MPR: Parents worry budget plan could close schools

MPR ran a Tom Weber story today, Parents worry budget plan could close schools, about the EMID budget situation.

Kelly Debrine’s daughter attended Crosswinds. She was surprised by this week’s proposed budget that would move all integration dollars away from the two schools, leaving them to survive on reserves and general state aid — something she said traditional school districts would never have to do.

“It just seems like a mean-spirited move, and it’s unsustainable. And it indicates they have no investment in the schools being a part of the collaborative.”

Daily Planet: Integration programs face uncertain future as task force deadline nears

The Twin Cities Daily Planet ran an article by Alleen Brown about the work of the task force: “Integration programs face uncertain future as task force deadline nears.”

This summer’s legislation leaves out integration altogether. It says revenues must be evaluated and repurposed to pursue specific achievement goals aimed at closing the achievement gap.

“There are people on the task force who believe that integration is important and adds value,” Thomas said, including himself. There are also people who don’t, like conservative columnist and task force member Katherine Kersten.

“Personally, I believe that as we repurpose the revenue, it may be inclusive of integration efforts such as magnet schools, family liaisons and a whole host of things districts are doing that we know work,” said Thomas who is also educational equity coordinator for the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan school district.

Board to vote on bleeding EMID dry

Dear EMID Families,

The EMID board has posted its packet of materials for the board meeting taking place this Wednesday, January 25th at 5:30pm at Harambee Elementary School. Among other important pieces of information in that packet, the board will be considering a budget proposal that would reduce funding to EMID in a major way, and to the schools dramatically, using only the “backpack” funding for the schools and sending all of the integration funding to the member districts.

I’m writing to you with two urgent requests.

First, that you write a letter to your board representative ASAP (here are the email addresses for the board: https://wp.clst.org/emidfamilies/board, and the email addresses for the district superintendents: https://wp.clst.org/emidfamilies/superintendents). We have to let them know, BEFORE THE WEDNESDAY MEETING, that we are concerned about the proposals.

Second, that you attend the board meeting this Wednesday. There will not be much opportunity to speak, but just showing up in person will help the board to see how important this is to us. The meeting will begin at 5:30 pm at Harambee.

Here are the points we’ve talked about to stress to board members and superintendents:

It’s not fair to ask the two EMID schools to absorb such huge cuts to their funding. No regular district schools function solely on the basis of “backpack” funding alone. Why should the board require Harambee and Crosswinds to do so?
EMID is still in the process of doing strategic planning, and the Community Council hasn’t met yet. What is the point of adopting a budget before knowing what the strategic plan for spending those integration funds will be?
With schools all over the state being forced to reduce their spending, we know that there will need to be some cuts to the budgets for Harambee and Crosswinds. But these cuts should be made in a sustainable way. That is, the board voted to keep the schools open, and should fund them in a way that makes that possible. Further, the board should NOT be spending down the reserve funds balance. Doing so essentially says the schools will not be open into the future.
As we’ve said over and over again, we need accountability. What are the individual school districts going to be doing with the integration funds the Board proposes to send to them? Where are their plans? Where is the evidence that sending the money to the districts will have a stronger impact than keeping it in the EMID collaborative where all of the districts together are already accomplishing more than they could alone? The state has allocated integration funds to EMID to do integration. We’ve been doing that really well in EMID in ways that have made the two schools, in particular, models not only here in MN, but also nationally. Why take that apart now?

I know that this is a busy time of year, and you’ve already worked hard to keep these schools open. We won that victory, but if we can’t keep the funds flowing to the schools, that victory won’t mean much in the long run. Please write to your board representative, and to the superintendent of your home district, and urge them to ask the EMID Board to seek other ways to manage their funds.

– Mary Hess

Integration Task Force Meeting: 17 January 2012

NOTE: These are not official minutes, these are very biased and raw notes. Don’t expect fairness, balance, or completeness! I am just trying to be quick at communicating what is happening on the task force. Initials generally refer to task force members, a list of whom can be found at the official task for website. …Eric

Missed presentation by co-chair Scott Thomas, CM missing.

Presentation by member Robert Erickson
Fiscal
… Provide MDE with way to allocate funds as incentives to reward schools
… Reduce funding for Duluth
… Allow MDE to fund technology for student home access
… Enable SPPS to get additional $35 per pupil levy like MPS
… Allow charters (Harvest Prep, Concordia Acad, Groves) to get funding
Academic
… Incorporate literacy aid
… Incorporate MN Chamber of Commerce plan for K12 reform
… Require MDE to promote proven practices
… Seek public/private partnerships
… Incorporate RTTT ideas
… Provision for cultural liaisons
… Require MDE incorporate student achievement accountability
… Incorporate Groves Academy Reading Reform

Discussion

KK, 40 year track record of failure of integration, we should focus on reading and writing. Demography shows that races will meet each other naturally.

ST, that integration is happening naturally is wrong. Not just about race, also about socio-economics. There are not magical numbers, but this does not happen naturally, we need to create entry points to allow this to happen. Families are making choices, and they are choosing integrated or not integrated environments. To abandon integration efforts is to say that segregation is OK.

HB, when we talk about a.g. who are we talking about? Who is at the bottom, black and brown children. This is not race neutral. We are talking about black, brown, and yellow children and those who are economically deprived. Unhelpful to get into a debate about that.

HB loves the picture of RE report cover from Concordia, can we use it as our cover?

BM, worried about the greater segregation she hears about in the metro area. Out state we are seeing more diversity, and those kids need greater support. High school kids need mentors as they graduate, their parents don’t know how to shepherd them through the system. The integration process is a benefit to all our kids, our minority kids and majority kids. There is fear and discomfort as minorities increase, we need support and greater understanding of kids who are different than they are. This does not happen naturally.

AB, concerned about ST framing of integration, which was not defined in the past. Asked RE how much he was considering integration as he drafted his recommendations.

RE, made the assumption that ST would focus more on integration side, so I spent time on the financing and budget focussing on achievement. Does consider a definition of integration as being very important to the report.

MO, integration is neccessary, though not sufficient, to meet the achievement gap. In 1995 we had a few segregated schools, now we have more than 100. We experience very serious economic and residential segregation. We are seeing resegregation. School is not just about books and math and reading, but also about social networks and connections. I had the benefit of bing in a school integrated by court order.

ST asks for clarification from RE, Duluth to $129, MPS and SPPS to be the same (at $144?) would advocate 5% and 15% of $60m be even… Take $60m appropriation, right now state pays 70% of admin, which would no longer be responsibility of MDE. Out state was not delved into, started developing a model that would be more favorable/responsive to out state distribution. Would welcome Tom Melcher to the conversation of how funding tiers might change.

HB, many question about the model, worried about the tinkering with formulas. Would also welcome Tom.

RE, not addressing the fiscal issues would be shirking our duty. Maybe co-chairs could set up a meeting of a subcommittee with Tom. ST agrees that providing a fiscal model would be ideal.

KK would like to return to the demographic questions. Easy to lose site of the rapid rise of non-white population and the shrinking of white population. This is what she means by “natural” change. What is being called resegregation is not a matter of discrimination but more a matter of this shrinking white population. To pin our hopes of closing the achievement gap on the color of the skin of the kid next o you is to be disappointed. HB responds that achievement and integration do work together. Also cites white flight, middle class flight. The power structure is white, it is not diverse. The opportunity gap is real. Teachers are unprepared. KK asks where are the data that show the correlation of academic achievement and integration.

ST cites data on a trailer park population where kids who choose integrated environment achieve at twice the rate.

MO points to resegregation at Osseo, Bloomington, and Richfield. High poverty schools increase dropout rates, a fact that was unrefuted, they have fewer connections to college, they provide fewer opportunities. Mayor of Richfield acknowledges high degree of discrimination in housing.

BM, support has increased GPA and college attendance.

RB, the academic a.g. is overriding for me. Two things can help: God and an education. The gap is a huge problem. We need to take ownership of the situation. Two wrongs won’t make a right. Fix the bigger hole first. Minorities need more attention to closing this gap. Notes cost of incarceration vs cost of education, “math is easy” on what is right to do. They are doing it in Florida. The gap is only 10 or 12%. If they can do it,w e can do it. Parental involvement is one of our biggest hurdles. Racism is there, but it is the forth priority. Separate but equal does not exist. Focus on the gap.

AB senses that in many ways we all agree about the basics. Lots of evidence that the a.g. has not been improving. What are schools doing that places them in the position to have so many dropouts? How can we change that?

HB notes that schools have been through an ongoing period of defunding that makes it harder and harder to do their jobs. Also consider what the schools of education are doing. But some of what is being done in Florida, we don’t want to do here.

MO points out that the best predictor of test scores is the poverty rate of the schools. A 0.9 correlation. Best thing you can do for kids is pick their parents. Next best is pick their peer group. They drop out because everyone drops out. We have fifty years of data in the USA, mixed income schools have twice the graduation rate as poor schools. Integration aid is not being used well, but we have an inside game and outside game.

KK asks what causes the a.g. Gap is largely caused by family social dynamics. Goes to out of wedlock birth rates, 81% black, 61% Latino, 18% white. By far the most important factor in a child’s academic success is that child’s family soci-economic position. High expectations, homework, rigorous coursework, parental involvement, safety, lead to learning.

ST highlights that we should expect those elements from all the money that goes to schools already. We can’t close the a.g. on $110m. What should these dollars be repurposed for.

HB adds one more thing to the list, a master teacher in front of the child. [Nobody notes the 35% more contact time given to kids at Harvest Prep.] Asks about the technology element of RE’s proposal.

HB, AB, RE, RB, and others discuss technology options for districts. [Missing the fact that technology at home without a network is not very helpful.]

RE does not buy HB point about lack of funding. Parents we serve want to see schools be run as better businesses.

HB notes that it is not fair to judge integration programs in the light of the a.g. after RE again brings up the lack of progress during the life of integration programs.

MO for every Mamoud there are 50 schools that are not beating the odds. He may be a great man, but Harvest Prep is not a model. Harvest Prep can fire it’s teachers, make requirements for its parents. Dozens of schools fail on that model, not many work.

ST looking at process. Where is there overlap? What do we agree on?
…parental involvement
…teacher quality
…(access to technology, maybe not)
…pursuing what works
…pursing a fiscal model, and a meeting with Melcher (acceptable uses and sustainability of the revenue)

WG, I don’t know what integration should be, I helped found WMEP, but the more I think and write on this, the less I know. And I can agree with almost everything that was said today. Hoping that our proposal, if it does not get rid of integration as a construct, looks into whether the work we are doing will lead to a better citizenry.

KK likes the way this is going and the development of shared areas of importance. Likes RE proposal identification of cultural liaisons as important. What happens when we start to tell kids you are different from one another attempting to be helpful, but page 123 of [Glen Singleton]… Different cultures. Cites as stereotypes.

WG responds. Kids are aware of things going in they are not privy to and assign that to a certain race. Address it not by ignoring it, but by engaging it. Having access to each other on a daily basis is an important part of that demystification.

HB notes that books like Glen’s provide an opportunity for reflection and discussion. There are kids locked out of opportunities and without any chance to reflect. Opportunities in integrated schools make learning possible. Black communities in poverty are the canaries in the coal mine. Locked in poverty. Those kids, if all they see is the poverty around them, it’s is not fair to them. Help them understand they can move beyond their circumstance. Battering in the home, bullying in the school, one skit presented by kids this week. Challenges of schools today is not like those of the past. This committee has to help these kids operate in this complex world.

PS says that what is an acceptable use of the money can help define the program. The discussion of Glen’s book relates to acceptable use. One future topic for the task force is discussing acceptable uses. How can we make decisions? [Is a magnet school an acceptable use? Within what bounds?]

RE asks if a group or subcommittee could meet with Tom Melcher to ask how the integrations funds are being used now.

MO proposes two questions: do we want to use these funds in integrated settings? If so, on what? These are fundamental questions.

Motion for three person subcommittee to meet with Melcher and the MDE integration finance person and come to grips with current integration spending. Passed.

HB moves that the task force adopt the Concordia picture and the title “One Minnesota, Integration, Achievement, and Equity for the 21st Century.” KK objects before even waiting for a second.

[We should send them pictures of integration at Harambee and Crosswinds! Why allow a private school to be the image on the cover?]

END OF NOTES, more about the task force on our Integration Revenue Replacement Advisory Task Force page.

Participating on the “Community Councils”

Jerry Robicheau writes: “Here is what I am sending out to parents who have so far volunteered to participate on the Community Councils. I have 6 from Crosswinds and about the same number from Harambee. Please share what you wish with EMID Community. We will place the dates and location on the web.”

Dear______,

I want to thank you for your willingness to assist with developing the Integration Plan for EMID and Phase 2 of its Strategic Plan. EMID is at a critical time and your participation to assist in developing these 2 plans is essential. I have attached a document that outlines the process that will be used to develop these plans. The process includes the formation of a Community Council. The charge of the Community Council is: Develop and recommend a final plan to the EMID Board that satisfies requirements of the Integration Plan and Strategic Plan in collaboration with EMID Administrators. The Community Council will be responsible for developing a plan that focuses on programs and services of EMID.

We have set the 2 meeting dates for this Community Council. To be respective of the parents evening commitments, we have set the following two Saturdays: February 4 and March 3. The meetings will be held from 8:30-12. The location of the meetings will be determined within the next week. Once that place is set we will let you know. However, we wanted to get the dates out to you so you can get them on your calendar.

I sincerely hope you will assist us in this critical work. You participation is essential in determining the services and program to be available to student in EMIDs Districts. I look forward to you participation on the Community Council.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Jerry W. Robicheau, PH.D.
Interim Superintendent of School
651-379-2701
jerry.robicheau@emid6067.net

Testimony of Kristin Konop to the Integration Revenue Replacement Advisory Task Force, 1/10/12

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.

Testimony of Dr. Jennifer Marker Johnson to the Integration Revenue Replacement Advisory Task Force, 1/10/12

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.

Testimony of Eric Celeste to the Integration Revenue Replacement Advisory Task Force, 1/10/12

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.

Integration Task Force Meeting: 10 January 2012

I did not take notes at this meeting. Almost all the testimony can be found on the official task for website.

During this meeting the task force took testimony for over six hours from a cast of dozens. Every testifier, except the community members at the end, got at least ten minutes to testify and enjoyed a question and answer session with the task force. Students, parents, and teachers from the community were tucked in at the end with only two minutes apiece and no questions. In fact, a few task force members were not even present for that final testimony.

More about the task force on our Integration Revenue Replacement Advisory Task Force page.

Volunteer for the EMID Community Council

If you are interested in being part of the EMID Community Council, please let your school principal know (Bryan Bass at Crosswinds or Kathy Griebel at Harambee). If you do not have a chile attending an EMID school, then please let the Integration Specialist in your district know. Make sure to express your interest before Friday, January 13th.

The Community Council will develop and recommend a final strategic plan to the EMID Board that also can serve as EMID’s new integration plan for the state of Minnesota. It will be made up of parents of student and students attending the magnet schools, parents and community people from the member district, EMID staff, and staff from member districts.

Dr. Robicheau envisions that the Community Council could get quite large, as many as 50 people. Everyone reading the EMID Families list is probably welcome to join. If the group gets to be bigger than envisioned, two groups may be created. The Community Council will probably meet two to three times for two to three hours in the evening between now and the end of February.

Once you have expressed your interest you can expect a personal invitation to serve from Dr. Robicheau. A list of those selected to serve will also be available on the emid6067.org website.