Good Afternoon, my name is Kristen Konop, I am a founding teacher of Crosswinds Middle School which is part of the East Metro Integration District (EMID).

I sit here to offer a unique perspective about the outcomes of integration and education. My students that started Crosswinds with us in 1998 are all in their mid-20’s. In recent years, they have begun to contact us at Crosswinds & tell us their stories. In doing this they have shared how the early experience of attending an integrated school, not just a diverse school, but an integrated school has affected the people they have become. Here are two of the representative stories: 

One is a girl
One is a boy

One is black
One is white

One is Bobby
One is Erin.

Both are energetic.

One’s energy is driven & focused
The other’s energy frenetic, silly & often distracting in the classroom

One struggles with school success, I think might actually still owe me work.y
The other, needed work to be extended, differentiated & challenging.

By any explanation one was “going to make it” the other was trying not to “become a statistic.”

Each student spent 2 years in our program.

One graduated 8th grade in 2000 the other 2001.
 
It’s 2012, 13 years later:

Bobby works as an EMT, saving lives, he builds houses for Habitat for Humanity & helps to organize blood drives.

Erin currently serves as the inaugural director for the Center for Native American Youth, founded by US Senator Byron Dorgan. Prior to this she was the lead health advisor on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. 

I asked both of them if they thought going to an integrated school had any effect on their work/lives: Here are their responses:

Erin: Crosswinds gave me confidence at a time when most young females need it

Bobby: Crosswinds helped me figure out who I am, it helped me know myself

Erin: I felt respected and cared for by the teachers and the community. 

Bobby: Knowing who I was allowed me to get to know & learn about others, no matter what they looked like. It helps me in my job as an EMT.

Erin: I am SO grateful for the time I had with a diverse group of students from all over the metro area. The student body looked like how the real world looks and… that is critically important for young people to see & understand.

I also recently spoke to Elin Lindstrom, another former student, whom is now an attorney & she said:

The biggest impact Crosswinds has (on my current job) is my ability to relate to different people …I work with clients on a daily basis and it is important that they trust me and that I can establish a relationship with them.  I think Crosswinds broadened my horizons and opened my mind, enabling me to better relate to people with different cultural and socio economic backgrounds.

The work we do with integration really addresses an Empowerment Gap. We empower all kids, any kids to achieve & achieve in an environment where they learn about, make mistakes with & problem solve with one another so they can all learn. Integration is messy, uncomfortable, difficult work, but the payoff: contributing members to society who know how to achieve in any aspect of society.

In Minnesota we are sitting on the forefront of this work..we have the opportunity to lead the nation to close the Opportunity Gap. It won’t be easy, but then again, the right thing never is.
 

To the Integration task force:

Here is a summary of the statement I gave on Tuesday January 10th. What follows should be bit less emotional than I was during my testimony. (In my defense, I’d just left the funeral of a family member). I thank you for the energy and time spent to help our children.

I was grew up in the St. Paul Public school system in the Midway area from K through 5th grades. I am currently a practicing dentist in the Twin Cities. My husband spent K-12 in the Moundsview school system and now is a professor of physics in the MNSCU system. We understand how important a good education is to a productive life.

The main issue begins with confusion regarding the definition of “integration”. EMID has a unique environment that is not duplicated in the twin city area. The specialized training of the staff in both schools has led to a very interesting byproduct. The schools have moved from basic racial integration to a more expansive definition that includes children from different environments and abilities. There is an expectation of success, with college bound goals for all students.

My son is an example of a child with a unique learning situation. He joined Crosswinds in 7th grade of this year. The year-round option for him is ideal. He has reading issues and has needed moderate support in the past to keep up with his class. He utilizes private tutors and has been approved for targeted services throughout his elementary years to keep on task. The option of a nurturing, year-round school is perfect for him. He will actually get to take smaller breaks throughout the year instead of going from the school year into summer school. The school calendar also provides breaks for his main support system (his parents!!). I’d happily send him to a private school, but his IEP and reading issues make that nearly impossible. I finally feel as if he will be able to learn to his potential at Crosswinds.

At the begining of the year I was hoping for an overall improvement in my son’s grades, understanding of the classes he was taking, and demeanor. Additionally, I was hoping that his IEP needs would stabilize or decrease. I was hopeful that I would notice a change by the end of the year. Instead, the EMID schools integrated methods of teaching have made Austin feel like a normal kid. His reading and learning disabilities have been addressed and are monitored. There has been a confirmation of Dyslexia and we are moving forward. Last year his grades were barely in the “C” range (and he really should have been held back). Half way through the second term he has all A’s and B’s. He is engaging in his classes and tells me that he is smart. He is starting to talk about going to college. You need to look at the CHANGE in scores and grades for these kids. I really think many of these kids are high risk for dropping out or becoming statistics. EMID is helping them see a road that leads to a productive life. I believe the training the integrated teachers receive is critical to the success behind why kids that learn differently are successful in EMID model. Crosswinds has already made him a success. What more can they do in the 3 years he has left? We need to find a way to make the EMID system succeed.

I also ask you to think about why any parent would have their child spend an hour commute if there was any other choice.

Again, thank you for your time.

Dear members of the task force,

Soon after moving to Minnesota my wife and I discovered the East Metro Integration District. Both our children have attended EMID schools ever since. One is now a college sophomore, the other is in ninth grade at Crosswinds. I have been attending all your meetings and am eager to see the result of your deliberations. Please know that I and other parents care deeply about the work you are doing and believe you have the interests of our children at heart.

The EMID magnet schools are wonderful, but you know that. What you may not know is the degree to which the true innovations of a setting like EMID’s are compromised by the very drive toward standardized testing that lie at the foundation of the focus on the achievement gap. This discussion addresses your third question: historically, what worked and what didn’t work. The statewide testing model fails to accurately measure innovative programs like EMID and does not reflect the growth of students in our program.

EMID runs on a year-round schedule that avoids the regression typical of summers off. Instead, EMID places three week breaks between each quarter. Our kids are never away from school for long, and even during each break (except August) the schools offer “bridge” programs to keep students engaged. However, these breaks throughout the year mean that when the statewide testing window rolls around, our kids have had six weeks fewer educational contact days than other kids. The inflexibility of the testing calendar has forced the district to cut Fall and Winter breaks to only two weeks, eliminate much of the looping multi-age dynamic in our schools, and led to the impression that our schools are worse than others simply because our scores are a bit lower than others. I don’t expect you to resolve this problem, but I do want you to be aware that the data you see does a particularly poor job of reflecting the effectiveness of innovative programs.

Achievement gap data based on these tests often do little to illuminate how individual children learn and grow in a school. Our middle years school, Crosswinds, for example, gets an influx of new students in seventh grade who perform far below their classmates who have been in EMID schools since kindergarten. While our school prides itself on the significant progress these kids make from grade to grade as they move through our program, the achievement gap numbers are based on tests that don’t show this progress because they focus on snapshots of grades, not progress of individuals. Our data is flawed, and our sense of what works is flawed as well.

Integration is about more than simple diversity. Integration is about more than pumping up achievement gap numbers. Integration at the EMID schools does help all students achieve excellence, but it also teaches them to celebrate one another. To enjoy each others company at lunch, during after school activities, and during our bridge programs. The respect our students show for one another as they build a comprehensive, year round learning environment results in skills that our students carry into the world, to college and to the workspace, skills that our multicultural society desperately needs.

My hope and the hope of many EMID families who could not be here today is that you find a way to continue funding the kind of innovative, truly integrated environment that our magnet schools represent. We know it has been working for a decade now. We need your help to provide a similar exciting opportunity to east metro families in the decade to come.