At the request of several parents at my son's school I called the school board to ask to speak at the next meeting as part of the agenda. We will not be heard as part of the regular meeting, but immediately after it.
Why we are speaking: Bottineau Early Education center - a school for children through grade 2 in Northeast - submitted a written request for expansion to 3rd grade in June of 2003 to Carol Johnson. Our request was never responded to... The parents who participate on the site council of the school are still interested in this item, and not willing to let it just drop with no further mention of it. We wanted to attend the December board meeting, but were told there was no need to. During our meeting of the site council in December, representatives from the school board attended and told us that Superintendent Jennings would not consider our request until study of all elementary education facilities took place, and a 5-year plan formulated. We also were asking for an additional classroom (one that's currently unused) to be filled with <gasp> STUDENTS! According to the district reps, that's not something they're currently interested in. Now with the Governor's proposed cuts, funding for the Hi-5 program may be dropped. This program helps to close the gap that children who miss the September 1 cut-off would suffer. Children who turn 5 between September 1 and December 31 are eligible to enroll. This also gives the English Language Learning children (a pretty high population at this small school) an opportunity to learn in an English-speaking environment before going on to that all-important first day of Kindergarten. With the number of students enrolled in Minneapolis Public Schools dropping at such a rapid rate, you would think the board would be happy to know that parents are interested in keeping their children in the district - particularly this school. The fear is that we would not send our children to Pillsbury Science and Tech (sharing the same building) and that program would lose out on the money our children are worth. After a survey, we found that good number of the parents who want to send their child to 3rd grade at Bottineau aren't considering Pillsbury as an alternative. Out of district parents like myself bring our children in from the suburbs because they believe in this program and the importance of early childhood education. And before you ask, the money is transferred from their 'home district' into Minneapolis - I checked. We are looking for support from community members who believe in early childhood education as much as the amazing folks who put this program together. This is a caring environment that guides children from Hi-5 through 2nd grade. Third graders learn more like these younger children, so continuing the program for another year makes sense. If you are willing to lend support, we'd be happy to have you there! Michelle Klinga Blaine, bringing my Son to Minneapolis Public Schools writing this on my break at work REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
