I want to weigh in on the discussion of public vs. private schools from
a personal as well as a School Board perspective.
First, as a parent, I feel compelled to put a human face on the
theoretical musings that the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) are
failing. It's simply not true! I have watched my 8th grade son
absolutely blossom at Anthony Middle School, singing solos from Fiddler
on the Roof in the choir concert, winning at the state history day
competition and getting ready for the national competition in Washington
DC this June, visiting Quebec with his French class this month. I did
not keep him in the MPS because I felt guilty; I kept him in the system
because he was thriving and had some incredibly wonderful teachers and
good friends. It has been a very positive experience for him.
That being said, I am not in denial about the problems that the MPS are
having in closing the achievement gap, and I am absolutely committed to
erasing that gap. There is a tremendous amount of research on this, but
one of the most powerful is a report called "Good Teaching Matters" by
the Education Trust, which you can download if you're really interested
by going to http://www.edtrust.org/main/reports.asp.
The thrust of the report, using data, is that the achievement gap can be
virtually erased through a relentless focus on improving the quality of
teaching, and it cites El Paso as an example of a district that's been
able to pull it off. The El Paso school district worked with the
University of Texas at El Paso to provide intensive assistance to
improve instruction, including summer institutes and regular on-site
coaching. It might be hard for us Minnesotans to believe that a Texas
school district is out front on this, but it's true.
So, how are we responding in Minneapolis to our achievement gap?
Superintendent Carol Johnson announced a "12 Point Plan" this winter to
erase the gap: ensuring quality teaching and focused professional
development is Point #2. In spite of the fact that we are facing serious
budget challenges in our district (in part because of a $27 million
unfunded special education mandate), Superintendent Carol Johnson has
restructured MPS' teacher support, moving away from large, after school
and weekend seminars, to site based support. Next fall, each school
will have master teachers, with proven track records, to help coach and
provide on site assistance to teachers in reading and math. This is a
significant step, grounded in research, to support improved teaching.
Our High School Reform efforts, the initial work which is funded by a
grant from the McKnight Foundation, will provide all of our high school
students, not just our current magnet students, with small learning
communities by the fall of 2002 (This is Point #5 of the 12 Point Plan.)
This promising effort is being led by Joel Kramer, with pro bono help
from McKinsey and Company consultants. I believe that the district's
change in focus on how we support quality teaching will be instrumental
in making this effort succeed.
As you might suspect, our data shows that attendance is directly linked
with school success. We need to improve attendance, and we will be
requiring 95% attendance for all students this upcoming fall (Point #7).
Any student who misses 7 full or parital days of unexcused absences will
be considered truant and subject to legal action. We have started
monitoring attendance and communicating this policy this school year,
and will enforce it next school year, but this initiative won't be
successful unless students and families also take responsibility. We
need all of our families to take school seriously and make sure that
their students attend school, and summer school if needed. We'll press
forward with this, but here's an example of the challenges we face: we
require our students who are not on track to pass the Minnesta Basic
Skills Test to attend summer school, but less than half do so.
While there are other efforts underway as part of the "12 Point Plan," I
think that the 3 efforts I've mentioned are the most significant in
terms of reducing the achievement gap.
Catherine Shreves
Chair, Minneapolis School Board
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