>Journal of the K-12 Revolution: Essays and Research from Minneapolis, Minnesota<, Volume V, No. 12, June 2019 >>>>> Introduction

Introduction

 

At the 14 May 2019 meeting of the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education, Eric Moore (MPS Research, Evaluation, Assessment, and Accountability);  Cecilia Saddler (MPS Deputy Chief of Academics, Leadership, and Learning;  and Rochelle Cox (Executive Director, Special Education) made the initial formal presentation of the MPS Comprehensive District Design.  The Design had by that time been in production for about 18 months.  The goal of the design is to improve academic outcomes and to attract students who have opted for other schools and districts back to the Minneapolis Public Schools.

 

Minneapolis Public Schools Superintendent Ed Graff and staff embrace in the Comprehensive District Design the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) definition of a well-rounded education:

 

>>>>>    .....courses, activities, and programming in subjects such as English, reading, or language arts, writing, science, technology, engineering, mathematics, global languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, geography, computer science, music, career and technical education, health, physical education, and any other subject, as determined by State or local educational agency, with the purpose of providing all students access to an enriched curriculum and educational experience.

(Every Student Succeeds Act: S. 177-298).

 

My support for the Design is grounded in my enthusiasm for that definition.  I nevertheless doubt that staff members in the Academic Division and in the Department of Teaching and Learning at the Minneapolis Public Schools have the wherewithal to implement a knowledge-intensive, skill replete academic program based on that definition.  My own view is that the MPS Board of Education should vote favorably for the plan, so that implementation can begin, and so that I can then heighten pressure on MPS staff to overhaul curriculum and retrain teachers capable of imparting knowledge and skill sets to students based on the ESSA definition.

 

But there has been great opposition to features in the Design that would alter present program location and attendance patterns as students, particularly those in Dual Language and Spanish Immersion programs, move from K-5 to middle school to high school sites.

 

Thus, formal implementation of the plan is likely to be delayed until at least December 2019, as district officials hold a bevy of community engagement meetings.

 

In the days to come, I will have more to convey concerning these meetings, refinements of the MPS Comprehensive District Design, and my own views as to these matters.

 

For now, please read the five articles that follow this introduction to the Design as presented at the regular meeting of the MPS Board of Education on 14 May 2019.