In Overhauling Curriculum, Teaching, and Administration of the Minneapolis Public Schools, We Must Be Clear as to Those Most Responsible for Current Conditions--- Then Move Forward with the Five-Point Program for Transformation

Calls for reform of the public schools too often do not specify what exactly needs to change and goes astray in seeking change in areas tangential to the real problems.

 

So let’s be clear:  The nature of the change needed is at the level of the locally centralized school district, represented saliently by the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS).  As  I have detailed in many articles, we need to 1) install a knowledge-intensive curriculum specified grade by grade throughout the K-12 years;  2) train teachers capable of imparting such a curriculum;  3) energetically address the skill deficiencies of those students functioning below grade level in math and reading with a comprehensive and cohesive tutoring program;  4) reach out to our most challenged students right into the family and community settings within which they dwell;  and 5) greatly reduce the MPS central school district bureaucracy at the Davis Center located at 1250 West Broadway in North Minneapolis.

 

Let’s then also be clear as to which people right now are most responsible for the current condition of the Minneapolis Public schools.

 

Review first these results from the last three academic years:

Percentage of Students Recording
Grade Level Performance on MCAs:

Disaggregated Data for Academic Years
Ending in 2014, 2015, and 2016

                     Math     


African American                  2014       2015      2016
 
Male                                       20.8%    22.0%   19.1%

Female                                    21.2%   20.7%   20.5%

African (Somali, Ethiopian, Liberian---
(late 20th/early 21st century immigrant populations)

                                                 2014       2015      2016

Male                                       24.2%      25.0%   23.6%

Female                                    24.1%     25.9%    21.5%

Hispanic                                  2014       2015      2016

Male                                       32.1%      33.5%   32.1%

Female                                   29.4%       30.3%  30.4.%

Native American/                   2014       2015      2016 
American Indian


Male                                      19.9%      16.5%   16.0%

Female                                  25.0%      21.9%   21.3% 




Asian                                      2014        2015      2016 

Male                                      44.1%      47.4%   45.4%

Female                                   51.3%      53.4%   54.1%




White/ Caucasian                   2014       2015      2016

Male                                       76.7%     78.4%   77.4%


Female                                    77.0%     77.9%   78.4%

All Students                           2014       2015      2016  

Male                                      43.1%     44.3%    42.9%

Female                                  43.9%      44.5%   44.4%

Percentage of Students Recording Grade Level Performance on MCAs:


Disaggregated Data for Academic Years Ending in 2014, 2015, and 2016

Reading                                          

African American                2014       2015      2016

Male                                    18.8%     18.5%    18.2%

Female                                 24.0%     24.5%    23.4%

African (Somali, Ethiopian, Liberian---
 late 20th/early 21st century immigrant populations)

                                             2014       2015      2016 


Male                                   18.8%     19.3%    20.4%

Female                               27.6%     24.3%     23.2%

Hispanic                             2014       2015      2016 

Male                                   22.0%     22.9%   24.7%

Female                               24.5%     26.6%    27.6%

Native American/              2014       2015      2016 
American Indian

Male                                   18.3%     13.9%   15.3%

Female                                23.6%     26.1%   25.9%

Asian                                   2014       2015      2016 

Male                                    36.0%     35.8%   38.8%


Female                                 44.7%     44.1%   50.6%



White/ Caucasian                2014       2015      2016 

Male                                    75.3%     74.3%   74.0%

Female                                 81.0%     80.2%   80.0%

All Students                         2014       2015      2016 

Male                                     39.2%    38.7%    39.6%

Female                                  45.3%    45.1%   45.8% 

Now consider the people most responsible, detailed below as to duties and credentials for the jobs that they hold (given parenthetically are the annual salaries currently being paid to these staff members at the Davis Center):

Superintendent Ed Graff              ($225,000)

 

The superintendent of schools is responsible for leading all functions and processes for the school district. The superintendent is charged with working with all internal and external stakeholders to implement and execute core strategies that produce results across the school district. The superintendent sets the academic priorities of the school district and serves as the primary decision-maker and spokesperson for Minneapolis Public Schools.

 

Chief of Schools Michael Thomas            ($151,000)

 

The chief of schools manages operational connections to support associate superintendents, principals and teaching staff in accelerating student achievement and overall school improvement that is aligned to the core values and academic goals of Acceleration 2020.

 

Chief Academic Office Susanne Griffin                 ($151,000)

 

The chief academic officer oversees the academic division and implements the academic agenda to provide world-class education for all MPS students. Areas of focus include accelerated academic achievement for all students, shared accountability for student learning, professional development for teachers and principals and respectful and welcoming school environments.

 

Deputy Chief of Schools Stephen Flisk                  ($148,000)

 

The deputy chief of schools supports operational connections to support associate superintendents, principals and teaching staff in accelerating student achievement and overall school improvement that is aligned to the core values and academic goals of Acceleration 2020.

 

Executive Director of Teaching and Learning Macarre Traynham               ($117,000)

 

Through the lens of racial equity, Teaching and Learning provides culturally relevant resources and leads the implementation of research based instructional practices that ensures all students meet or exceed grade level standards.

Director of the Office of Black Male Achievement Michael Walker         ($119,000)

 

The Office of Black Male Student Achievement was created specifically to address the needs of the largest demographic group within MPS. It represents an equitable approach to tackling the challenges that exist for the school district’s black male students.

The degree to which racial disparities continue to persist in MPS is unacceptable. Native-born African American males consistently perform at or near the bottom on nearly all performance indicators in MPS. We must focus on supporting black male students in more aggressive and effective ways.

We must commit to having equity in this district and lead more intentionally around getting results for these specific groups. Accelerating the growth of students who are two and three years behind will require more targeted resources and support.

 

Director of the Office of College and Career Readiness Terry Henry        ($100,000)

 

CCR is a team of specialized professionals who provide leadership, structures, programming, and support to students, families, schools, and district leadership to educate and empower students with the skills and knowledge to succeed in college and careers. We are fierce advocates for career and college readiness across the district. 

Students who graduate high school career and college ready will possess the knowledge, skills and behaviors to successfully complete workforce training, certificate programs or entry-level credit-bearing college courses.

 

Director of the Department of Indian Education Anna Ross         ($106,000)

 

What does Indian Education Do?
Indian Education provides many services for MPS Native students and families. A few examples include:

• Support for Instruction
  We work with teachers and schools to help them become more familiar with the best ways for Native students to learn. We do this through professional development opportunities for teachers, but also through one-to-one relationships. We also develop culturally relevant and engaging curriculum and materials for use in schools.

 

• Support for Family Involvement
  We provide resources and support for opportunities throughout the year, like Connecting Parents to Educational Opportunities, parent trainings and parent circles.

 

•  College Readiness
  Our counselors work with Native students on college planning steps, personal awareness an academic preparedness. They do this by meeting with students in groups and individually, facilitating college field trips and assisting with financial aid and tribal enrollment processes. 
   
• Advocacy for Families
  If a Native student is experiencing a problem at their school, Indian Education will work to help resolve the issue. 

Christina Platt, Project Manager for Teaching and Learning      ($73,000)

Focused Instruction is a program to ensure consistent quality of learning throughout the Minneapolis Public Schools, so that students at each grade level are receiving common knowledge and skill sets.

 

I have not yet received credentials for Terry Henry or Anna Ross, nor are they given at the relevant portals at the Minneapolis Public Schools website.  The following credentials were either provided to me directly or assembled by me based on information provided at the pertinent MPS website portals:

 

Superintendent Ed Graff

 

Post-Master's Degree work in curriculum, educational leadership, and instruction

Master's Degree in Educational Administration, University of Southern Mississippi

Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education, University of Alaska Anchorage

Michael Thomas, Chief of Schools

 

Ed.D.: Educational Leadership, University of St. Thomas (anticipated)

Superintendent and Administrative Licensures, University of St. Thomas

MSW, University of Minnesota

B.A.: Social Work, University of St. Thomas

 

Susanne Griffin, Chief Academic Officer

 

Superintendent Licensure, Minnesota State University-Mankato Educational Policy and Administration (58 credits toward Doctorate) and Administrative Licensure, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

M.S.: Communicative Disorders, University of Wisconsin–Madison

B.S.: Secondary Education and Speech/Language Pathologist Licensure, University of Wisconsin–River Falls

 

Stephen Flisk, Deputy Chief of Schools

 

Ed.D.: Urban Education Leadership, University of Illinois at Chicago

M.S.: Mathematics, Chicago State University o C.A.S.: Administration, National-Louis University M.A.: Education, Saint Xavier University

B.S.: Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

 

Michael Walker, Office of Back Male Achievement

 

Administrative license, St. Cloud State University

M. A.: University of Wisconsin – River Falls 

B. S.:  Physical Education from Southwest Minnesota State University

 

Macarre Traynham, Executive Director of Teaching and Learning

 

Ed.D.: Educational Leadership & Equity, Lewis and Clark College (anticipated)

M.A.: Educational Administration, California State University

Administrative Licensure, Portland State University

B.S.: Mathematics, Norfolk State University

 

Christina Platt, Project Manager for Teaching and Learning

 

Master of Public and Nonprofit Administration, Metropolitan State University

 

B.A.: Sociology, University of Minnesota–Minneapolis

 

Certification:   Career Development Facilitator, Normandale College

 

What You Should Observe About the Above Information

Notice a few things about the above information, then seek out more detailed information in my past articles, with much more information  and commentary forthcoming in articles in the days ahead:

 

1)  Very few of those most responsible for the wretched academic results at the Minneapolis Public Schools have training in the most important academic areas of mathematics, natural science, history, economics, literature, English usage, or the fine arts.

  

2)  Also scant is any depth of experience in providing highly quality and cohesive academic remediation (tutoring).

 

3)  Among these staff members, most of the training beyond the bachelor’s level, and good deal of training at the bachelor’s level, has been gained in departments, schools, and colleges of education wherein education professors propagate the harmful approaches to education that have resulted in decades of lagging results for the K-12 students of the United States.

 

4) To achieve the needed transformation, we must hold these very well-paid people responsible and jettison most of them from their current positions.

 

5)  No one else can insist on the transformation of the Minneapolis Public Schools;  you and I must exert the required level of pressure necessary to compel the needed policy and personnel changes.