Author Archives: Eric Celeste

Looping proposal

Kristin Black wrote in this week’s Harambee Life that she is looking for parents to be part of the multiage/looping exploration. Contact Doreen Blohm at 379-2507 if you would like to take part.

I wanted to share with you that a task force is being formed to explore ourcurrent curriculum delivery format — “multiage” (two grade levels of studentsworking together) — in relation to “looping” (one grade level of studentsworking together for two years with the same teacher following them to thenew grade level). A proposal to explore this was brought from the teachingstaff to Site Council and the administrative team in January and was then sharedat the February school board meeting. The task force will be formed and willwork from March 2008 until June 2009 to explore stakeholder support for apossible move to looping in fall 2009. This group will ultimately make a recom-mendation to the school board based on their findings. The task force will in-clude representation from families, teachers from all grade levels, specialists,and administration. If you are interested in serving on this task force, pleasecontact Doreen Blohm at 379-2507. Monthly meetings will begin in March,2008 with the exact meeting schedule to be decided upon by the task forcemembers. The timeframe for exploring this proposal is lengthy so that there issufficient time to complete research, hear from all stakeholder voices, and shareprogress along the way. Your input and opinions in relation to this proposal arevery important; thank you for considering helping with the task force.

Crosswinds attendance by district

A note in the unofficial minutes from yesterdays’ Site Council meeting at Crosswinds:

Report on the breakdown of current student enrollment by district:

  • 52% St. Paul (District 625)
  • 18% North St. Paul/Maplewood/Oakdale (District 622)
  • 11% South Washington Co. (District 833)
  • 5% Roseville (District 623)
  • 4% White Bear Lake (District 624)
  • 2% Mahtomedi (District 832)
  • 2% Stillwater (District 834)
  • 1% Inver Grove Heights (District 199)
  • 1% South St. Paul (District 006)
  • .03% West St. Paul (District 197)

EMID Looping Proposal

When a few of us went to the EMID Joint Powers Board meeting in February we learned of a proposal to remove the multiage classroom approach at Harambee in favor of a “looping” approach. This surprised us and we spent a good bit of time discussing these plans with Kristine Black. Kristine has been good enough to share the timeline she provided to the board.

Please note, she will be looking for parents to participate in this review. Please let Principal Black know if you would be interested in taking part.

Maple Grove/Osseo Update

Amy noticed that district 279 (not a part of EMID) is facing some integration issues:

I dug a little deeper and this is what seems to be the case. (I am in the Discover Phase so I really have very little information at this point. Any additional information EMID families obtain would be appreciated.) Osseo and Maple Grove are in the same school district (279) which serves Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Maple Grove, Osseo, Plymouth, Corcoran, Dayton, and Hassan. District 279 is already involved in an Integration District, but there remain several racially identifiable schools within their district. I believe the effort is to redefine boundaries within the district to create more equitable educational opportunites. As per the desegregation rule they have a Multi-District Collaboration Council which is exploring their options.

EMID Community Event Summarized

Amy provides a fantastic summary of the Multi-District Collaboration Council Community Event EMID sponsored on 2/25. The group discussed the deseg rule on which EMID was founded and then issues of students feeling disrespected and families unaware of the benefits available to them through EMID. “EMID families are encouraged to weigh in on these issues. Your feedback is appreciated by the committee.”

EMID MDCC Community Event

Kathy Griebel wrote with the following invitation from EMID’s Multi-District Collaboration Council:

I hope you are enjoying your break. I am pleased that some of you are able to attend the MDCC Community Event, scheduled for Monday, February 25 from 6:30-8:00 at Harambee. I have attached another flier for your review. This is your chance to provide feedback and input to the Multi-District Community Collaboration (MDCC) group regarding proposed issues, goals, and objectives for the 2008-2012 EMID Integration Plan. Please RSVP to Mary Ojile (651.379.2700 or mary.ojile@emid6067.net) to attend this event.

In addition to the Community Event, the MDCC has developed an online survey. The survey is quite brief and should take less than 10 minutes to complete. Please take a few minutes to complete this survey by March 3, 2008. The survey will also be posted on the EMID website.

Thank you for your continued support of EMID.

EMID Surveys ISD 622 Residents

EMID families in 622 should get a copy of this survey in the mail. You have three choices:

  • complete and return the copy mailed to you;
  • complete this PDF copy, print it, and return it to Kathy Griebel at Harambee, 30 East County Road B, Mapelwood, MN 55117;
  • complete this electronic version.

In all cases, please make sure you complete this survey by March 3rd. Thanks!

Also, remember, ISD 622 membership in EMID will not change for the 2008-2009 school year. All services provided — including transportation — will remain the same for next year.

622 votes on July 2009 transportation

Some urgent action by EMID families resulted in, among other things, an amendment to a resolution at the February 622 board meeting that made it clear 622 would allow EMID to reimburse the district for July 2009 student transportation. This does not mean there is a finished plan for July 2009 transportation yet, but it does leave room for EMID and 622 to work together toward such a plan.

622 votes to pull out

The Bad News: On Tuesday, 22 January 2007, the school board of district 622 voted unanimously to withdraw from the EMID collaborative. This decision will take effect on 1 July 2009. See this 622 page on the EMID website to learn more about the impact this will have on 622 families. District 622 has issued a statement about the meeting and the decision to withdraw from EMID. There has also been media coverage about the decision.

The Good News: In the week leading up to this 622 board meeting EMID families have found new ways to work together. This web site and the families mailing list are not going away. We will continue to use these tools to work with each other on the EMID/622 issue and more. Please stay tuned.

The story of EMID and 622 is far from over. This vote kicks off some frantic planning on both the EMID and 622 sides. 622 has to come up with a whole new integration plan and partners for a new collaborative before July 2009. EMID has to figure out how it will survive the blow that 622’s withdrawal represents and grow stronger in the process. Certainly the demographic shift that is making the first ring suburbs of St. Paul more diverse will continue and as a result the pressure will be on for all EMID collaborators to rethink the very reasons for the integration work we do together. As families we must stay engaged and demand the best not only from our EMID staff and administrators, but from each other.

Stay tuned!