Category Archives: SOS

Pioneer Press: Schools could get a reprieve

Megan Boldt wrote another EMID story for the Pioneer Press: “Schools in Woodbury, Maplewood could get a reprieve.” She was at the EMID board work session last night and reports:

Superintendents from an integration collaborative of east-metro school districts still believe it’s best to close two schools that were opened to address racial segregation and focus those dollars to benefit more students.

But they gave East Metro Integration District, or EMID, school board members a second option on Wednesday night.

EMID Board Considers New Proposal from Superintendents

After presenting a preliminary recommendation to close EMID schools at the last board meeting, the member district superintendents came forth with a second recommendation: keep EMID schools open without spending any integration revenues on the schools themselves. The board will vote on both options, to close and to restructure, at its next meeting on Wednesday, October 19, at 5:30pm at Crosswinds.

The proposed restructuring of EMID finances would reduce member district contributions of integration funds by 43% to $30 per student and require that this money only be spent on the shared services EMID provides for member districts. The schools would be funded through the “per pupil ‘backpack’ money” that each student brings to EMID and an additional contribution per student from the EMID reserve funds. EMID has enough reserve funds to maintain this arrangement for two to four years while the state works out what to do with integration funding and EMID discerns what should be done with the schools in the long run.

It looked quite likely that the board would vote next week to not close the schools but to restructure the funding instead. However, both these options will be moved and both will be voted on, so there is still the very real chance the board could vote to close EMID schools at the end of this school year. We hope EMID families can find time to attend this critical meeting of the EMID board next week. There is a good chance the news will be positive, but a positive outcome is much more likely with the public keeping careful watch on the board’s work.

We recorded tonight’s meeting and have many notes that we will post as soon as possible.

Harambee’s Principal Griebel Writes the EMID Board

Kathy Griebel, Harambee’s principal and a long-time EMID staff member, shares a letter she wrote to the board today.

I believe that racially integrated schools serve as a key structure of opportunity and a foundational element for transforming schools, districts, and communities. Innovation through magnet schools and interdistrict collaboration are essential to school improvement and collaboration. The Statewide Task Force on School Integration found that magnet schools are a widely used tool to promote integration through school choice.

Please consider writing your own letter!

Saint Paul Public School board discussing EMID, 10/4

This has been posted on our EMID Families list a few times, but we also wanted to get it up on the website. The SPPS board will be discussing EMID school closure today at their 10/4 work session. Note that the agenda has just been revised and EMID is now item “D” on the agenda. This means the EMID discussion should happen after 5pm, in an effort to allow more of the EMID community to get to the meeting.

The details of the meeting are at the SPPS web site. It will be at 320 Colborne Avenue in Saint Paul.

White paper to recommend closing integrated schools

Today’s EMID board meeting lasted five hours! First the bad news, then a bit of better news.

Interim EMID Superintendent Jerry Robicheau made it very clear that the superintendents of EMID member districts want to close Harambee and Crosswinds at the end of the 2011/2012 school year and that he agrees with them. Robicheau will be writing a “white paper” with the other superintendents to spell this recommendation out more clearly. He promised the white paper within a couple weeks.

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A few board members made it very clear that the superintendents were in the driver’s seat on this one. In large part, the board is deferring to their expertise and opinion. In an odd sort of way, this clarity at least helps us understand where the battle lines are drawn.

The first hour of the meeting was taken up with the most heartfelt and amazing testimony from 20 parents and students. Over 200 people attended to cheer them on and let the board know that we appreciate what Harambee and Crosswinds do for the community. A number of board members were moved by the testimony and the many letters they had been receiving. We also delivered the EMID-SOS petition to the board, which topped out at 462 signatures.

The senior staff of the district also made an impassioned plea for the work they do both at the schools and for member districts. Former board chair Bruce Hagerty also made a forceful argument for a more coherent process and questioned the urgency with which the board was acting.

All in all it was a powerful night that left some board members questioning the wisdom of moving as fast as they have been. A few also made strong requests for more data from the superintendents. Clearly some are uncomfortable with the rational for the superintendent’s recommendations. This is far from the end of the process, so don’t despair!

A big thank you to everyone who took part today! We will keep you posted on next steps.

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EMID Board Meeting Today, 9/21

Remember that the EMID Board will meet at Harambee Elementary School today, Wednesday 9/21, at 5pm to discuss the fate of our schools. Some of you may have received messages with other times, but we have confirmed that 5pm is the correct start time. Also, if you wish to speak to the board, then it might be a good idea to arrive a few minutes early so you can check in with with Mary Ojile, who will keep a list of speakers.

Harambee is at 30 East County Road B just south of route 36 in Maplewood. It is directly across the street from a Joe’s outdoors store and next door to the Cub grocery store near Rice.

We hope you can make it to the meeting. Whether or not you plan to address the board directly, even just your presence will help the board understand how much we want to keep our schools. It should be a very interesting meeting!

Bruce Hagerty signs EMID-SOS petition

Some of you may know the former chair of the EMID board, Bruce Hagerty from South Saint Paul. It turns out he signed our petition last week! Here’s what he had to say…

I will support points 4 and 5 of your petition and look forward to working with you to see that school closure is the last possible alternative under consideration.

Sincerely,
Bruce Hagerty

As a reminder, our petition states…

We petition the EMID school board to:

(1) Slow down and consider the costs of closing Harambee and Crosswinds for the well-being of children of color – indeed, of all children – in the east metro area.

(2) Carefully consider the implications of this decision on the Office of Equity and Integration.

(3) Return to the original mission and vision of integration upon which the joint powers agreement was first founded, which includes explicit attention to cultural understanding, rather than constraining their assessments to a narrow definition of academic achievement.

(4) Give serious attention to parent, teacher and community concerns that have been raised and seek substantial public input in planning.

(5) Consider the large number of alternatives to school closure that have been raised.

Finally, we deplore the EMID school board’s recent pattern of secrecy and non-disclosure, and request that they proactively communicate with parents, teachers and students and develop clear transparency in both their meeting schedule and their agendas.

We are preparing the signatures from the online petition for presentation to the board at tonight’s meeting (Wednesday 9/21). If you sign after we present the board with the petition, we will share your signature at the October board meeting.

Star Tribune: Parents worry that east-metro schools face closure

The Star Tribune published an article online today: “Parents worry that east-metro schools face closure.”

Hundreds of parents are using social media, letters and phone calls to lambaste East Metro Integration District (EMID) school board members who are debating whether to close two experimental schools that political leaders once envisioned would end segregation as well as close the achievement gap.

Wednesday, at their regular monthly meeting, EMID school board members will winnow their options. Then, in November, they will make a final decision on how the district will proceed.

Over 180 attend EMID Community Input Session

More than 180 people showed up at the event almost filling the Crosswinds performance area. Given that most parents didn’t learn of this meeting until earlier this week, that is an amazing turnout. Thanks to everyone who attended!

The board announced a brand new Strategic Planning Resources section of the EMID website, look there for the slideshow from the strategic planning consultants and the survey data from parents and teachers.

The board was not terribly interested in answering questions, especially student questions, but it sounds like there was a bit of discussion. When the board split the attendees into small groups there were not enough board members to go around. I got at least one report of a board member who said that parent letters and phone calls had already had a major impact. Let’s keep it up!

As one participant put it on twitter: “Gr8t turnout at EMID mtg. tonight. Parents passionate – let’s just hope that board members really heard them. Keep talking, people.” I’d also like to especially thank Nate who tweeted during the meeting. A reporter and photographer from the Star Tribune were also present, so keep eyes peeled for a story.

Of course, this was just an input session, we’ll need a big turnout at the EMID board meeting next Wednesday as well. Don’t forget: 9/21, 5pm, Harambee.