010, students will no longer be assigned to North based on residency. Several PEN members had questions about whether students who are not admitted to the new program at North will then be sent either to Edison, or perhaps sent to Patrick Henry, depending on programming and capacity issues. There was concern about whether this ends up filling Edison with students who are not necessarily choosing to be there, but simply have nowhere else to go.

Pam Costain spoke up about these concerns, emphasizing that it would be best to view the situation not as one MPS school versus another. The district is trying to improve the academic quality at all city high schools. The decision to change the program at North was made in order to keep it open, though it has dwindling attendance and, overall, the smallest high school enrollment. The district does not expect that North will ever reach the numbers of a comprehensive/community school again, so it has a special status as an alternative to closing it. The new configuration enables students from the entire City to attend North High, which is also partnering with Dunwoody Academy.

Dean DeGroot commented that a specialty program at North makes sense, but what is unclear to the NE community is where pathways to Edison exist. For example, 70% of Marcy Open school kids reside in NE, and majority of those kids continue onward to South High—the only Open high school in the District. On the other hand, most of Edison's student population is made up of kids who live in North Minneapolis at this time. Northeast Middle School (NEMS) is the only middle school feeding into Edison. How do we keep Edison viable for NE kids when a lot of them are going to Patrick Henry, St. Anthony or South High School? What can the district do with pathways to keep NE kids in NE? Sheridan (K-8) has 70%+ kids who live in North Minneapolis, and there seems to be no link between Sheridan and Edison at this time. It was understood that the "four core" standardization of the high school curricula throughout the city, as well as the district's decision not to bus students to high schools outside of their neighborhoods would decrease the need for students to opt out of their own neighborhood for primary and secondary education.

In response, Brenda asked the group for suggestions about how to create pathways to Edison. The clear concern among many PEN members was that the district was maintaining the Open magnet program at South High and was still going to bus kids from NE who attend Marcy Open to South, despite its commitment to the standardized high school curriculum it declared with the "four core" idea. This will continue to drain NE/Edison of its teenagers. With Marcy and Sheridan as magnet schools, the only community schools feeding into Edison are Waite Park and Pillsbury (via NE Middle), and currently Waite Park is losing nearly half of its 5th graders to St. Anthony.

Pamela Vertina, of Edison High School, investigated the demographics in NE by zip code and found that we just don't have enough kids in the area to fill Edison. If the district will no longer provide transportation to kids from other areas of the city to Edison, how will it be able to survive?

Dean DeGroot pointed out that new statistics from NE Middle School do show that over half of the kids who have chosen to stay in the city have chosen Edison. This is a new and positive trend - during the two previous years, Patrick Henry has received the majority of 8th graders from NEMS. However, that represents approximately 70 kids entering Edison from this only established pathway. Other pathway connections are necessary!

Julia Janousek, a Marcy Open parent, stated that the open pathway needs to exist for Marcy kids. The way to bring Marcy kids to Edison is through attraction to a vibrant Arts program. In her opinion, many parents at Marcy are not there for the Open program, but are there for other reasons. They will not be committed to sending their children to South if more appealing options become available. If Edison's reputation improves, the families who live in NE will choose it.

Brenda addressed these concerns by saying that the new IB program at Edison will keep interdisciplinary methods available to kids from Marcy who have been educated according to the Open philosophy. There is a new secondary school in Illinois that combines a Montessori and an IB program. The district is looking at that as a possibility for one of the MPS high schools in the future.

Dean suggested that from a cost-savings perspective, with the IB pathway already there from NEMS to Henry, it would make more sense to bolster AP at Edison than divide IB resources between the two high schools (Henry & Edison).

Brenda replied that the idea of the "four core" learning philosophies existing simultaneously at all six comprehensive city secondary schools is beneficial partially due to different learning styles of different students. It is best to have AP, IB, a tech program, & CIS all in the same school. Teacher training overlaps between these methods as well.

Dean questioned how realistic it might be that there would be an equal number of AP classes at all high schools, with all four of these different programs in each school?

Brenda explained that there may not be an equal number of classes, but that all of the schools would be equal in quality of curricular programming. For example, there may be different classes at different schools available, but with technology allowing students to computer stream, attend classes online, and use district-provided "go to" bus passes to get around, all students would have equal access to the same quality learning opportunities.

Jenny Arneson, Waite Park parent, asked if the Middle years IB program (MYP) is really happening at all of the city high schools. Brenda replied that the 9th/10th grade IB training to teachers is happening now. More schools are adding IB & AP state-wide, so MPS is drawing state funding from a smaller pool than in the past. However, federal stimulus money will go toward professional training in these programs.

Brenda shared recent testing results with the group. Evidently, MPS students as a whole made increases (about 6%) in reading and writing and smaller increases in math (about 2%). MPS is outpacing the state-wide testing score increases this year for the first time in a while. This is reason to be proud of the work that has been done so far. It was agreed that marketing was one of the biggest problems we now face as a district and as a neighborhood. The MYP philosophy at NEMS leading to MYP at Edison is a logical pathway. Our current challenge is in changing perceptions about Edison, but investment in MYP is a good idea regardless of whether it changes the school's image. It is good for teaching and learning.

Brenda also shared that the district was considering co-location partners at Edison and NEMS. Currently the contract alternative school, Heritage Academy (http://www.heritagetech.net/) is a likely candidate for using some of the extra space available in NE. Heritage Academy is now sharing space at Folwell. Many of the PEN membership expressed concern about promising space to a program that offered an alternative educational program, especially one that's vision includes significant growth. Will a contract-alternative or charter school sharing space with a comprehensive community school be seen as housing a competing program? Brenda brought up the fact that the New Small Schools office is currently sharing space at the district administrative building, and that the district has been looking at partnering with charter schools. Dunwoody is a charter at North, for example, and they will share athletics, busing, and the teaching staff will learn from each other and share professional development opportunities. Students may even eventually be taking courses at both schools simultaneously.

PEN members were very clear about the need for the NE community to be consulted about co-location options before any decisions were made about how our schools will be sharing space with city-wide contract alternative or charter schools. Because our biggest hurdle right now is changing perceptions about NEMS and Edison, it is essential that that image be considered while these decisions are being made. Brenda agreed that the community would be made aware, and that CSO meetings would be happening during the summer.

Vicky Iacarella offered to draft a letter to the Board and the District about these concerns, spelling out the need for the NE community to be consulted before co-location decisions are made.

Brenda stated that the district's strategy right now is to grow enrollment at Edison through marketing, community activity, raising rigor though the TAP program (IFL model), and "disciplinary literacy teams" at the district level.

The biggest debate at the Board level right now is about the Marcy Open/South pathway, according to Pam Costain. It is an issue that has not been resolved and all of the stakeholders involved feel passionately about it. The way we can attract Marcy students back from South is by building up Edison. Some would argue that Open is such a specialized educational philosophy that it needs to be a unique program, but others feel that the philosophy behind Open education should be and has been put into practice at ALL Minneapolis public schools already.

Brenda assured that, ideally, there will be IB, CIS and AP at all schools, which will mean that there will be pathways to every comprehensive community high school based on attendance boundaries, not specialty programs.

As for marketing strategies for the future, Brenda explained that as of next year, 8th graders will receive a school choice guide, featuring only their community high school. Two weeks later they get a very small packet about all the other secondary schools in the city. There is also a re-branding effort beginning this July. All web-pages will be upgraded to one MPS brand.

Other Business:

The NE School Showcase will be scheduled for sometime during the first three weeks of November.

A follow-up from last month's discussion on athletics occurred. Jenny Arneson reported that she collected names of main sports contacts in NE for the Edison Athletic Director to use in recruiting; he was present and confirmed this was his plan. While Jenny has names from the park department, NE Middle School was unable to provide many names due to vacancies - it is clear that the break-down in communication and athletic rigor is at least in part due to the lack of stability at NEMS in athletics. Padmini Udupa and Carla Steinbach, principals of NEMS & Edison respectfully, reported that they were already aware of this issue and had been developing a plan to help each other in athletics. They will have a report by next month. Dr. Udupa pointed out to Brenda that part of the difficulty for middle school students participating in high school sports is the inconsistencies in start times.

Next meeting: August 17 at a NE Park TBD.

Agenda: June 15 Meeting (at Northeast Park)

Welcome/Introductions: 5 minutes (All)

Changing School Options—Pathways and Needs for NE Schools: Please join MPS Associate Superintendent, Brenda Cassellius and possibly others to discuss these issues. Jenny & Dean (40-50 minutes)

Specifically, we hope to better understand and discuss:

What pathways currently exist and where are the gaps?

How to attract and retain kids from K-12 in NE?

What attendance boundaries are being considered?

Look at Community Theatre & Sports options: Follow-up (15-20 mns.)

Other Issues: NE Parade, Leadership Changes, NE Schools DVD project & NE School Showcase: Details yet to be discussed: Jenny (20-25 mn)

Announcements: (5 mn)

• Area A Meetings
• NE Parade: Tuesday, June 23: please take part!
• NE School Showcase: Late Fall 2009

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

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