I am a parent of a child at Ramsey International Fine Arts Magnet (IFAC). I live north of the falls (not sure my district). It is imperative that the schools referendum pass! Ramsey's magnet programs are two-pronged - spanish language, and strings. Spanish starts in kindergarten, strings in first grade. Many teachers (both of my daughters' so far) are bi-lingual. The school also has a gifted and talented program, an after-school drama program, multiple choices for jazz/orchestra/quartet etc... for the older kids. All this with a 9-grade, 1000 kid population, with the typical percentage (I'm guessing 5% - 25%) of recent immigrants, and other high-need kids. My daughters' current teacher is Masters' prepared, bi-lingual, extraordinary. We were just talking about the referendum recently, and she said she would have left the teaching profession a long time ago if the first referendum hadn't passed, because she had had 30-35 kids in her classroom and that is unworkable. She simply cannot be effective in that circumstance. She says she can't imagine the convulsions that would be experienced if the referendum doesn't pass, and she can't imagine continue to teach. Not only would class sizes go back up (because of the reduced money available for teacher salaries) but other support programs and resourcees would disappear. I have attended school board meetings where data has been presented specifically quantifying the benefits of these additional funds, relating to test scores. For me personally it is about something different. I want my daughter to have the social benefit of small classroom sizes. In a community as diverse as ours here in Minneapolis, care must be taken to meet each individual's needs. That care cannot be provided in a 35-kid classroom. If the classrooms are returned to the inevitable chaos, those of us with more choices would have to consider opting out, and resigning ourselves to the sub-optimal environment consisting primarily of people who look just like us. I don't want to harm my daughter that way, because her life experience is going to consist of much more cultural diversity than mine has and I want her to be comfortable with that and able to take full advantage of the strengths and benefits contained there. Speaking from a less-selfish perspective: All the children in the city of Minneapolis deserve a classroom environment that meets their needs in order to develop to their unique potential. All the grownups in the city of Minneapolis, and future generations too deserve a community consisting of young people who are comfortable in their skin, intellectually interactive with their surroundings and emotionally intact. That is the goalset that is furthered by this referendum. Sorry for the long post, I was just waiting for such a provocation! Claire Stokes Hiawatha now, formerly Powderhorn, UofM, Nicollet/Lake, Uptown, etc.. etc..
