Hi! More data on the referendum: I just attended the first PTO meeting at my daughter's school, Ramsey IFAC. They presented the results of their preliminary analysis of what the effect would be on them if the referendum didn't pass. Currently: Ramsey is a Fine Arts Magnet that offers an arts infusion curriculum and Spanish for all grades (K-8). Arts infusion means teaching one subject through another discipline (an art, generally). For instance, science classes on the planets and their rotations can be enriched with movement. Classes on vocabulary/reading can be enriched through theater. Strings are also taught to all students. The school has 915 students this year. 140 of those are ELL, i.e. their primary language is spanish. There are 46 teachers/support staff, which if you divide out equals 19 (but that division isn't valid, they aren't all "homeroom" teachers, some are in specialty subjects and see various groups at various points in the day. But you can see the basic ratio.) If the referendum failed, a number of schools would close. Ramsey feels it would not be one of the ones closing, because of its physical size, the extensive infrastructure renovation that was just completed, and that it is a magnet. Instead, its student body would increase to 1200 approximately. This is not concrete and decisive, but even reducing that by some percentage it is still significant. The change in staff estimated is that the 16 probationary teachers (taught less than 3 years) would be dismissed, we would get 13 more senior teachers from other schools that closed, and I believe two other staff so that the bottom line is there would be one less student-contact person in the school. With almost 300 more kids. P.S. We have a spanish translator (a teacher in the school) for all such meetings, for the families who aren't yet bilingual. Also the assumption is that we would lose funding for the arts infusion programming, as well as the strings program and all other ancillary music and fine arts. A flyer put out by the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, Local 59 mentions also that $40 million dollars per year would be lost to the district, of which the cost per household is approximately $1/month (for a home valued at $100,000. That the kids coming to school in Minneapolis speak over 90 different languages. And there is a reference for additional information at www.voteyes4kids.com, containing articles on this page: http://www.voteyes4kids.com/index.asp?Page=DISPLAY&GroupID=4&DTID=PP&ID=6228 (f rom "read more" clicks) to the MPS results, an article in the Strib on class size and an article in the New York Times on class size. Another organization involved in this effort (reading the bottom of another flyer) is the Better Schools Referendum Committee, which is listed with both of these addresses: 5516 Elliot Ave S., Mpls 55417; and 5047 Gladstone Ave. S., Mpls 55419. Some names of people to contact include Julie Mattson-Ostrow (668-0491) and Judy McQuade (822-4554). It also mentions that the following organizations have endorsed the initiative: Greater Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce Progressive Minnesota Central Labor Union Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, Local 59 Minneapolis League of Women Voters Minneapolis DFL Party Minneapolis Republican Party Greater Minneapolis Daycare Association Kenwood Neighborhood Association Coalition of Black Churches African American Leadership Summit Youth Coordinating Board McKinley Neighborhood Association So there's some more grist for the collective ... uh.. mill, (wasn't it? That's what the grist is for, right? ), from an unabashed supporter. And I would just like to say again too that it's not just about test scores. It's about socio/emotional wellness etc.. , as far as I am concerned. And the conclusion from the info-bite that kids who experience smaller class sizes longest get the most out of them (score-wise) obscures an important dimension. The kids who experience smaller class sizes for a shorter period, and/or have the additional struggles at home etc.. probably benefit more than the others in other intangible ways. Maybe they don't achieve as much academically as the less stressed kids, but they likely achieve alot more than they would in larger class sizes, and are more well. Which is really the bottom line. School systems like Minneapolis have to respond to the unwellness of the community, to make up for every societal error. It all hits the kids, and is either exacerbated or offset/eased/resourced/... in the classroom. I vote for the later. Claire Stokes Minneapolis
