Category Archives: Uncategorized

Bulletin: Crosswinds addition could be opportune

The editors of the Woodbury Bulletin endorsed a South Washington County (ISD 833) takeover of Crosswinds: Our View: Crosswinds addition could be opportune. “On the surface,” they say, “this appears to be a two-birds-with-one-stone solution.” But they also ask a number of questions:

What’s to come of the current curriculum offered at Crosswinds?

If the current arts- and science-based curriculum remains, where do District 833 students take that specialized education after 10th grade?

Though the building has been paid for by the state and a portion of operating funds are already covered by 833, will that cover all the costs? How much additional funding could District 833 be on the hook for? What fills the gap of EMID dollars steered toward Crosswinds that would presumably go away under an 833 takeover?

Would the integration model remain in any capacity?

Bulletin: Panel balks at plan to acquire Crosswinds school

Scott Wente writes in the Woodbury Bulletin: “Panel balks at District 833 plan to acquire Crosswinds school.” This headline is really not accurate, the subhead does much more justice to the events of last night’s EMID Board meeting: “South Washington County Schools submitted an incomplete plan to take over the Crosswinds school in Woodbury, but had faced a tight deadline and was granted more time to develop its proposal.”

A divided EMID board gave District 833 and certain other organizations that want to continue running Crosswinds about a month to prepare proposals for the school’s future. District 833 had been considered the sole suitor for the school.

EMID board members who supported broadening the search for a new Crosswinds operator said that move should not be viewed as a vote against District 833. Rather, they said, EMID needs to consider all of its options and acknowledged giving District 833 little time to prepare its initial proposal.

Note the picture that accompanied the article, the videos should be posted on EMID Families some time soon.

The EMID Families List

As a few people have pointed out to me, the families@emidfamilies.org list has been having problems. Today I was finally able to track the problem to the new host of the EMID Families site, who had been (unbeknownst to me) limiting the outgoing mail from the site to just 100 messages an hour. Since we have over 250 people on the list, that means most of the families on the list were not getting updates for the past month or so. I apologize that you were out of the loop!

To catch up on EMID news from the past month, please visit emidfamilies.org and read the top few stories.

The hosting company now says we may send 750 messages an hour, I’ll try to make sure they don’t all come at once! At least it means everyone should be getting our updates again.

Bulletin: South Washington County Moving Forward on Crosswinds

Judy Spooner writes in the Woodbury Bulletin: “District 833 School Board moves forward on Crosswinds takeover.”

Board members unanimously agreed to proceed with a letter of interest to the East Metro Integration District, which can no longer afford to operate the integration school.

Unfortunately she seemed a bit confused about the finances, which is not unusual even for members of our own board.

South Washington County Schools gets most of its integration money, about $2.4 million, from the state. There is also a local levy with District 833 contributing $1 million to EMID with two-thirds of the money going to operate the two schools.

In fact, no integration funds at all are being spent on the two EMID schools. The EMID Board decided last year that all integration funds would be spent on shared services and the schools would only get “backpack” funding from the state.

EMID Board Considers Plans from Roseville and South Washington Tonight

At tonight’s EMID Board meeting Superintendent Mohr will share plans from Roseville and South Washington County for the acquisition of Harambee and Crosswinds. The EMID Board meets at Harambee at 5:30pm tonight, Wednesday 11/28. Public input will be allowed during the open forum at the beginning of the meeting. The proposals from Roseville and South Washington County are available in the board packet.

Roseville proposes a takeover of Harambee that would leave most of Harambee’s program intact but drastically change the student body in coming years. The good news is that they hope to “grandmother” in existing students, but starting with the 2013-2014 Kindergarten class they would follow Roseville enrollment guidelines and only accept outside students as “open enrollment” students. They hope to operate the “Harambee Community School” as a year-round school with as much of the current staff in place as possible. They would ask the Minnesota Department of Education to continue funding of transportation for “grandmothered” students for as long as they are at Harambee.

South Washington County is considerably fuzzier in its proposal. They ask EMID to continue to govern Crosswinds through at least the 2013-2014 school year while they study the impact and options they have to integrate Crosswinds into their district. They make no commitments to continuing the programming present at Crosswinds in the 2014-2015 school year or beyond.

The EMID Board will hear these proposals tonight, but not make any decisions today. They are also considering adding a working session at 5pm on before their meeting on Wednesday 12/19 to further consider the proposals and their implications for the schools.

South Washington County Considers Crosswinds, 11/20

The South Washington County School Board will consider a proposal to take over the Crosswinds School at their board meeting tomorrow, Tuesday 11/20, 7pm, at the District Service Center in Cottage Grove. The agenda for their meeting shows that item 6.6. will be “Approval of Interest/Proposal for Crosswinds School” presented by Superintendent Keith Jacobus.

Their meeting allows visitors to address the board near the beginning of the meeting. It is important that the board hear how much we value the diverse and respectful environment that has been built at Crosswinds over the past decade and more. You can be part of educating the board about what Crosswinds has to offer and how South Washington County could benefit from not just taking over the building, but from keeping much of the program intact. An arts and science magnet focus with an IB middle years program (that can feed their current 11/12 IB at Park High School) and a year-round schedule could make Crosswinds a jewel for South Washington County. Will they keep this and our truly integrated environment alive, or will they transform Crosswinds into just another middle school? EMID families can have a part in the answer.

So if you can be there, please come to the South Washington County board meeting tomorrow and help spread the word of the benefits that can come to the system if they acquire more than just a building from EMID.

Also, don’t forget that our own EMID Board meeting will be coming up next week. Here are upcoming meetings to be aware of:

Tuesday, 11/20, 7pm, South Washington County School Board, District Service Center, Cottage Grove. A proposal for Crosswinds is item 6.6 on the agenda.
Wednesday, 11/28, 5:30pm, EMID Board at Harambee. No details yet, but the board packet should be here by the week before the meeting.
Thursday 12/6, 6pm, South Washington County School Board, District Service Center, Cottage Grove. There is no agenda yet, but the agenda should be here closer to the meeting date.
Tuesday, 12/18, 6:30pm, Roseville School Board, District Center located at 1251 County Road B2 West. There is no agenda yet, but the agenda should be available soon from the sidebar on this page.
Thursday 12/20, 7pm, South Washington County School Board, District Service Center, Cottage Grove. There is no agenda yet, but the agenda should be here closer to the meeting date.

Remember, too, that you are always welcome to write EMID board members or EMID superintendents with any questions you may have.

Give to the Max TODAY for Crosswinds and Harambee!

The fourth annual “Give to the Max Day” is a day for Minnesotans to come together to raise as much money as possible for nonprofits in 24 hours, all day long on Thursday, November 15, 2012. This is a great and easy way to show your support for our schools.

Help Harambee Win $1000

What if you could help Harambee School win $1000 just by giving 10 bucks? Give to the Max Day is today, so you can.

Donating is easy, just click here for Harambee! Your contribution will support school-wide initiatives, family events, field trips, and other educational opportunities. You can use this quick link for donating: http://givemn.razoo.com/story/Harambee-Elementary

Last year we raised $1780 on Give to the Max Day. Of the total, $665 was directed to the fifth grade class trip to Audubon. With your support, we were able to fully fund the cost of six students to participate in this amazing experience. We were also able to provide field trip buses for two entire grade levels!

Joe’s Sporting Goods, our very generous neighbor, has offered Harambee a two to one challenge grant for Give to the Max Day. If we can raise $2000 for Harambee, Joe’s Sporting Goods will match with $4000! What an amazing offer. Don’t let this opportunity pass us by.

Give to Crosswinds Too!

Donating to Crosswinds is just as easy on Give to the Max Day, just click here for Crosswinds! Or use this link: http://givemn.razoo.com/story/Crosswinds-Arts-And-Science-School

Help support the orchestra, theater, field trips, intersession, and many other activities of Crosswinds!

What is GiveMN?

GiveMN.org is the smart way for you to discover, support and engage with the charities that are right for you. The online giving platform allows you to easily find organizations that match your giving goals, support them through secure credit or debit card donations, receive automated tax deductible receipts through email, and conveniently track and record your donations in a single online location.

As you consider your charitable end-of-year giving, please consider participating in Give to the Max Day today. GiveMN is easy to use, and your gift to Harambee and/or Crosswinds will make a huge difference to our ongoing work.

Also, remember that you can use GiveMN to make donations any time. Today is a special day, but these links can be used every day to support our schools.

Bulletin: South Washington County School Board shows interest in acquiring Crosswinds school in Woodbury

Judy Spooner writes in the The South Washington County Bulletin: “South Washington County School Board shows interest in acquiring Crosswinds school in Woodbury.” She filled in background to a discussion that took place at the 8 November South Washington County School Board meeting.

Although early in discussions, board members said last week they see that the Crosswinds building could become a fifth District 833 middle school. Should South Washington County Schools acquire the building, it would occur over a two-year period. …

The school, built in 2003 to house 600 students, currently has 350 students and is in “beautiful condition,” [Superintendent] Jacobus said, but District 833 would have to alter the school’s model, probably to a middle school.

It could also be a school for grades 6-12, District 833 School Board Chairwoman Leslee Boyd said.

Crosswinds, which operates on a year-round schedule emphasizing art and science, has strong enrollment in grades 6-8 but falls off in grades 9 and 10, [EMID and South Washington County school board member] Gelbmann said. That is because parents are concerned about splitting up their student’s high school experience.

Numerous decisions would be ahead if District 833 pursues building acquisition, including a two-year process for planning and transition.

The state pays to transport kids by bus to Crosswinds from the 10 member districts, Gelbmann said, and would have to agree to continue to do so because it’s too expensive for 833.

Also, current teacher contracts would transfer to District 833 if the school is taken over. Those with seniority also have seniority in any of the 10 member districts, under state law, Gelbmann said.

Is Harambee going to Roseville and Crosswinds to South Washington County?

Recent discussion by the board and a conversation with Superintendent Mohr at this week’s Crosswinds Community Partnership (CCP) meeting seem to indicate there is activity afoot to turn our school buildings over to local member districts: Harambee would go to Roseville and Crosswinds to South Washington County. The Superintendent encourages CCP parents to attend the school board meetings at Roseville and South Washington County in order to track developments there, since those boards would probably have a discussion of such a possibility before it is announced at the 11/28 EMID board meeting.

If you are a Roseville or South Washington County resident, you may have particular interest in getting to these local board meetings, but even if you are resident in other EMID districts, you would be welcome to attend these public meetings. There is no indication yet of what purpose Roseville or South Washington County have in mind for our buildings, so showing up, asking questions, and listening to the discussion could be very interesting.

Here is a schedule of November school board meetings at EMID, Roseville, and South Washington County.

Thursday 11/8, 6pm, South Washington County School Board, District Service Center, Cottage Grove. The agenda for this meeting does not list EMID as a topic, but it could come up in the workshop discussion.
Tuesday, 11/13, 6:30pm, Roseville School Board, District Center located at 1251 County Road B2 West. There is no agenda yet, but the agenda should be available soon from the sidebar on this page.
Tuesday, 11/20, 7pm, South Washington County School Board, District Service Center, Cottage Grove. There is no agenda yet, but the agenda should be here closer to the meeting date.
Wednesday, 11/28, 5:30pm, EMID Board at Harambee. No details yet, but the board packet should be here by the week before the meeting.

Remember, too, that you are always welcome to write EMID board members or EMID superintendents with any questions you may have.

Video of the October EMID Board Meeting

Thanks to the efforts of Laurie Stern and Dan Luke we have a video record of much of last night’s EMID Board meeting. Parent testimony, of which there was quite a bit, starts 26 minutes into the part one video. The board’s discussion of the schools can be found during the work session at the start of part one and continues in the part two video.

These videos are not perfect, chunks of the meeting are missing and the audio is pretty quiet at times, so headphones will be helpful. Even so, it is such a great benefit to us all to have a record.