On 24
June 2025, directors of the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) Board of Education
participated in a retreat facilitated by private consultant Deborah Keys Write.
The
retreat was a disaster.
That
observation conveys much as to the lack of integrity and judgment on the part
of members of this iteration of the MPS Board of Education, which is once again
paying $10,000 to Keys Write to facilitate the Special Work Session of Tuesday,
19 May 2026.
Remember
as you ponder this exercise of poor judgment, my account of the calamitous
meeting of almost a year ago.
There
is No Hope for the Minneapolis Public Schools
>>>>>
24
June 2025 Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education Retreat Strongly
Indicates That There is No Hope for The District Under the Current Leadership
of Superintendent Lisa Sayles-Adams and the Current Board Membership
District
Transformation Through the Lens of Governing
Meeting
under the above moniker, the members of the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS)
Board of Education met from 9:00 AM until 3:45 PM on 24 June 2025 with the
expressed purpose of establishing the features of governing, as opposed to
managing (considered the purview of the superintendent and administration) the
school district, while also clarifying the meaning of “Transformation.”
These
long meetings are typically termed “retreat” but always ensue either at the
Davis Center (MPS central offices, 1250 West Broadway) or in some other
building of the district; this retreat was held on the fifth floor
of the Davis Center.
This
congregation of the Board mercilessly did not bring back the buffoonish Betty
Webb, who led two previous retreats and other meetings to great waste of public
expenditure, so these slow-learner members seem to have finally realized that
Webb’s facilitations had led to no increase in effectiveness as a Board.
And yet,
such facilitators never increase effectiveness, so that the lack of difference
in outcomes leaves the three to five community members who submit themselves to
these tortuous hours hanging to the meager hope of a particular
facilitator being less personally offensive and more apt at organizing the
meeting than others.
The
facilitator at the 24 June meeting was Deborah Keys White; she
indeed did not manifest the goofy verbalisms or the silly mannerisms of Webb
(nor did she have Board members playing with Legos, as did one previous
facilitator [Paula Forbes]). But neither did Keys Write bring any
training in key subject area expertise to her role that would give her chance
to guide the Board in defining academic goals; the best that her
university training could offer would be the prospect of conveying insights as
to managerial and organizational efficiency.
Keys
Write’s university degrees and certifications are given below >>>>>
………………………………………………………………………………………………
>>>>>
Deborah
Keys Write >>>>> Educational
Background
B.A.,
Management and Organizational Development
with
endorsement for Hospitality Management Services
(Spring
Arbor University, Michigan, 2010-2011)
A.A.
Associate Arts Degree
(Spring
Arbor University, Michigan, 2007-2010)
<<<<<
Note, then that Deborah Keys Write lacks academic subject area credentials.
>>>>>
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Greta
Callahan arrived an hour and one-half into the meeting.
Joyner
Emerick attended virtually, appearing on screen throughout the Retreat.
All other
meetings were present physically from beginning to end.
Thus the
Board members attending were as follows:
Abdi
Abdul
Adriana
Cerrillo
Sharon
El-Amin
Collin
Beachy
Lori
Norvell
Kim
Ellison
Lisa
Skjefte
Joyner
Emerick
Greta
Callahan
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Keys
Write opened the meeting by posing a series of questions to prod members to
think about themselves in their role on the Board >>>>>
1) How
engaged to you think you are?
Most
members rated themselves as being fairly to very engaged in their roles on the
MPS Board of Education.
2) Agreements
Members
agreed broadly that they wanted to reach their goal of providing a “high
quality, anti-racist, culturally responsive education for every Minneapolis
student,” so that “all students--- regardless of their background,
ZIP code or individual needs”--- will be prepared “for future
success.”
Board
members also agreed that they wanted to fulfill the aims of their Strategic
Plan for
>>>>> Academic
achievement
>>>>> Student
well-being
>>>>> Effective
staff
>>>>> School
and district climate
3) Retreat
Objectives
Facilitator
Keys Write led Board members to consider as objectives
>>>>> Clarification
of the meaning of Transformation
>>>>> Clear
communication of certain specific directions for Superintendent Lisa
Sayles-Adams and staff.
4) Retreat
Outcomes
Similarly,
Keys Write communicated to Board members that at the end of the meeting they
would have arrived at the definition of Transformation and specified certain
directions for the superintendent.
5) Keys
Write stated that communication styles make a person a better communicator, and
she offered a classification of Board member communication styles as
follows >>>>>
Analyzer (wants
abundant information before coming to a decision)
Abdi
Abdul
Lori
Norvell
Lisa
Sayles-Adams
Lisa
Skjefte
Doer (wants
to move quickly toward decisions)
Greta
Callahan
Adriana
Cerrillo
Sharon
El-Amin
Kim
Ellison
Promoter (wants
to move Board members collectively toward agreement on specific goals)
Collin
Beachy
Joyner
Emerick
Board
members generally accepted these characterizations of their communication
styles, offered a few nuances, and gave examples of variously wanting abundant
information, eagerness to act on prevailing issues, and wanting to facilitate
group agreement on immediate and long-term issues.
The
doers, especially, but also the analyzers and the promoters, indicated that
their learning styles could result in great frustration pertinent to unresolved
issues.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Keys
Write next offered for Board member consideration, as they approached the
matter of Transformation, six conditions pertinent to the
topic >>>>>
Six
Conditions for Transformation
1) Policies
>>>>> The
specific decisions that would have to made in the course of Transformation,
consistent with official district policies as recorded in the official manual.
2) Practices
>>>>> Moving
forward with a Transformation process on the basis of policy decisions and
consistent with official regulations in the Policy Manual.
3) Resource
Flows
>>>>> Identifying
the resources for funding the Transformation effort.
4) Power
Dynamics
>>>>> Considering
the political and constituent forces that will respond to Transformation.
5) Relationships
& Connections
>>>>> Building
and drawing upon human relationships necessary to achieve Transformation.
6) Mental
Models
>>>>> Establishing
the intellectual aegis for the Transformation process.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Keys
Write put up a visual on the screen at the front of the room that showed two
fish facing each other in a body of water.
One fish
to another, “How’s the water?’
Answer: “What’s
water?”
This
visual was drawn from the website of FSG (Financial Services Group) to
metaphorically advance that entity’s “The Water Systems of Change” for
reimaging social change with careful attention to an awareness of the human and
institutional environment in which change is sought.
Keys
Write then accordingly led a fifteen minute discussion in which Board members
spoke to their understanding of the environment--- central office
staff, building administrators, teachers, students, and
community--- in which Transformation would be achieved.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
The
definition of Transformation was first broached at 11:50
AM--- approaching three hours into the Retreat.
Lori
Norvell candidly replied that she did not know what Transformation meant as a
current process at the Minneapolis Public Schools.
Others
shared a few thoughts on Transformation >>>>>
>>>>> Sharon
El-Amin reviewed a three-year period in which the matter of building closing or
repurposing at first seemed on the cusp of vigorous discussion before fading as
a topic at the forefront of Board attention.
>>>>> Joyner
Emerick stated her conviction that district curriculum and pedagogy must be
transformed to meet the needs of students in the year 2025 and beyond for all
students, that particular emphasis should be given to nonwhite students, and
that inclusivity for special education students should be a prime
consideration.
>>>>> Greta
Callahan emphasized that a vigorous effort must be made to recruit and maintain
students, and that energetic marketing to bring back students who have departed
the district and attract new students to the district can overcome what
otherwise appears to be discouraging demographics forecasting a lower birthrate
and a reduced student population pool over the next decade.
After
such initial comments, members of the Board gathered in pairs to discuss in
more detail the components of Transformation.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
The
groups of reference and their comments are given as
follows Transformation >>>>>
MPS Board
of Education Member Comments on Transformation
1) Abdul
Abdi
Adriana
Cerrillo
Close the
Opportunity Gap with targeted investment. Dismantle systems that
promote White Supremacy.
2) Lori
Norvell
Kim
Ellison
Deliver
high quality education producing productive, contributing, empathetic citizens.
3) Collin
Beachy
Sharon
El-Amin
Make the
Minneapolis Public Schools a destination school district.
Ensure
that financial policy allows for capturing resources to be invested in student
academic success.
Reimagine
schools, considering specific school student populations.
4) Lisa
Sayles-Adams
Lisa
Skjefte
Dismantle
White Supremacy, elevate cultural relevance, and grow human communities.
5) Greta
Callahan
Joyner
Emerick
Make the
Minneapolis Public Schools a destination school district.
Assure
transparency, inclusion, and equity of access.
Build
community trust.
Audit
current curriculum and pedagogical practices for ability to provide an
education relevant to the futures of students.
All
students find should have a pathway to success
As to the
matter of an audit, in addition matters pertinent to academics,
>>>>> Emerick
stressed that the administration should also evaluate building usage for
possible closings and repurposing;
>>>>> Callahan
argued for reversing the Comprehensive District Design (CDD), with particular
emphasis on bringing back open enrollment (implying a reversal of emphasis on
neighborhood schools).
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Near the
end of the retreat, Keys Write raised four topics upon which she asked that
Board members and Sayles-Adams focus >>>>>
Four Key
Areas of Focus
1) Physical
Space Safety
2) Community
Engagement
3) Priority-Based
Budgeting
4) Spanish
Dual-Language Program
Seemingly
for the sake of time, Keys Write ultimately asked Board members and
Sayles-Adams to focus on the first two areas of focus: Physical
Space Saftety and Community Engagement/
Board
members gathered again in their groups and, after twenty-five minutes reported
back to the public assemblage.
Keys
Write compiled the answers on large canvass paper, provided as
follows >>>>>
1) Physical
Space Safety
Recommend
schools for closure, with cost entailed and physical analysis.
Identify
buildings most amenable to the provision of special education services.
Assess
the Impact that building closing or repurposing would have on academic
programming.
Identify
Innovation Zones for experimenting with new approaches in implementing the
academic program.
Assess
the Impact that building closing or repurposing would have on the provision of
Early Childhood Education; assess the appropriateness of current
space used for the provision of Early Childhood Education.
2) Community
Engagement
Continue
to strengthen the Dual Language program.
Go
door-knocking as part of the marketing campaign.
Emphasize
and follow through with the lowering of class sizes.
Conduct
marketing near charter schools in order to bring back students or to attract
them to MPS
Before
they exercise other options.
Emphasize
and follow through with the provision of strong Music & Art programs.
Emphasize,
market, and follow through with a return to flexible open enrollment (over
neighborhood schools).
Seek
community input by various means.
Bring
back area meetings (as opposed to gatherings at the Davis Center).
Start
conversations across city, asking the question, “Are we considering policies
and practices that are most important?”
Give
attention to special education as a key MPS priority.
Review
academic pathways for students interested in particular programs and future
careers.
Increase
K-8 models over stand-alone preK-5 schools.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Facilitator
Deborah Keys Write brought the retreat to a close at 3:45 PM, fifteen minutes
after the projected time to conclude the retreat.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
This
Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education retreat of 24 June 2025 focused
member attention on the need to define Transformation and to specify policies
and procedures to be worked out in detail and implemented by the Superintendent
Lisa Sayles-Adams administration.
But MPS
Board of Education members clearly have not arrived at a consensus as to the
meaning
of
Transformation;
and
little consensual specification characterized the retreat as to policies that
should be followed in academic programming, building usage, or spending
priorities.
For
reasons that I will detail in a looming article, this retreat of Tuesday, 25
June 2025, demonstrated the ineptitude of this hapless group of Board members
and lack of hope for any academic progress or any improvement in safety
concerns under the leadership of Superintendent Lisa Sayles-Adams.
The
Minneapolis Public Schools as a district has fallen into greater hopelessness
than I have witnessed in my eleven years of intensive investigation into the
inner workings of this iteration of the locally centralized school district.
As long
as Lisa Sayles-Adams continues as superintendent, and then until another leader
can provide better direction for this group of intellectually challenged and
monumentally ineffective Board members, the condition will abide
whereby >>>>>
>>>>> there
is no hope for the Minneapolis Public Schools.
