Article #2 of a Three-Article Series >>>>> A Guide to Those Attending the Tuesday, 14 January Meeting of the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education >>>>> The Academic and Support Program That Should Replace the “Academic Improvement” Portion of the MPS Comprehensive District Design

Rather than rely on the forlorn academic portion of the MPS Comprehensive District Design, the following five-point program should be implemented for the provision of a knowledge-intensive, skill-replete education  >>>>>

 

>>>>>   overhaul of curriculum for the provision of a knowledge-intensive, skill-replete education that specifies key knowledge and skill sets for grade by grade acquisition of PreK-5 students in mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, government, history, geography, economics, literature (classic Western, world, and ethnic-specific), English usage, and fine arts (musical and visual);  then continues with logically sequenced knowledge-intensive curriculum across the liberal, technological, and vocational arts at grades 6-8 and 9-12.  

 

>>>>>   training of teachers capable of imparting such a curriculum, necessitating that decision-makers at the Minneapolis Public Schools engage college, university, and independent scholars to provide subject area training in mathematics, natural science, social science and humanities, English literature and usage, and fine arts for teachers at grades K-5, who will earn a substantive Masters of Liberal Arts degree, write a master’s thesis,  and then serve a one-year classroom internship; and requiring that all teachers at grades 6-8 and 9-12 have master’s degrees in major subject area disciplines, rather than in education, and that they serve a one-year internship. 

 

>>>>>   highly intentional skill acquisition assistance for students languishing below grade level in mathematics and reading;  at grades K-5, provision of such instruction will include an hour set aside each day for Academic Enrichment, variously providing skill acquisition instruction or opportunities to explore driving student interests, depending on level of skill mastery;

 

>>>>>    staffing of a new Department of Resource Provision and Referral with people comfortable on the streets and in the homes of families struggling with dilemmas of poverty and functionality, for the provision of compassionate assistance pertinent to matters of physical and mental health, family economy, and other issues relevant to people living at the urban core;  and

 

>>>>>    jettisoning of staff at the Davis Center who will become superfluous with the establishment of knowledge-intensive curriculum and the training of teachers capable of imparting such a curriculum;  this will include elimination of the Department of Teaching and Learning and the Office of Black Male Achievement, with the provision for staff overhaul of the legislatively mandated Department of Indian Education.

Implementing such a five-point program would ensure the enduring and ongoing provision of an education of excellence to students of all demographic descriptors, rather than reliance on piecemeal attempts to cope with chronic deficiencies.