The Pioneer Press ran a story that “Mounds View Public Schools officials have decided to explore an integration collaboration with neighboring districts.” It goes on to say, “The district will team up with the North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale and Mahtomedi school districts to study the idea. A formal collaboration has not been formed, but it’s on the horizon.”

Full story is here.

At the EMID board meeting last night Kathy Griebel shared the results of EMID’s survey of 622 family intentions for the next two school years. Kathy noted that these numbers ask parents to peer awfully far into the future, so they should be considered “soft” numbers. The executive summary provides a good overview of the response while the survey response shows the numbers in a bit more detail.

The bottom line is that it looks like a lot of 622 families intend to continue with EMID. If transportation were not an issue, then the attrition from 622 would not be significantly different for the attrition that is the norm for EMID. However, for over 30% of families transportation is a significant issue. EMID is, of course, working hard to resolve that issue for families.

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.

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.

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!

The district 622 board will meet TODAY, Tuesday, January 22nd, and we hope to have as many EMID families as possible there to tell our stories. Wear a Harambee or Crosswinds t-shirt! The board meeting starts at 7pm, but if you want to speak out at the meeting, please come early at 6:15pm to meet with other speakers. The agenda (long PDF) and notes for speakers are available. We also have a special update from our Site Council Chairs and Family and Community Involvement Coordinator.

On Wednesday, January 16th, EMID families found an article in the Star Tribune that alerted us to the fact that the North Saint Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale school board (ISD 622) would consider pulling out of the East Metro Integration District at its meeting on Tuesday, January 22nd. The next day the Pioneer Press also ran a story. We quickly learned that a process that began a little over a month ago in district 622 threatened to tear at the fabric of our EMID family. This is moving way too fast! We are asking the ISD 622 school board to please slow down and take a careful look at the impact leaving EMID would really have.

North Saint Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale set up a committee to investigate the option of leaving EMID in November. The committee first met on December 4th. Most of the public only learned of this committee’s existence the week of January 15th. The 622 board will meet on January 22nd to vote on the proposal. It took over two years to build up the collaboration that became EMID 10 years ago. How can the ISD 622 board throw away 10 years of collaboration on the basis of one month’s consideration?EMID families don’t know what is causing the ISD 622 board to move so precipitously. Here’s what we do know:

• On December 4th the “EMID Committee” of ISD 622 first met to consider whether the recent Minnesota Department of Education finding that the district was “racially isolated” from the adjoining districts of Mahtomedi and Stillwater should lead district 622 to leave its current collaboration with EMID in order to form its own collaboration with Stillwater and Mahtomedi. Note that though two Crosswinds 10th grade parents were invited to participate in this committee at the last minute, neither family could make the meetings on such short notice and both were later removed from the committee.
• At its last meeting on January 8th the committee unanimously voted that ISD 622 should pull out of EMID and form it’s own integration collaborative.
• The “cabinet” of ISD 622 voted unanimously to forward the committee’s recommendation to the board for consideration at the board’s January 22nd meeting.
• The ISD 622 board met with the committee on January 15th for a “study session” about the proposal. An 86 page study packet (PDF) was used to review the proposal of the committee.
• The ISD 622 board will meet on Tuesday, January 22nd, at 7pm at the 622 District Center in North High School, 2520 12th Avenue, North Saint Paul.
• If the ISD 622 board votes to leave EMID, that departure would take effect beginning with the 2009-2010 school year.