Minneapolis Public Schools Superintendent Ed Graff’s Overhaul of the Office of Black Male Achievement (Now Office of Black Student Achievement) Demonstrates His Cluelessness as an Academic Leader

The Office of Black Male Student Achievement was unwisely created in September 2014 at the behest of then Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson in an effort to address the lagging performance of African American males in the public schools of Minneapolis. She tapped Michael Walker, who had been Dean of Students at Roosevelt High School, where he had made strong favorable connections with students and families but gave little evidence in his educational preparation or career of having any ability to construct a program of curriculum or teacher training. 


While the problem that Johnson sought to address is severe, the solution is merely of the typical bureaucratic type that establishes a new department and gives it a name that seems to address the problem but puts in place staff members who have no hope of addressing the problem identified. When Walker assumed the position, he commented that he would know that he had been successful when he had worked himself out of a job. Six years on, Walker is still in a job the pay for which has risen by $20,000. The academic performance of African Americans at the Minneapolis Public Schools is no better than when Walker’s position and the office were launched, as this record demonstrates:


MPS Proficiency Rates for Academic Years ending in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 (Results of Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments [MCAs], administered each spring of those years)


Math         2014     2015     2016    2017    2018    2019


African       23%     19%    19%     16%    17%    18%
American


Reading


African       22%      21%    21%     21%    21%    23%
American


Science        11%      15%    13%     11%    10%    11%


African American The Office of Black Male Achievement has recently been renamed as the Office of Black Student Achievement, with aspiration now to address the similarly lagging performance of African American female students. There has also been an overhaul of staffing, as the information succeeding these initial comments conveys.


Peruse this information, noting the staffing changes, and know that no academicians are making decisions in the Office of Black Student Achievement, the same phenomenon we witness in the Department of Teaching and Learning, the Academic Division as a whole, and the Department of Indian Education. Superintendent Ed Graff and his Interim Senior Academic Officer Aimee Fearing are academic lightweights. Ed Graff’s inclination in fixing the problems at the Minneapolis Public Schools is to make staffing changes and to more rationally align declared purpose with actual performance. But in the absence of any idea of how to design an academic program or any notion of the type of staffing needed, Graff is merely flailing for solutions while revealing his cluelessness as to the needed overhaul in curriculum and teacher quality.


Carefully review the following changes and come to an understanding of just how ineffective the staffing changes and office renaming will be in actually improving the quality of education for African American students at the Minneapolis Public Schools. 


Perpend:


By September 2020, the Office of Black Male Achievement (created in September 2014) had renamed the Office of Black Student Achievement, with a vow to serve African American female students, as well as males.


The mission of the office is given as follows:


Mission


We exist to awaken the greatness within Black students at MPS, to have them determined to believe and achieve success, as defined by their own values and dreams.


As of September 2020, there appeared to be six Davis Center (MPS Central offices, 1250 West Broadway) staff, as follows:


Michael Walker, Director
Qiana Sorrel, Program Coordinator
Nneka N. Abdullah, Queens Program
Umar Rashid, MPA, Kings Program


In a portal at the website, Social Studies Teachers Marlaan Sirdar and Richard Magembe were still listed, but otherwise perusal of the following lists will reveal considerable shake-up in the office over time:


March 2018 staff composition of the Office of Black Male Student Achievement is as follows:


Minneapolis Public Schools Office of Black Male Achievement (March 2018) >>>>>


Staff Member Position


1) Michael Walker Director
2) Andria Daniel Family and Community Inclusion Specialist
3) Cierra Burnaugh Office Specialist, Senior
4) Corey Yeager Coordinator, Educational Equity
5) Marjaan Sirdar Teacher, Social Studies
6) Richard Magembe Teacher, Social Studies
7) Jamil Jackson Community Expert Classroom Coach


Descriptions of individual staff experience are given as follows:


Michael Walker, Director of the Office of Black Male Achievement


Michael Walker brings a career focus on youth development and assisting black youth to achieve success. He earned his undergraduate degree in physical education from Southwest Minnesota State University and his master’s degree in counseling from the University of Wisconsin – River Falls as well as his administrative license from St. Cloud State. From 1998 to 2006, Walker served as community outreach, program and youth development director at the YMCA of Minneapolis and Greater St. Paul, where he developed programs for social, academic, athletic and employment skills for youth and served as the coordinator of the Black Achievers program. Walker worked as a career and college center coordinator for AchieveMpls at Roosevelt High School (2006-2009) before serving Minneapolis Public Schools as Roosevelt’s dean of students from 2009 to 2011 and assistant principal from 2011 to 2014. He is the inaugural director for the Office of Black Male Student Achievement, where his sole responsibility is changing outcomes for Black Males who attend Minneapolis Public Schools. Walker is a product of Minneapolis Public Schools.


Andria Daniel, Family and Community Inclusion Specialist


Andria Daniel is passionate about helping build communities where everyone’s voice is heard and valued. She believes it is important for families and students to feel fully supported. Over the years, she has worked with parents to create and facilitate listening sessions to address issues that affect the academic success of children. Andria’s goal is to generate unique and positive experiences for families and to create new pathways between home and school. She has a master’s degree in family education from the Univerisity of Minnesota. As the family and community coordinator for the Office of Black Male Student Achievement (OMBSA), Andria works with parents to understand how important it is to be involved in their children’s education from cradle to career. As a parent of three, she believes there is a shared responsibility of building the capacity of effective family engagement, which is linked to learning.


Cierra Burnaugh, Office Specialist, Senior


Cierra Burnaugh is a native of north Minneapolis and a graduate of North High School. Cierra is deeply rooted in her community. Through her work with the Office of Black Male Student Achievement and as a dance studio owner in north Minneapolis, Cierra strives to build, uplife, and empower her community. Cierra has worked win multiple positions within the Minneapolis Public Schools and in many positions in her community to service the evolution of her people. Her passion for her community and her people drew her to the Office of Black Male Student Achievement. As the senior office specialist for the Office, Cierra works directly with staff, student, and community members to ensure the mission of the office is achieved. Her mission in life is to provide knowledge of self to her community to ensure they know where the come from and where they are going.


Corey Yeager, Coordinator, Educational Equity


Corey Yeager is a licensed marriage and family therapist. Yeager is currently the educational equity coordinator for Minneapolis Public Schools, working under the umbrella of the Office of Black Male Student Achievement. He is completing his Ph. D. at the University of Minnesota, with an emphasis in family social science/couple and family therapy. Corey’s therapeutic work is primariliy focused on serving African American adolescents and their families. Much of his professional career effors have been intentionally concentrated on facilitating community change through democratic, grassroots efforts.


Marjaan Sirdar, Teacher, Social Studies


Marjaan Sidar grew up in a low income, single parent home in east Bloomington, He attended predominately white schools and often felt invisible. Marjaan never had any teachers of color or any positive Black men to look up to. This led to anger and violence as a teenager with the potential of prison or death. The experience led him to teaching. Marjaan worked with homeless youth for most of the past seven years. He’s a graduate from Metro State and he is completing his master’s degree in urban education. As an educator, his goal is to help young people unlearn the dominant narrative of white supremacy and use education as a means of liberation rather than a tool for social control. As a community organizer, Marjaan works on building leadership and power in communities of color so we can tell our own stories, create our own narratives, and control our collective futures. This is his second year at Franklin Middle School and his first year at FAIR Downtown.


Richard Magembe, Teacher, Social Studies


Richard Magembe joined the Office of Black Male Student Achievement (OBMSA) in August 2018. He has been an employee of MPS since 2012, formerly serving as a school support program assistant at Stadium View School. In his new role as a life coach, Richard will assist the OBMSA in their mission to close the achievement gap between black male students and their peers. Prior to his employment with MPS, Richard received his undergraduate degree in social work at St. Cloud State University and his master’s degree in marriage and family therapy from Argosy University. In 2009 he started his career in education serving as a teaching assistant at Hancock elementary. Richard served as an educational assistant at St. Paul’s Johnson High School during the 2011-2012 school year.


Jamil Jackson, Community Expert Classroom Coach


Jamil Jackson is a community expert classroom coach for the OBMSA. He is also executive director of C.E.O. (Change Equals Opportunity), a life skills mentoring program for males of color ages 12-25, assisting in the areas of college, career, and cultural exposure. As the executive director of Run and Shoot E & L (Elite Basketball League), he uses sports as a way to build authentic relationships with young Kings of the community, help assist with college recruitment/placement, and bring together both youth and adult males to fellowship and learn from each other about what “Being a Man of Character is.” Jamil was raised and resides in north Minneapolis, where he coaches youth sports at Farview Park. He is an active board member for the Farview Area Community Council, TakeAction MN, and Core Team Member for J4A (Justice for All), working to reform our criminal justice system and build relationships with incarcerated men to help assist their transition back into our community.