Community Engagement Collaborative
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Public Contact: Deanna Mills, M.P.H. Member, Community Engagement Collaborative 612-204-4106 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Media Contact: Mary Lilja Lilja Inc. for the Community Engagement Collaborative 952-893-7140 [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Community Engagement Collaborative Seeks Involvement,
Hosts Series of Discussions about the Values, Future of
Minneapolis Public Schools
Dates, locations now set for Community Meetings <http://www.mpls.k12.mn.us/Community_Meeting_Schedule>
MINNEAPOLIS - (Aug. 4, 2004) - The Community Engagement Collaborative, hired by the Minneapolis Public School (MPS) Board to implement a community-wide listening and learning process, has set dates, times and locations for a series of discussions with community members that will provide the School Board with guidance as they make future decisions about Minneapolis Public Schools.*
"We are ready to move forward, with the community's help," said Deanna Mills, spokeswoman for the collaborative. "We want to discuss and explore the core issues (see issues list) about values, principles, and policies in these community discussions."
The first round of meetings, Aug. 11 - Sept. 25 (see attached schedule), are designed to foster discussion among people likely to have similar "stakes" in the future of the schools, such as parents/families in one session, or business/civic leaders in another. The goal of the sessions is to identify all of the values expressed by a particular group of "stakeholders."
Because the collaborative has made a commitment to reach into culturally and linguistically diverse communities, invitations have been extended to community organizations in the Somali, Latino, Hmong, African American and American Indian communities to host meetings. "We are working hard to achieve broad participation among all members of the community, including those who haven't participated in the past, due to barriers of language, transportation or other issues," said Mills.
The second round of meetings, Sept. 27 - 30, will bring together different stakeholder groups likely to have differing views for dialogue and debate. The goal of these sessions is to begin to reconcile the competing values of different groups. A final and third round of large-scale meetings Oct. 4 - 9 will bring everyone together, with the goal of finding common ground and setting priority values to be used in decision-making.
Mills said that the collaborative has developed case studies that will be used to explore community values and apply them to "real-life" situations such as school programs. "It is our hope that through exploring these case studies with the community, we will better understand the community's expectations and values that will then guide decisions made by the Minneapolis School Board," Mills said.
The collaborative will analyze the community's feedback and submit a report of its findings to the MPS Board Tuesday, Oct. 12, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at it offices located at 807 Broadway NE.
Key Questions for Community Discussions
Mills says that MPS needs to move forward, knowing that it is supported by the vision, values and principles of the larger Minneapolis community. To make the right decisions, the collaborative says that a community engagement process - a multi-dimensional, comprehensive discussion involving the MPS and all persons, organizations and stakeholders - is essential.
In its initial phase of information gathering, the collaborative identified the five most critical, and often conflicting issues that the community must wrestle with, and ultimately address: achievement, diversity, choice, equity, purpose. Key questions to be discussed in the next round of community discussions include:
Achievement
* What is the role of testing in determining achievement?
* How much should our children be tested?
* Should there be a common curriculum throughout the district, or
should there be the option for tailored education?
* Should the most successful schools be given special protection?
* What is the definition of a basic education? Does it include
having all the material, supplies and technology available?Diversity
* How should the district address institutional racism?
* Should policies actively promote racial and ethnic integration?
* Should policies actively promote economic integration?
* Should policies actively promote the integration of languages?
* How do values for integration and diversity interact with the
value of neighborhood schools, given the city's segregated housing
patterns?
* To what extent does a value for integration outrank the need to
limit transportation costs and the value of short bus rides?
* To what extent does a value for integration outrank research
findings or other values for more segregated programs like
American Indian focused schools, "Afro-centric" programs, gender
specific schools, and other culturally specific educational programs?
* How important is staff diversity and cultural competence?Choice
* How much choice is needed?
* What is the best balance between small schools and large schools,
magnets and charter schools, community and neighborhood schools,
alternative schools and other types of schools?
* What is the best balance between K-5 and K-8 schools?
* Should schools provide a variety of options beyond the basic
academic core, or should they only concentrate on the basic
academic core?
* Are alternative schools effective?Equity
* Should there be equal class size throughout the district?
* Should resources be distributed equally throughout the district or
apportioned according to need?
* Should the district engage in resource sharing between the buildings?
* How can the district and the community make good decisions in the
face of the budget crisis?
* What are the best uses of scarce district resources?
* What are the core programs that should not be touched by the
budget crisis?Purpose of Schools
* Schools are in the business of education, but do they also have a
substantive role in community building?
* Schools certainly must provide a solid educational environment,
but what roles do teachers and staff have in assuring the social,
emotional and overall health of students?
* Who really is the MPS's customer: students, parents or the
community at large?
* Should the schools be a resource for the broader community?For more information about meetings in your area, please review the schedule online at http://www.mpls.k12.mn.us/Community_Meeting_Schedule or contact Deanna Mills at (612) 204-4106.
*NOTE: Other MPS public meetings concurrently running include town hall meetings where the community can meet Superintendent Peebles, and facilities meetings convened by KKE Architects. School closing decisions made in the fall will be based on data collected through the KKE project, the community values collected through the Community Engagement Process highlighted in this release, and other information available to the School Board and the Superintendent. Information on meeting locations/purposes can be found on the MPS web site at http://www.mpls.k12.mn.us/
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