Better Minneapolis

Last Thursday night Latino parents met with members of the Minneapolis School Board and the press to express their heartfelt support for the Native Language Literacy program at Burroughs Community School. I support their aims and their efforts toward self-determination in a system that should be observant to the fact that Latinos represent the fastest growing student segment in the Minneapolis Public Schools.

Dear Friends,

For weeks I have resisted getting mired in an unproductive public discussion about a visit that I made to Burroughs Community School. My attention is focused on the restructuring of our school district and there is little to be gained by engaging in anything that does not help improve things for our students. However, my silence has allowed hearsay and speculation to outweigh the positive conversations our communities are having about race and equity in Minneapolis Public Schools. For that reason I write to clarify a few things.

Minneapolis Public Schools need to improve for all students, of all backgrounds, no excuses – now.

What’s in the way? The vexing construct of history, structures, and people.

If we could wipe the game board clean, erase all the buildings and start from scratch, would our new school district have any resemblance to the one we have today - or the one we’re proposing?

Not hardly.

I live for a time when people of great passion gather in public spaces, shoulder to shoulder with lawmakers, standing tall, one for all, to demand a quality education for every child regardless of their zip code.

What  a day that would be. But I wonder if the media would rush down to cover the story? Would all elected officials feel the need to issue statements in response?

Doubtful. That passion is for the few, the proud, the powerful.

Nationally you might hear school leaders say there are no "sacred cows." All options are on the table. This time, we mean business. Seriously.

The mission to drastically reform, innovate, and recreate schools so that they perform for poor and minority students leads us all to speak in high tones about the importance of change and "doing what works." We are serious. You can tell by the number of times we say so. We have data. Oddly enough, it supports exactly what we like and has the opposite effect on what our partisan politics cannot bear.

Even as we face substantial loses of funding and enrollment, Minneapolis Public Schools is still striving to remake itself into a great public school system. While addressing record deficit predictions we also must be creative.

How dare we dream to go big when the economy would shrink us? We believe we must change the way we do business in order to offer higher quality schools for all kids while living within our means.

Here are some interesting statistics forwarded by the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education:

• Percentage of all white high school seniors in 2004 elected to an academic honor society: 26.2%

• Percentage of all African-American high school seniors in 2004 elected to an academic honor society: 13.1% (U.S. Department of Education)

• Percentage of all African-American high school seniors in 1972 who participated in a student government organization: 25.3%

Reuters is reporting that segregation in public schools continues to be a problem.

"Blacks and Hispanics are more separate from white students than at any time since the civil rights movement and many of the schools they attend are struggling, said the report by the Civil Rights Project at the University of California." - Read more

Minneapolis Public Schools have committed to a transformative academic agenda with the goal of increasing achievement for every child in our city. Achieving the goals of “every child, college ready” and over 80% proficiency in reading and math will require substantially improving public trust and creating a universal culture of accountability.

Think of this year’s referendum effort by supporters of Minneapolis Public Schools as an ink spot.

Some see it as a simple request for $60 million dollars that is needed to “manage class size,” support academic reforms, and provide students with updated materials and technology.

Others see it as yet another needless tax increase for something they care little about.