Election Day!
Vote for Jenny!
Polls are open from 7:00am-8:00pm. Not sure where to vote? Find your polling place here. Have other questions? Need to register? Look here for more information.
Edison Open House
Tuesday, November 30, 6:30-8:00
Thomas Edison High School, 700 22nd Avenue
Free hot dogs, popcorn, ice cream floats and gym activities.
Have fun and get to know the Edison community. All are welcome. (Even if high school is a few years away).
NE School Showcase
Saturday, November 13, 11:00am-2:00pm
at Thomas Edison High School Community Gym
700 22nd Avenue NE
Come take a closer look at the Public Schools serving NE Minneapolis. Parents and representatives from Pillsbury, Waite Park, Marcy, Sheridan, Northeast Middle and Edison will be present. Free activities for parents and children.
Event sponsored by PEN (Public Education NE).
Also - at 2:00, at Edison, the Morris Park Community Theater (which is now housed at Edison) will present “Annie, the Musical.”
Star Tribune Voter Guide
Star Tribune Voter Guide
Star Tribune has published their voter guide online. Check out Jenny’s profile! You can also use the guide to see what other candidates and races will appear on your ballot.
Edison Open House and Community Bar-B-Que a success!
The 4th Annual Edison Bar-b-que was a great example of community and schools collaborating. Local business sponsored the event. Community members organized, served the food and attended. The students came and met the teachers and the community. The community saw what was happening at Edison. Over 1,000 people attended. Better schools make better neighborhoods! Stronger communities make stronger schools! Click here for more information.
Jenny’s Positions
$24.5 million dollars in School Improvement Grant, or SIG, money has been awarded to 19 Minnesota schools that are willing to implement a “turnaround” strategy to dramatically increase student achievement. Minneapolis Public Schools receiving SIG funds include: Bethune Elementary, Broadway Arts & Technology, Edison Senior High (receiving the largest grant of $1.9 million), Hmong International Academy, Lucy Laney, and Wellstone International High School. How do you see your role in working with the staff, parents, students, and local stakeholders of turnaround schools to develop school climate, systems, evaluations and strong outcomes for students?
First, it is important that the board ensure that high quality programming is present in each one of these schools, and every school in our district. In addition, programming needs to be equitable compared to other schools – an issue that has been an on-going concern at the high school level in particular.
For a high functioning school, I believe there needs to be a strong connection between teachers, administration and the greater community (including parents). As a school board member, I can facilitate this relationship. In addition, I look forward to further developing our community outreach plans. Our schools cannot operate in isolation and succeed. We must use the resources our community can offer, including mentoring and tutoring, after-school programming and mental health assistance, to name a few.
It is especially important that our schools develop close relationships with parents and students and have effective communication in place where parents can not only hear from the school, but can offer feedback on what they need for their student to succeed. The best academic program in the world will not succeed without parent and student buy-in.
In order for students to reach their full potential, it is crucial to have policy makers who are not only connected to the educators in the administration, but also teachers and staff who work with children each day and finally, to the parents who know their children best. In this way we can adapt and develop a successful climate that addresses the specific needs of each school, practical evaluations and ultimately, student success.
Jenny’s Positions
In our current economic recession, our Minneapolis Public Schools organization will need to tighten its belt, and we need very SPECIFIC money-saving strategies. With that in mind, what specific money-saving options do you plan to introduce and influence?
Our very public budget woes are not unique to Minneapolis - all districts are suffering. First, the Minneapolis School Board ought to communicate very clearly to their constituents about the need for advocacy at the state and federal level. We should be specific about our need for greater funding and the need for our parents and students to lobby and engage with other lawmakers. Our schools are often polling sites – we can use the opportunity to engage our parents around voting.
Until this outside force of poor outside funding is resolved, we will always be in the undesirable situation of not enough resources. There is no silver bullet. In these times, it is especially important that our schools and community are linked. Not only does this connection bring forth worthy cost-saving measures (and donated resources), but it also provides a base of support during troubled times. Some ideas to explore include:
Stretching our limited dollars as far as possible with effective volunteer coordination, something currently lacking at many of our schools. For example, Pratt has found that a part-time volunteer coordinator can produce hundreds of volunteer hours.
-Like many companies, our district puts huge resources toward health insurance for our workers. In the past our governor has vetoed efforts to create a statewide health insurance pool for teachers, passing on greater savings to employees and districts. With a new governor in office, this would be worth consulting with the teacher’s union and exploring again.
-It is important that we work with Achieve Minneapolis to secure in-kind donations of supplies and materials. We must also make sure that our supply contracts allow the ability to accept in-kind donations.
-We should be talking to St. Paul or other districts about collaboration of services and staff positions (particularly among administrators).
-We can collaborate with the parks and city for services; for example, combined garbage collection at shared park and school sites.
Jenny’s Positions
The School Board is charged with hiring the superintendent of the district. What are 3-5 key goals for the superintendent that you will use to assess her performance and that of the district, and how will that be communicated to the public?
The achievement gap is the most pressing issue facing MPS and most agree that it needs to be addressed. There are ways to overcome the achievement gap, and our new superintendent can address the issue in with the following goals and performance benchmarks:
a. Supervise academic achievement: The superintendent should expect that district employees are using best practices through benchmarking other urban districts methods of addressing the achievement gap without the use of vouchers, charter schools or corporate takeovers.
b. Increase community engagement and parent involvement: The superintendent is ultimately responsible for driving a school culture that includes parents and community at all levels, from individual schools to the administration. For example, the District Parent Advisory Council is one tool to involve families in a collaborative way, but I hope to see the superintendent use her role to take concrete steps toward diversifying DPACs membership by using the superintendent’s appointee positions to include key stakeholders in underrepresented communities.
c. Work toward better employee relations: The superintendent is responsible for ensuring that a contract is in place for all MPS employees and that crucial functions are not outsourced. The board is responsible for holding the superintendent accountable for this responsibility. To ensure the best relationship with employees, I expect the superintendent have personal, face-to-face encounters with teachers, engineers, and all support staff in contract negotiations which will improve the morale of MPS employees.
d. Maintain legislative awareness: The superintendent should advocate for MPS in St. Paul and even nation-wide, and use her communication resources to make unions, employees, parents and other stakeholders aware of crucial legislative decisions that will affect K-12 education.
I have been impressed with new efforts from the district communications office recently, and expect continual improvements from the office of communications. It is the superintendent’s responsibility to inform the public in a timely manner about matters that will affect their childs education.
Jenny’s Positions
As a Board Director, how do you see your role in understanding enrollment trends, attracting Minneapolis families with children to our schools, and
revitalizing parent and community involvement in our schools and district?
I have taken an active role in successfully attracting families to our
schools for years. As a parent, enrollment numbers are more than a trend to me.
Enrollment predictions represent my neighbors, my community and my friends
making school choices that directly impact our community. As a school board
director, it is important to take a long view of demographic changes and
recognize the difference between enrollment trends and population shifts that
require significant changes such as closing schools and/or selling unused school
buildings. While it is important to be good stewards of public funds and save
money through consolidation when appropriate, it is short-sighted to make
decisions based on demographic predictions alone. Enrollment trends ebb and
flow, and it is wise to consider the wisdom of those from inside the school
community, as well as that of external sources such as demographers and other
public policy-makers.
Enrollment trends and parent involvement are connected. I believe that
increased parent and community involvement will lead to increased
enrollment.
*Engaging parents has been at the heart of my professional work as a social
worker and parent leader within the schools.
*In my experience, parents’ relationships within their community are key
components in school choice. When asked why they chose a particular school,
parents often respond that their neighbors recommended or dissuaded them from
considering a school. Impressions are made based on emotional reactions that
are often not based in fact or logical assessment, but on subtle, often
subconscious emotional reactions. While curriculum is an important factor in
choosing a school, I almost never hear families say they chose a school based on
programming alone. In order to more effectively attract families, I believe our
district, and more importantly, individual schools, must effectively build
relationships with their intended communities.
Our school board can foster this relationship by engaging in
community-driven policy. By looking to the school’s stakeholders -
administrators, teachers and parents - when making policy decisions rather than
placing greater importance on feedback from the district’s central
administration, the board can more effectively encourage MPS schools as a choice
for more Minneapolis parents. Our policies should be supportive of parent
engagement, and encourage grass-root connections between schools and their
communities.
The job of the district-wide administration and the school board, is to maintain
stability so that Minneapolis families can effectively promote their schools to
their neighbors. When our district invests in programming or school buildings,
our school board must hold others accountable to ensure that promises are kept.
The school board must be familiar enough with communities to know that logical
pathways exist and equitable programming is available for every neighborhood.
Jenny’s Positions
MPS owns a number of school and administrative buildings. Some school buildings are closed and for sale; others are being held in reserve. Given all the interlocking factors, what decision do you think the Board should make about the future of MPS administration facilities, and how should this fit with an MPS master facilities plan?”
I believe the board should not make a decision on the administration facilities at this time. Committing $27,000,000 to an administration building before reviewing the master facilities plan is premature and irresponsible. Our primary focus needs to be on students and their needs. After we understand the capital needs of schools and how those needs can be addressed, we can then determine what is possible for an administration building. A decision to proceed with a new building at this point will have consequences for MPS and future boards for many years to come. It is not supported by many in the larger MPS community and will make future referendums and legislative support much more difficult if not impossible. It will further erode trust in MPS leadership by the very communities that we serve and make the task of attracting and retaining students more challenging.
The administration’s unwillingness to publicly substantiate their process and conclusions with detailed documentation is troubling. In addition, holding community meetings after the administration has made a recommendation was condescending to the parents, teachers and other stakeholders involved. Those meetings should have been focused on the rationale for a new or remodeled building and the financial justifications, rather than presentations by the developers. As many of us have come to understand, current MPS leadership does not understand community engagement, or at least chooses not to do it effectively.
If the board must make a decision among the three options, and again, I would argue that they should not; then the decision should be for the remodel of the current building. This is the least expensive of the three and has the flexibility to be done in stages as we can afford it and as school building capital needs are being met. I believe the wider community will have an easier time accepting repairs and remodeling of the current building than a new facility. I would urge the current board to delay a decision until the master facilities plan is carefully reviewed and all capital needs of the district can be assessed at the same time. We need to to be absolutely certain that students and their achievement remain at the center of every decision.
Jenny’s Positions
This year’s school board election is the first that will elect board members largely by district, while transitioning to the park board concept of 6 members elected by district and 3 at large. In addition, the 2010 census results will necessitate redistricting in order to balance population by district. What are the major challenges you will face as a potential Board member in the transition from a 7- to a 9-member board, and what should be the Board’s role in the redistricting process during 2011?
As a candidate running for the District 1 seat (NE and SE), I believe these seats play an important role in linking community and school policy. School board policy directly impacts our communities; board members should be confident that they understand the unique needs of our very diverse neighborhoods in Minneapolis. I believe in community driven policy. That means being engaged with parents, teachers, students and the broader neighborhood. It brings that knowledge and experience to the board so policy can reflect a community perspective. Community driven policy starts with community needs and figures out how best to serve those needs. When this occurs, we don’t need to respond over and over again about the misfit of a new “initiative” or construction plans. We are confident that we have someone on the board who understands because they are part of the community.
Does this mean that district representatives put their own community needs above others? No. Each school board director continues to work on behalf of the entire city, and must make decisions based on what is best for the district as a whole. As a district representative I want to bring an in-depth knowledge and perspective of the areas I represent to the board and I will turn to the representatives from other districts for their greater knowledge of their own communities. One of the challenges during this time of transition is that not all district representatives are being elected this year. That demands that those on the board be more vigilant about reaching into those communities to make sure we understand their needs. This is a different way of managing than is currently delivered by our administration, but it is the school board’s responsibility to hold the superintendent accountable for carrying out this method of policy delivery.
With a total of 8 school members after this election, an immediate challenge is that there may be no majority on some votes. That means that instead of relying on a straight majority vote, the board may need to dig deeper to reach a compromise. Again, it is community input that should drive that reflection period.
As for the board’s role in redistricting, it is important that park board and school board districts are consistent to reduce confusion of citizens during election times. It is my hope that the districts can be drawn so that population is equal in all and natural neighborhood and geographic boundaries are not divided.
TC Daily Planet article on School Board races
Confused about district versus the at large seats? Check out the article on the school board races.
http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/node/31583
Star Tribune Article on School Board Candidates
The Star Tribune recently ran an article on the school board candidates for Minneapolis.
http://www.startribune.com/local/83350972.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDiO7aiU
Edison Now Officially IB!
Thomas Edison High School is now an official International Baccalaureate World School. Edison has received our official authorization certificate from the International Baccalaureate Home Office in Geneva, Switzerland for the 11th & 12th grade Diploma Programmme. Edison currently has 12 teachers trained in the IB Diploma Programme and they are incorporating IB methodology in their current classes. Edison is in the process of recruiting 10th grade students to be included in the 2010-11 official first class. To learn more, please visit the official IB website at http://www.ibo.org/school/004851/
