Of the Pratt 3rd grade students tested last year, all passed the Minnesota Basic Standards Test for 3rd grade students, and Pratt's 3rd grade class also ranked 3rd and 2nd on Minnesota's reading and math assessments. About half of Pratt's students come from the Glendale Housing Project, about half of Pratt students are eligible for free or reduced price lunches, and only about half of the students are classified as "white, not of Hispanic origin."
Micheal Atherton reported that a large majority the 3rd graders tested at Pratt last year were white and not eligible for free and reduced priced lunch, and in a message dated 2/21/2004 3:21:18 PM CST, goes on to say, "To imply that these test results reflect anything special about Pratt other than a unique set of demographics is disingenuous at best. It should be noted that Pratt uses the same curriculum, philosophy, and teachers as the rest of the District. If there are any factors that make Pratt standout it's parent involvement and (for last year's 3rd grade) smaller than average class sizes..." In my opinion, School policy and school characteristics make a big difference. The public schools in Minneapolis and individual MPS teachers are not all alike when it comes to curriculum, philosophy, and teacher efficacy. Teacher efficacy (as measured by test scores, graduation rates, etc.) has been found to strongly correlate with teacher expertise (measured as years of teacher experience, advanced degrees, certification in the subject area - or grade level - one is teaching, etc.) - The district's leaders were extolling the virtues of small schools: small schools tend to have better outcomes than big schools. However, it is unquestionably more cost effective to have larger schools with a multitiered educational system. I believe that many MPS teachers and principals are striving to "close the gap" (based on sometimes lengthy discussions with MPS teachers and principals). But they are swimming against the stream. The school administration and a large part of the school community want the teachers to "help the best and damn the rest." Teachers in early elementary grades tell me they have said "no" to dividing their students into different classrooms for reading instruction. They want all of their students to acquire the same kind of reading skills that student get in the college-bound classroom. Many of those are subversive teachers will lose their jobs if the Board approves, and the teachers union goes along with Jennings' proposal to give principals more "flexibility to choose their teaching teams." (Eliminating / watering-down tenure and seniority rights) A lot of teachers have lost their jobs, and more teaching jobs will be cut because the district's leaders have made so little progress (if any at all) toward making a quality public education accessible to everybody. "Do not forget, the current graduation rate for African-American students in Minneapolis is only 28 percent. Schools all over the city that are contributing creative ideas and programs to reverse this rate should be heard." -- Don Fraser and Jerry Stein: Don't rush into a decision to ax 10 Minneapolis schools, Star-Tribune, Published February 20, 2004 The district has expanded gifted and talented programs, which has had a positive effect on the academic performance of students admitted to those programs. More students of color, and a higher proportion of them have been getting into those programs (though whites are even more heavily over-represented in the gifted and talented programs as a result of changes in admission criteria when Carol Johnson was the superintendent. More of the students excluded from the gifted and talented programs have been opting out of the district's schools. And the district has been aggressively promoting the use of part-time tracking and ability-grouping as early as Kindergarten since 1997. The data on enrollment broken down by race indicate that a large part of a dramatic K-5 enrollment decline since 1998 is attributable to a flight of students who are excluded from the gifted and talented programs. >From 1999 to 2002 the number of white students entering grade 1 went from 1,059 to 979, a 7.6% decline, and the number of African-American students entering grade 1 went from 1,831 to 1,310, a 28.5% decline. Proportionally there is also a somewhat greater net loss of African-American students than of White students who entered grade 1 in 1999 and grade 4 in 2002 (see below). The number of African American students entering grade 1 in 1999: 1,831 (45.04% of 1st graders) entering grade 2 in 2000: 1,727 (43.89% of 2nd graders) entering grade 4 in 2002: 1,493 (42.89% of 4th graders) The number of White students entering grade 1 in 1999: 1059 (26.05%) entering grade 2 in 2000: 1017 (25.84%) entering grade 4 in 2002: 866 (24.88%) >From October 1998 to October 2002, *K-12 enrollment went from 48,776 to 46,182, down by 2,594 (-5.3%) *K-12 students residing in Minneapolis attending publicly funded suburban and charter schools went from 2,527 to 5,351, up by 2,826. *K-5 enrollment went from 26,021 to 21,982, down by 4,039 (-15.5%) *6-8 enrollment went from 10,319 to 10,373, up by 54 (+0.05%) *High School (9-12) enrollment went from 12,436 to 13,843, up by 1,407 (+14%) The decision to drastically cut bus service in 2002 produce a huge, and entirely predictable exodus of students from the Minneapolis Public Schools. The district lost about as many students between October 2002 and October 2003 as it did in the previous five years. The Minneapolis Board of Education is attempting to solve its budget problem by driving students out of the district's schools. That's why the promotion of charter schools is part of superintendent Jennings big plan. The "Choice is Yours Program" (a one-way, city to suburban busing program) is another means by which the Board is facilitating "black flight." -Doug Mann, King Field Author of Flight from Equality: School reform in the US since 1983" http://educationright.tripod.com - - 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. 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