Below my readers will find a snippet of the information that I am assembling for my book, Understanding the Minneapolis Public Schools: Current Condition, Future Prospect, now in a very advanced stage of writing and production. The information is from Chapter Four, Academic Leadership in the Minneapolis Public Schools.
Given is the listing for Susanne Griffin, recently demoted from "Chief" to "Deputy Chief" Academic Officer, along with the key department of several under her purview. The department given is the Department of Teaching and Learning, for whom Macarre Traynham serves as Director and Christina Platt serves as Project Manager for Focused Instruction, the latter program of which should serve as a conduit for knowledge-intensive education in the Minneapolis Public Schools but has languished under the philosophical poverty, lack of administrative support, and the knowledge-poor information base of Griffin, Traynham, and Platt.
New Superintendent Ed Graff, Susanne Griffin, and Macarre Traynham have all received most of their training from education professors, those lowest-rung occupants of classrooms of any college or university, who are most responsible for the knowledge and skill deficiencies in K-12 of the United States. Platt's training is in sociology and based on my interactions with her demonstrates huge gaps in her own knowledge base that make her wildly unsuitable for her role as point person for Focused Instruction.
Thus it is no wonder that students of the Minneapolis Public Schools are both knowledge and skill deprived. This knowledge and skill deprivation is factually verified by the data posted in many places on this blog, data that will be replete in Understanding the Minneapolis Public Schools: Present Condition, Future Prospect.
Among the questions that I will be posing to the Minneapolis Public Schools staff members given below are the following:
1) What is the abiding philosophy of education that drives the academic program at the Minneapolis Public Schools?
2) Why have recent academic results been so abysmal?
3) Given those results, what justifies existence of over 50 positions and an expenditure of approximately $3,000,000 for staff and program that have produced so little in the way of student achievement?
Answers to those sorts of questions will be given in Part Two of my new book, and my own philosophical convictions will be given in Part Three.
As to Part One, that section of the book will be reserved for the conveyance of straightforward objective information of the kind that I give below. In the space below, I include here and there salary information that will be filled in entirely in the final draft of the book, along with job descriptions for many of the positions listed.
Please now review the following positions as you consider that matters of efficacy and results for such a large portion of the staff at the Minneapolis Public Schools--- and the alternative commitments that we could make with the roughly $3,000,000 expended on the staff most responsible for the unacceptable student academic outcomes at this iteration of the locally centralized school district.
As you review and ponder this information, keep well in view both the critical importance of the locally centralized school district and the need for the overhaul of such systems as represented by the Minneapolis Public Schools.
(From) Chapter Four
Academic
Leadership in the Minneapolis Public Schools
Academic
Affairs
Chief Academic Officer, Susanne
Griffin, oversees the district’s academic division by implementing the district
academic agenda to provide world class education for all MPS students. We work
closely with the schools and many other departments at MPS to ensure that we
are all focused on the following areas:
- Accelerated academic achievement for all students
- Shared accountability for student learning
- Professional development for teachers and principals
- Respectful and welcoming school environments
The Academic Leadership team
works with the Superintendent to help each principal apply the educational
priorities of the district within each school. This work is prioritized out of
the Strategic Plan
and includes a strong focus on aligning standards with instruction and
assessment to ensure all students have access to rigorous learning.
Our vision to support college
and career readiness is articulated in our Steps to Student Success. These represent metrics over
the course of a student's K-12 experience that will accelerate their readiness
for post-secondary success. Our next step is to build the character qualities
that are also a critical component helping our students thrive in future
pursuits.
Steps
to Student Success
>>>>> ACT > 24
(College and Career Ready)
>>>>> B+ in
Algebra by 11th grade
(Students are successful in HS math)
>>>>> 3 AP/
IB/ CIS courses (Students enroll and
succeed in advanced HS courses)
>>>>> EXPLORE
> 20 (Students are prepared for rigorous HS
courses by 8th grade)
>>>>> MAP
Math > 228
and proficient on MCA II Science (Students are advanced in
math
and
science by 5th grade)
>>>>> students
are advanced readers by 3rd grade
>>>>> beginning
of kindergarten literacy > 216
(students are ready for kindergarten)
>>>>> Attendance rate > 95%
(students attend school at least 95% of the time)
Teaching and Learning Staff Directory
2016-2017
Director
1. Macarre Traynham ($117,000)
Administrative Office Support
Position
2. Amanda Andrews ITT and Online, Office specialist ($52,416)
3. Jeanne Lacy Executive
Assistant ($52,416)
4. Yana Manalov Business
Services Financial Specialist
AVID Position
5. Maria Roberts Program
Manager, AVID ($100,958)
6. Christen Lish AVID
Elementary Coordinator
7. Paula Killian AVID
Middle School Coordinator
8. Tommie Casey AVID
High School Coordinator ($77,019)
Elementary Team
Position
9. Casey Seeley Director,
Elementary Education ($96.093)
10. Janna Toche Elementary
DPF ($78,070)
11. Julie Tangeman Elementary DPF ($81,223)
10
12. Sara Naegli Elementary DPF
13. Sarah Hunter Elementary
DPF ($66,511)
Focused Instruction
Position
14. Tina Platt Project
Manager ($73,237)
15. Jake Hirschman Curriculum Assets Assistant
16. Nancy Mai Curriculum
Assets Assistant
Instructional Technology Team
Position
17. James Stock Learning
Assistant Administrator DPF
18. Jeff Brazee Applications
Trainer
19. Kevin Keller Technology
Integrationist DPF
Material Management
Position
20. Terry Dinovo Materials
Coordinator
21. Judy Stack-Nelson Materials Handler
Online Learning
Position
22. Edith McDonald Online, Art
23. James Carr Online,
Physical Education
11
24. Karen Maverick Online, Special Education
25. Katy Hemmah Online,
Program Counselor
26. Kelsey Zogby (Passa) Online, Math, Telescope
27. Lynn Lurvey Online,
English
28. Seth Levitt Online,
Math, Elementary
29. Tom VanErp Online,
Health
30. Tony Patterson Online, Associate Educator
31. William Holm Online,
Math, High School
Science Center
Position
32. Timothy Lilla Science
Senior Materials Handler
33. Donell Shinder Science Materials Handler
34. Mark Berg Science
Materials Handler
35. Tara Newhouse Science
Materials Handler of Living Organisms
Secondary Team
Position
36. Naomi Taylor Director,
Secondary Education
37. Chris Wernimont Secondary Math
DPF ($77,019)
38. Colleen Atakpu Secondary Math DPF
39. Hibaq Mohamed Secondary ELA/ Reading
40. Jennifer Rose Secondary
Science DPF ($81,223)
41. Katy Stephens Secondary
ELA/ Reading DPF ($65,461)
42. Kleber Ortiz-Sinchi Secondary Social Studies DPF ($52,580)
43. Samantha Weiman Associate Educator ($71,078)
Specialists
Position
44. Ashley Crohn K-12
Library and Information Media DPF
45. Kathy Dunbar Arts
Exploration and Extension Coordinator
46. Nora Schull K-12
Arts DPF
47. Sara Loch K-12
Health/ Physical Education
STEM
Position
48. Charley Ellingson STEM Integrationist
49. Elizabeth Stretch STEM Integrationist
Talent Development and Advanced
Academics
Position
50. Alyssa Polack Elementary
Talent Development and
Advanced
Academics DPF
51. Kelly McQuillan High School Talent Development and ($54,952)
Advanced
Academics DPF
52. Theresa Campbell Middle School Talent Development and ($80,171)
Advanced
Academics DPF
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