Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) Board of Education Must Be Overhauled as Part of Imperative to Address Curriculum and Teacher Quality

The current composition of the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) Board of Education presents nine members who are firmly connected to the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers (MFT)/Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) cohort that always blocks any needed change;  the cohort is in turn deeply indebted to Education Minnesota, the pro-DFL lobbying entity of which the MFT is a local affiliate.  To break through these impediments, ousting current board members KerryJo Felder (District 2) and Kim Ellison (At-Large) and bringing leadership unconnected to the MFT/DFL cohort to the District 4 seat is imperative for bringing knowledge-intensive, skill-replete curriculum to MPS students.

Thus, voters who comprehend the nature of the needed transformation should cast their ballots for Sharon El-Amin in District 2 (so at to oust Felder), Adriana Cerrillo in District 4 (so as to defeat DFL-endorsed Christa Mims for the seat abdicated by Bob Walser), and Michael Dueñes for the At-Large seat (so as to oust Ellison).

Current District 2 Member Felder is an erratic presence on the Board, often making errors in citing statistics that she compiles but insufficiently understands;  she is deeply indebted politically to the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers (MFT) and the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party and has little understanding of or inclination toward the overhaul needed in curriculum and teacher quality in the district.  Current At-Large Member Ellison is also tied to the MFT/DFL cohort that always impedes reform efforts.  Mercifully, District 4 Member Bob Walser opted not to run again, opening the way for Dueñes.

 

Sharon El-Amin has served as head of the North Polar (North High School) parent group and is a community activist who twice a month prepares 100 meals for those in need;  for many years, El-Amin owned and ran the El-Amin Fish Shop on West Broadway Avenue.

Adriana Cerrillos is an activist who has made many appearances at the state capitol in St. Paul as an advocate for immigrants’ rights.  She is guardian for her 11-year-old nephew, who attends Emerson Spanish Immersion Learning Center in the Loring Park neighborhood, where Cerrillos is on the site council and has agitated for improved quality.

Michael Dueñes is a former dean of liberal arts and global education at North Hennepin Community College.  Since 2018 he has been self-employed as a policy analyst focused on education and racial disparities. 

Electing Sharon El-Amin and Adriana Cerrillos will rid the MPS Board of Education of MFT/DFL sycophants KerryJo Felder and Kim Ellison;  electing Dueñes will bring to the Board a member willing to question district approaches and policies that have produced such terrible academic results.

Other than ridding the nation of the menace that is Donald Trump and gaining politically progressive control of the Senate and retaining such in the House of Representatives, transforming K-12 education is the most important task for addressing the ills now besetting the United States of America.  Electing school board members across the nation willing to challenge the political and ideological forces that impede the needed transformation is vital to the production of a more knowledgeable, fact-led citizenry.