Introductory Comments
The Sham-ful and Shameful “Listening Sessions” Conducted by
Sub-Mediocre
Minneapolis Public Schools Superintendent Lisa Sayles-Adams
The “Listening Sessions” conducted by the sub-mediocre new (began
5 February 2024) Superintendent Lisa Sayles-Adams continue to be sham-ful and
shameful.
As of the beginning of the conventional work week on Monday, 13
May 2024, four of these “Listening Sessions” have thus far been held. They occurred on the following dates, at the
given times and locations in Minneapolis:
Thursday, 25 April 2024
6:00-7:15 PM
Northeast Middle School
2955 Hayes Street NE
Saturday, 27 April 2024
10:00-11:15 AM
Folwell Elementary School
3611 20th Avenue South
Monday 6 May 2024
6:00-7:15 PM
Bethune Elementary School
919 Emerson Avenue North
Thursday, 9 May 2024
6:00-7:15 PM
Sanford Middle School
3524 42nd Avenue South
The following “Listening Sessions” will be held on the following
dates, at the given times and locations in Minneapolis:
Thursday, 16 May 2024
12:00-1:15 PM
Virtual Session
Thursday, 16 May 2024
6:00-7:15 PM
Anwatin Middle School
256 Upton Avenue South
Monday, 20 May 2024
6:00-7:15 PM
Justice Page Middle School
1 West 49th Street
In the Concluding Comments of this edition of Journal of the
K-12 Revolution: Essays and Research
from Minneapolis, Minnesota, I give student academic proficiency rates for
all of the schools serving as venues for these lamentable “Listening
Sessions.”
My assessment of humanity continues on a downward trek as I
subject myself to these sham events.
Sayles-Adams can say hardly anything without reading from
script. The questions posed are farcical as to what they reveal about Sayles
Adams’s aversion to negative comment, and thus disinclination to admit any of
the many changes that must be made in the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) so
as to provide something even approaching an acceptable education.
To a person, Davis staff members who have attended these staged
events have been willing to obey the dictates of their new master.
Among the culprits are Meghan Hickey (Student Support Services Executive Director), Donnie Belcher (Executive Director of Communications and Marketing),Tyrize Cox (Executive Director of Engagement and External Relations), Derek Francis (Executive Director of Equity and School Climate), Justin Hennes (Senior Officer of Information Technology), Aimee Fearing (Senior Officer of Academics), Shawn Harris-Berry (Senior Officer of Schools), Ibrahima Diop (Senior Officer of Finance and Operations, Sarah Hunter (Strategic Initiatives Executive Director), Ryan Strack (Assistant to the Superintendent and Board) and Associate Superintendents Yusuf Abdullah, Laura Cavender, and Rochelle Cox.
Notable among Davis Center staff not attending are Associate Superintendent Michael Walker and Senior Human Resources Officer Alicia Miller. Walker would seem to have expectation of attending, and I would think that if Finance and Information Technology leaders must attend, so would the leader of Human Resources (Miller). I’d like to think that these two are refusing to attend, but my observation of the near-universal cowardice of humankind tells me that this is not the reason.
Answers to the questions on the part of most community member participants are of the most banal, trite sort (with much in the way of “transparency,” “accountability,” “establishment of trust”), and a surfeit of glib misrepresentation or outright ignorance (“welcoming staff,” “excellent teachers,” “great education”) >>>>>
1) Ignorance; 2) denial; or 3) corruption everywhere I turn.
The poetic reflections that appear in the following articles have
all been entered on the blog (with notifying texts sent to the Davis Center
culprits), drawing heavy viewership, now offered for contemplation by readers
of this May 2024 edition of Journal of the K-12 Revolution:
Essays and Research from Minneapolis Minnesota)
