Sonya Emerick’s Platform in Her Successful Campaign for an At-Large Seat on the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education
The most important thing our School Board does is set the strategic vision for Minneapolis’ schools, incorporating the voices of students, community, and district staff. The School Board also:
>>>>> hires and evaluates the Superintendent
>>>>> approves district budgets and funding
allocations
>>>>> makes decisions about curricula
>>>>> approves the closing or constructing of
schools
Sonya
believes that the MPS School Board must rebuild trust and heal historic harms
among students, families, and staff by being fully accountable in all these
areas.
As an
At-Large Director, Sonya will:
>>>>> Work to secure full
funding for Minneapolis Public Schools from the Minnesota State Legislature.
Currently,
the state of Minnesota does not provide districts enough money to cover costs
for all requisite academic programming and desired extracurriculars. Sonya will
work with the School Board to lobby the state legislature for full funding of
public education. This is a responsibility of School Board members that has
been unmet in recent years. Adequate funding is essential for MPS to be able to
fully address the needs of all students and appropriately compensate our
educators.
>>>>> Hire and evaluate a
Superintendent who will lead by listening, who will heal not harm, and who will
prioritize inclusion.
As a member
of the Board for the Autism Society of Minnesota, Sonya has experience working
alongside other directors to evaluate and support skilled and experienced
leadership. Sonya understands that the ability to apply, interview and be hired
for a job does not guarantee that a person will be good at that job. Sonya will
seek a superintendent who brings demonstrated abilities, proven outcomes, the
leadership and the will to truly implement MPS’s strategic plan to dismantle
systemic oppression in our schools.
>>>>> Pay our educators like
the skilled professionals they are.
Sonya is a
proud member of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) who believes
in valuing and compensating our workforce. Teachers are an invaluable resource
that we must protect and advocate for. Our educators are the stewards of our
children’s academic experiences and successes and often the first responders
when our students are struggling. We rely on them to be skilled and efficacious
instructors and to deliver social and emotional education that is effective,
strengths-based, and anti-racist. We need to equip them to succeed not just
with professional development opportunities, but with livable wages, manageable
class sizes and caseloads, built-out support services, and reliable prep and
due process time.
>>>>> Improve literacy in
Minneapolis Public Schools with culturally-sustaining evidence-based literacy
instruction.
Our students
need educators and administrators who believe they have futures worth
protecting and preparing for. In MPS, our collective belief gap is creating
unacceptable literacy disparities for many of our most underserved students.
Sonya will hold district leadership accountable for the use of evidence-based,
culturally sustaining instructional practices across our district, and for
supporting our educators with tools, development, and prep time to
individualize instruction for all learners.
>>>>> Advance strategic
initiatives that ensure belonging for every student in Minneapolis Public
Schools.
Throughout
decades of organizing work, Sonya has centered the voices of those who are
being left out and underserved, and Sonya will continue to do so if elected.
Each Minneapolis Public School must be an anti-racist, anti-oppression space
where students and their families are seen for their strengths and affirmed for
the diversity they bring to their learning communities. To create
belonging we must:
>>>>> Protect and grow our education
workforce to racially mirror the 65% of students in MPS who identify as BIPOC
>>>>> Deepen staff and student mental health
supports
>>>>> Reimagine special education services in
MPS to be inclusive and centered on students’ strengths
>>>>> Address inequitable use of
suspensions/expulsions and expand restorative practices
>>>>> Require instructional integrity and
cultural responsiveness
>>>>> Rebuild trust with educators and
families
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