June 18th 2003
Dear Ms. Quist;
Thank you for your response to my letter to Senator Higgins about the
concerns you raised regarding the work of our High School Small Learning
Communities.
I continue to respectfully disagree with your interpretation of the work
taking place in Minneapolis Public Schools. While I will ardently
defend your right to your views I don't want anyone to confuse your
views on this matter, with reality.
At the risk of repeating myself let me restate:
1) Minneapolis Public Schools does not force 8th grade students to
choose career tracks.
2) Enrolling in a Minneapolis Public High School Small Learning
Community cannot be equated by any reasoning adult to being "forced into
a career track".
3) All of our Small Learning Communities (SLC's) deliver the state's
required and elective academic standards.
4) Some of our SLC's are developed around an educational philosophy
(e.g. the Open programs at Henry, South and Roosevelt or the IB programs
at Henry and Southwest.
5) Some SLC's are developed around general interest areas (e.g. Arts and
Communication, Summatech - math and science - at North, Arts and
Humanities at Southwest, Liberal Arts at South, American Studies at
Washburn)
6) Some are developed around broad career pathways (e.g. Engineering at
Henry, Emerging Technologies at Edison, Teaching and Public Service at
Edison, and Medical Technologies at Roosevelt, Travel and Tourism at
Washburn.)
7) The Small Learning Communities in our high schools are being
developed in response to best-practice research and in response to focus
groups with students who want a more relevant educational experience.
8) We believe Small Learning Communities, are a key strategy to
increase: student engagement in learning; attendance; achievement; and
graduation rates.
Ms. Quist, perhaps we can agree that knowledge comes from experience. I
know you have visited our website. I am not sure if you have visited
our schools, spoken with our students and teachers, or seen for yourself
the work taking place in our high schools.
I invite you to come visit with our High School Academic Superintendent,
Dr. Robert McCauley to discuss our high school reform initiatives. Dr.
McCauley can be reached at 612-668-3820 to schedule your visit.
You are welcome to visit our schools and speak with our students to
discern for yourself , based on your own experience whether your
statements about our work match up with your experience in the
Minneapolis Public Schools.
Sincerely,
Jim Grathwol.
612-290-1190
MREdCo wrote:
>
> Re: Career Pathways for 8th Graders in MPS
>
> Dear Mr. Grathwol,
>
> In your June 8th letter to Senator Higgins you state that
> "no one [Mpls student] chooses a career pathway" and that
> Mpls "does not force students to choose careers in 8th grade."
>
> Your statements are simply not true. The small learning
> communities (SLCs) in Minneapolis require students to make
> career decisions before they enter high school.
>
> You say that Minneapolis students "have the
> opportunity to choose their high schools." What you don't
> mention is that in 8th grade students actually must choose an
> SLC, and that choice determines their career pathway. SLCs
> are focused around future career plans. Therefore, choosing an
> SLC is choosing a career path. The SLC sales language calls
> the career pathways "themes," but they are career themes.
>
> The American Youth Policy Forum describes SLCs
> this way:
> "a multi-year sequence of courses that integrate core
> academic knowledge with technical and occupational
> knowledge leading to higher levels of skill attainment
> over time with a unifying theme around which to
> organize the curriculum." (p. 6 "Rigor and Relevance,")
> http://www.aypf.org/publications/aypf_rigor_0004v.3.pdf
>
> You say that every SLC "delivers all of the state
> required and elective academic standards." They do indeed
> teach the standards, but all of the curriculum is integrated
> with the particular career pathway. American Youth Forum
> notes that, "In grades 9-10, a program of study [in SLCs]
> would focus primarily on academic foundations using the
> context of careers." (p.iii)
>
> The MPS district website calls SLCs "school-to-
> career," and "school-to-work." The website states:
>
> "School-to-Career Transition in Minneapolis is a
> comprehensive system involving a diverse group of
> school, agency and organization partners committed
> to transforming the educational experience of
> Minneapolis learners. Guided by this commitment,
> the School-to-Career (STC) Transition System is
> dedicated to realizing the following vision:
>
> "The Minneapolis School-to-Career Transition
> Consortium seeks to establish a COMPREHENSIVE
> K-life education and EMPLOYMENT TRANSITION
> SYSTEM which prepar
