Poetic Reflection #2 >>>>> >Journal of the K-12 Revolution: Essays and Research from Minneapolis, Minnesota< >>>>> Volume IX, No. 3, September 2022

Poetic Reflection #2 

Sharp-Toothed Revelation

 

Go tell

Ruth                                     

that

forsooth 

the K-12

sleuth

has

discovered

the

truth,

tawdry and

uncouth,

revealed now

with a

sharp

literary

tooth.

 

Poetic Reflection #3 >>>>> >Journal of the K-12 Revolution: Essays and Research from Minneapolis, Minnesota< >>>>> Volume IX, No. 3, September 2022

Poetic Reflection #3

Piercing Pretended Power

  

Pretending

power,

they hide

in the

Tower, 

but when

their 

pathetic 

jargon

I quickly

devour,

I spit them

in the cistern,

where they

crouch and

cower.

 

Poetic Reflection #4 >>>>> >Journal of the K-12 Revolution: Essays and Research from Minneapolis, Minnesota< >>>>> Volume IX, No. 3, September 2022

Poetic Reflection #4

Palace Pierced

 

Go tell

Alice

that I'm

heading for

Dallas,

and as 

I go,

she can

lift the

chalice,

because

without

fear or

malice,

I've 

pierced the

Palace.

Poetic Reflection #5 >>>>> >Journal of the K-12 Revolution: Essays and Research from Minneapolis, Minnesota< >>>>> Volume IX, No. 3, September 2022

Poetic Reflection #5

 

Top-Tier Visions

  

Many a

year,

very little to

cheer,

pushing against

an unyielding

gear,

bureaucratic 

machine

dispensing 

ignorance,

hopelessness,

fear;

then did

Rochelle

appear, 

proclaiming

primacy of

knowledge,

visions of 

MPS 

as nationally

top-tier.

Article #2 >>>>> Two New Members of the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education Who Bring Heavy Political Baggage to Their New Role

Lori Norvell

 

Adriana Cerrillos and Sharon El-Amin are the current members of the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) Board of Education who may be counted upon consistently to exercise independent judgment,  making decisions in the best interests of students, especially those long academically abused by the district.  Sonya Emerick, elected on 8 November 2022, will be a similarly independent voice.

                                                                                                                                      

Newly elected members Collin Beachy (At-Large) and Lori Norvell (District 5) had the backing of the DFL/MFT (Democrat-Farmer-Labor party/Minneapolis Fededespite ration of Teachers) cohort.  Unlike Abdul Abdi (District 1) and Fathia Feeryarrer (District 3), Beachy and Norbvell did not run an unopposed;  they were opposed respectively by Lisa Skjefte for an at-large seat and by Laurelle Myhra for the District 5 seat.  Skjefte and Myrha are young Native American women who would have brought independent voices to the MPS Board of Education.  Beachy and Norvellgive evidence of being much more dependent upon their DFL/MFT endorsements and may be more likely to follow in the wake of outgoing members Nelson Inz (District 5, not replaced by Norvell) and Jenny Arneson (District 1, replaced by Beachy)---  and to tread in waters in which Kim Ellison (MPS Board of Education Chair) and Ira Jourdain (District 6) still swim.

 

Given this analysis, though, notable is the circumstance that Jenny Arneson apparently considered Beachy to be an undesirable candidate:  She campaigned and advocated behind the scenes for Sonya Emerick and raised no objection to my distributing flyers for Lisa Skjefte and Laurelle Myhra when she and I campaigned jointly on Saturday, 5 November, for Emerick and for non-school board DFL candidates (including Governor Tim Walz and Attorney Keith Ellison.   

 

So I am enthusiastic about Sonya Emerick’s presence on the new school board and remain hopeful about the presence of Abdul Abdi, who in particular gives evidence of having very encouraging potential as an independent voice.  A also have considerable hope concerning the new presence of Feerayarre.

 

Collin Beachy and Lori Norvell, though, carry a great load of political baggage and will have to prove that they can make independent judgments once ensconced on the MPS Board of Education in January 2023. 

 

And of relevance to this matter of being far too embedded in the folly of the education establishment, Lori Norvell features an endorsement on her website from Bob Walser, the silliest, most trivial member whom I have ever witnessed during my eight years of intensely studying the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education.  Walser was an irritating presence who made irresponsible assertions ab0out budgetary matters that offended all other members of the Finance Committee to which he belonged.  While other members of the Finance Committee recognized the expertise of Senior Finance Officer Ibrahima Diop, whose work to achieve the first structurally balanced budget to be presented for many years in the district was consonant with his status as one of the three top professionals in his position across the nation, Walser was continually making irrational and unsubstantiated claims about the work of Diop and his supremely talented staff.  Walser is also a proponent of the knowledge-deficient approach to curriculum and teacher training that education professors have inflicted on the teachers and administrators for at least 40 years.

 

This association of Lori Novel with highly problematic former board members and with an intellectually corrupt philosophy of education makes her particularly suspect as she takes her seat on the MPS Board of Education.

 

The following is a presentation of information as appearing on the campaign website of Lori Norvell  >>>>>

 

>>>>> 

 

Lori Norvell

My family and I moved to Minneapolis 10 years ago. When we moved here, my husband Travis and I knew we wanted our children to attend public school. We chose Minneapolis Public Schools for its rich diversity, variety of programs, focus on arts and cultural expression, and academics. I want other families to choose Minneapolis Public Schools for those same reasons and more. I expect Minneapolis Public Schools to provide the very best education to all students, regardless of their race, their address, or their socioeconomic status. 

I have worked for Minneapolis Public Schools as a Special Education Assistant in a preschool classroom, as a substitute teacher, and for 7+ years as a middle school math teacher. I have also spent time volunteering at my children's schools and with their athletic teams. 

My experience as a recent MPS teacher and my views as a parent and community member allow me to see MPS through various lenses. I made the difficult decision to resign from my teaching position due to unsustainable demands placed on myself and other educators. I want to see change in MPS, where we prioritize the health and education of the whole child, where we prioritize the well-being of our educators. I have taught during the pandemic, have felt the struggle from a lack of support for my classroom, but have also experienced successes in MPS with students in my classroom and my own children. These successes, such as learning new skills, working together, challenging inequities, bring us closer together as we are learning and growing. We can work together with district leadership and community for a stronger MPS.

A school board member is a representative of the community and someone who will advocate for students, families and educators. I will gather your stories and experiences and represent you, your hopes and dreams, and your concerns. I will encourage student-centered decision making, while working with district leadership, other school board members and community for what is best for all our students. I hope I can count on you to partner with me in this time of adjustment and change. I am excited to meet you and hear your stories so I can learn how to best serve my community.

 

Article #1 >>>>> Two New Members of the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education Who Bring Heavy Political Baggage to Their New Role

Collin Beachy

 

Adriana Cerrillos and Sharon El-Amin are the current members of the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) Board of Education who may be counted upon consistently to exercise independent judgment,  making decisions in the best interests of students, especially those long academically abused by the district.  Sonya Emerick, elected on 8 November 2022, will be a similarly independent voice.

                                                                                                                                      

Newly elected members Collin Beachy (At-Large) and Lori Norvell (District 5) had the backing of the DFL/MFT (Democrat-Farmer-Labor party/Minneapolis Fededespite ration of Teachers) cohort.  Unlike Abdul Abdi (District 1) and Fathia Feeryarrer (District 3), Beachy and Norbvell did not run an unopposed;  they were opposed respectively by Lisa Skjefte for an at-large seat and by Laurelle Myhra for the District 5 seat.  Skjefte and Myrha are young Native American women who would have brought independent voices to the MPS Board of Education.  Beachy and Norvellgive evidence of being much more dependent upon their DFL/MFT endorsements and may be more likely to follow in the wake of outgoing members Nelson Inz (District 5, not replaced by Norvell) and Jenny Arneson (District 1, replaced by Beachy)---  and to tread in waters in which Kim Ellison (MPS Board of Education Chair) and Ira Jourdain (District 6) still swim.

 

Given this analysis, though, notable is the circumstance that Jenny Arneson apparently considered Beachy to be an undesirable candidate:  She campaigned and advocated behind the scenes for Sonya Emerick and raised no objection to my distributing flyers for Lisa Skjefte and Laurelle Myhra when she and I campaigned jointly on Saturday, 5 November, for Emerick and for non-school board DFL candidates (including Governor Tim Walz and Attorney Keith Ellison.    

So I am enthusiastic about Sonya Emerick’s presence on the new school board and remain hopeful about the presence of Abdul Abdi, who in particular gives evidence of having very encouraging potential as an independent voice.  A also have considerable hope concerning the new presence of Feerayarre.

Colli Beachy and Lori Norvell, though, carry a great load of political baggage and will have to prove that they can make independent judgments once ensconce on the MPS Board of Education in January 2023.

And of relevance to this matter of being far too embedded in the folly of the education establishment, both Collin Beachy and Lori Norvell feature an endorsement on their websites from Bob Walser, the silliest, most trivial member whom I have ever witnessed during my eight years of intensely studying the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education.  Walser was an irritating presence who made irresponsible assertions ab0out budgetary matters that offended all other members of the Finance Committee to which he belonged.  While other members of the Finance Committee recognized the expertise of Senior Finance Officer Ibrahima Diop, whose work to achieve the first structurally balanced budget to be presented for many years in the district was consonant with his status as one of the three top professionals in his position across the nation, Walser was continually making irrational and unsubstantiated claims about the work of Diop and his supremely talented staff.  Walser is also a proponent of the knowledge-deficient approach to curriculum and teacher training that education professors have inflicted on the teachers and administrators for at least 40 years.

 

This association of Collin Beachy with highly problematic former board members and with an intellectual corrupt philosophy of education makes him particularly suspect as he takes his seat on the MPS Board of Education.

The following is a presentation of information as appearing on the campaign website of Collin Beachy  >>>>>

 

>>>>> 

 

Collin Beachy

 

Meet Collin

 

Collin has been a public schools educator for 19 years.  Born into a family of educators, he is passionate about public education.

 

Collin became a special education teacher to change lives.  His current positions include special education teacher and equity lead at Transitions-Plus Services in Minneapolis.  He has worked at T-Plus for the last seven years and has worked as an educator, coach, and activities coordinator for 19 of the past 25 years.  Transitions-Plus is a school for special education students ages 18 to 21.  Collin is passionate about project-based learning, social and emotional learning, equity, and restorative practices, and he believes that relationships are vital for education.

 

Collin understands that the pandemic has been detrimental to learning, but bis firm in his belief that the classroom is where learning should take place, and he wants to assist students in transitioning back to the classroom.  Collin opposes privatization of our schools.

 

Collin grew up in Staples, Minnesota, and he graduated with a B.A. in elementary education and coaching from Concordia College in Morehead, Minnesota.  He has an M.A. in Autism Spectrum Disorder from Concordia University in St. Paul.  He lives with Mark, his partner of 11 years, and their dog, Hijinx.  

 

Why Collin is Running  >>>>>  The Policy Positions of Collin Beachy

 

 

United Leadership

Strong Collaboration & Mutual Trust

 

Effective school boards lead as a united team, each from their respective roles, with strong collaboration and mutual trust.

For three weeks in March, our teachers and support staff took to the streets to demand our administration begin to make serious moves towards creating systemic change within our district. Running a school district through a top-down, one-size-fits-all model has been proven to be a failure. This three-week strike did not have to happen, yet it did.

Where do we go from here? To begin, we can no longer afford to view each other as adversaries.

We can:

1.  Conduct a post-strike examination of what went wrong from both sides

2.  Panel a commission of students, educators, administration, board and community members tasked with creating measures to reduce the chances of a future strike

3.  Create more concrete working relationships with parents and community stakeholders

4.  Increase the transparency of the administration and board so we can begin to restore the public trust in our public schools 

 

Fully Fund Our Schools

High Expectations

Fully Fund our Schools

The state and federal governments have not lived up to their promises to fully fund our schools. We live in a relatively blue part of the state, so our focus needs to expand into creating alliances with school board members in outstate Minnesota where there is more resistance to providing funding at the level that is needed.

 

More funding for special education from state and federal sources would reduce the burden on the district's budget that currently has to make up the shortfall

 

Request independent audits of MPS' budget and spending

 

Ensure charter and magnet schools are required to provide the same level of services that our public schools deliver

 

Provide pay equity and longevity for our Adult Educators

 

 

Accountability & Focus

Transparency & Oversight

 

We are in a budget crisis and there are no easy solutions. However, when that sentence is spoken, how many of us immediately turn to “budget crisis”. Let’s remember the first word of that sentence. We. The top-down model has broken trust within our school district. It is past time we try to fix it. We can throw this model out and begin a grassroots movement to create the community schools we desire. Our power through the board has been delegated to an administration with limited ties to our communities. It is time to bring that power back to our students, families, and educators.

We can start by:

1.  Returning to a community minded vs. corporate-minded mentality within the district offices.

2.  Vetting the flow of information coming from the administration. Administration has lost the trust of the community and their own workforce.

3.  Enacting more oversight of the administration and their cabinet.

4.  Reset our budgetary priorities to ones that more reflect our values as a community and city.

 

Equitable Programming

Shared Belief & Values

 

Our curriculums, programming, and professional developments can provide culturally responsive teaching methods that reflect and respect the intersectionality of every one of our students. As teachers, we are meeting our students at the crossroad of their realities and their journeys. In order to keep those journeys moving forward, it is our responsibility, together with the community to ensure the education we are providing is relevant to our students' realities.

Implementing culturally responsive methods will:

 

>>>>>   Center student voices and concerns

 

>>>>>   Honor BIPOC experiences

 

>>>>>   Bring visibility to Indigenous People and traditions

 

>>>>>   Protect transgender and non-binary students

 

>>>>>   Provide opportunities for students to connect their learning to their own lives and how they can use that information to take action

 

Recruit & Retain BIPOC Staff

Strengthen Contractual Protections

 

Over the past several years, MPS has been losing not only BIPOC families, but also their teachers. Our BIPOC staff now have Anti-Bias, Anti-Racist (ABAR) protections embedded into their contracts. This is a good first step towards addressing the needs of our current BIPOC staff as well as becoming more responsive to the specific complexities of teaching in our society and the toll it can take on educators of color.

How else can we begin to create a more welcoming environment for our BIPOC communities and staff?

 

A Commitment to Aligning & Sustaining Resources:

RECRUITMENT

 

1.  Dismantle the current process in how job descriptions are created and interviews are conducted.

 

2.  Strengthen protections from 'last-in-first-out' and seniority layoffs.

 

3.  Where are we looking to find BIPOC educators? We can grow our own! Who do you know that could make a positive influence on the lives of our students?

 

RETENTION

Once employed, our BIPOC staff need support. Some initial steps we can take are:

 

1.  Increase the number of ABAR mentors. Two mentors covering the entire district is nowhere near sufficient.

 

2.  Provide affinity spaces for BIPOC educators to brainstorm, collaborate, and receive emotional support.

 

3.  Increase opportunities for BIPOC support staff and community members to become teachers.

 

 

<<<<< 

Article #2 >>>>> Two New Members of the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education Who May Emerge as Surprisingly Independent Voices (Thus Harmonizing with the Definitely Independent Voice of New Member Sonya Emerick and Members Adriana Cerrillos and Sharon El-Amin)

Fathia Feerayarre 

Adriana Cerrillos and Sharon El-Amin are the current members of the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) Board of Education who may be counted upon consistently to exercise independent judgment,  making decisions in the best interests of students, especially those long academically abused by the district.  Sonya Emerick, elected on 8 November 2022, will be a similarly independent voice.

 

Newly elected members Abdul Abdi (District 1) and Fathia Feerayarre (District 3) had the backing of the DFL/MFT (Democrat-Farmer-Labor party/Minneapolis Fededespite ration of Teachers) cohort but ran unopposed and may be positioned to exercise more independent judgment than current members Kim Ellison (MPS Board of Education Chair) and Ira Jourdain and newly elected members Collin Beachy (At-Large) and Lori Norvell, both of whom had the backing of the DFL/MFT against nonendorsed challengers.

 

Abdul Abdi in particular gives evidence of having very encouraging potential as an independent voice. 

 

I’m hopeful that The self-description that Ms. Feerayarre can emerge as another independent voice, despite her endorsement by the DFL/MFT cohort.

 

Feerayarre gives the following information on her election campaign website is as follows  >>>>>

 

 

Fathia Feerayarre

 

"For Our Children's Tomorrow"

>>>>> 

I am Fathia Feerayarre, I am a daughter, a mother, a concerned citizen, an activist for change, a Human Rights Advocate, a Word 6 Civil Rights Commissioner, and I am running for Minneapolis Public School Board district 3.

 

“For Our Children’s Tomorrow”.

 

Issues that I believe are priorities in the coming years for Minneapolis school districts that I am passionate about working on and achieving comprehensive, actionable policy changes that will benefit all students and teachers include

 

● I will be a champion of fully funding and advocating for more funds for MPS at the state level.

● We need to stop the outflow of students from our schools and to achieve this I will focus on reaching out to the community to build strong ties and renew trust in our school district.

● I will lead by listening, improving engagement and decision-making so that students, families, and educators are at the center.

● I am committed to working to improve graduation rates by offering a curriculum that focuses on student choices to include a path towards learning workplace skills and trades as well as the traditional college preparatory pathway. I believe that we must engage and partner with regional technical and community colleges to institute more engaging career paths and opportunities.

● I believe that the board has failed to respond to the changing diversity reflected in the student body. Therefore, I am committed and passionate about working to recruit and hire more teachers and ESPs of color from HBCUs, and to help educational support professionals get the recognition they deserve.

● I am committed to listening to the community, educators and students.

● I will work on building the trust lost in between the families, the school board and the school district.

 

A new world of inclusion is upon us now. The students, teachers, parents, and administrations are calling for emergency assistance to provide a new direction for the present and future. The Minneapolis school district must answer the call NOW! I will answer that call day and night as the school board member who is not only concerned and able to discuss the problem, but one who will ACT! Together WE must rebuild and re-prioritize our commitment to the schools. My first priority is and will be the children of the Minneapolis school district.

<<<<< 

 

In her campaign literature, Ms. Feeyarre issued the following statement

“I am seeking Your VOTE. Please vote for equality, change, commitment, and action “FOR OUR CHILDREN’S TOMORROW.”