Open letter to the Latino community

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.

The decision to eliminate the NLL program at Burroughs was made over a year ago, and since that time I have consistently advocated for saving it. From the very beginning it has made sense to me that Latino families, like other families of color, deserve options that lead to safe, orderly, and rigorous academic opportunities. By all accounts it appears that Burroughs has been one such option. However, when I started advocating for the continuation of this program I found few concurring voices, with the exception of my colleague Pam Costain who also advocated for NLL at Burroughs.

I remain changeless in support for NLL as a program that statistically proves beneficial for many students, however, the information that our district considers when placing programs at schools has been difficult to argue against.

First, there has been a decrease in the number of Latino families selecting Burroughs’ NLL program. In the 2007-2008 school year only 15 Latino families selected the program, while a minimum of 26 are needed. For 2008-2009 there were 10 Latino families that selected NLL at Burroughs. When eight of them were contacted only two opted to remain at Burroughs while six chose Windom. Like all families, Latino families have the right to choose from a variety of programs and many choose Windom, Green Central, Andersen, Jefferson, Emerson, and Whittier, all of which have either NLL programs or Dual Immersion and enhanced community services specific to the needs of Latino students. Though I believe NLL at Burroughs has been a good choice for some, and that the school can certainly benefit from increased diversity, it must be a choice that enough Latino families make for themselves. .

At the same time that interest in NLL at Burroughs has waned, there has been increased competition by non-NLL families electing that school as their first choice. Last year the Burroughs site council discussed the fact that there were 188 families seeking to fill only 130 kindergarten seats. Though there was unqualified support for the NLL program, phasing it out was discussed as a way to “best serve the needs of all children” and provide openings for families in the Burroughs neighborhood.

It is gratifying to see this public discussion gain attention. Latino students and families have been a growing presence in Minneapolis Public Schools for years. If only care for their academic and cultural needs had kept pace with their numeric growth we might be better situated to serve them today. Without a sincere interest in the well-being of Latino students on the part of Minneapolis Public Schools, more Latino families may very well choose other options that are readily abundant in this city and others.

On a final note, I am saddened –but not discouraged - by the nauseating backlash of commentary that has accompanied the Star Tribune story regarding last Thursday’s meeting of Latino families. It belies the dated proclivities that have impacted the lives of people of color for too long. I would like to think our schools do a far better job than the many in attending to the humanity of Latino families.