Education

Suburban Black student suspensions show little improvement in 2010-12

Thu, 16 May 2013 17:26:34 +0000

Charles Hallman

Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

In last week’s edition, the MSR reviewed 2009 suspension data from several suburban schools showing, as the story headline stated, that “Black suspensions [are] more than double other students’ in suburban schools.” The MSR also reviewed the 2010-11 and 2011-12 discipline data from the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) to determine if schools have improved since 2009.

According to the most recently available MDE data, the extremely disproportionate Black student suspension rates in several Minneapolis suburban schools have not significantly improved over the course of the last two school years, and in several cases have grown considerably worse, despite statements from many districts that they have programs in place to reduce the rates. The MSR examined MDE disciplinary action counts from 13 school districts. Following are specifics from four districts.

Hopkins

Fifty-seven percent of 2010-12 suspensions (580 of 1,010) in Hopkins junior high and high schools were Black students, an 11 percent increase from 2009. Black students also accounted for 344 of 562 “disruptive/disorderly conduct/insubordination” suspensions (61 percent) in 2009-12, the highest rate among all suspension categories, although Black students comprised only 21.5 percent of the total student body.

This “disruptive conduct” category is “very vague” and typically “has the largest number of African American students” who are suspended, says St. Thomas Law Professor Nekima Levy-Pounds, whose assistance was requested by several parents of Hopkins Black students in response to disciplinary actions that led to an April 26 student walkout. She points out that “a lack of diversity and cultural competency, and a lack of understanding of young people who are coming there from different racial, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds” among teaching staff and administrators is partly to blame.

Several Hopkins Black students recently told the MSR that they do not feel that they are treated equally and fairly by the majority of teachers. “They are not really trying to acknowledge that we have these problems and that we need to change,” said junior Maray Singleton.

“You’re not treated the same [as White students],” said junior Ellse Anderson. “It’s definitely different in how you are perceived at the school. We are segregated — Whites, Blacks, and Latinos — we are all in our own little [groups].”

Hopkins spokesperson Jolene Goldade stated that her district is “experiencing reductions” in suspensions of students of color by using an approach called “Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS).”

Robbinsdale

Robbinsdale’s Black students made up 65 percent of the district’s suspensions (3,332 of 5157) in 2010-12 — a 15 percent increase from 2009 — although Black students comprised only 26.9 percent of the student body in 2010-12. District Education Director Lori Simon told the MSR that disruptive behavior “and behavior that could be physically aggressive toward another student” is high in Robbinsdale. “I would say those probably are the areas [where] I see a pattern,” she said.

“This year [Robbinsdale] has put into place diversity training for all of our licensed staff, and that will finish up next year,” reported Simon. “More than half of our staff trained this year, and the other half will be trained next year. We also will be working next year with the [New York-based] National Urban Alliance (NUA) to work with both our leadership and all of our teachers around culturally relevant teaching practices.

“We believe that all of those positive things and learning how to effectively work with our diverse learners is really critical,” Simon continued. “We are being real intentional, and it is important for our teachers to have diversity training so that they are aware of how they are treating, working with and teaching all of our students.”

When asked what programs or strategies are in place to specifically address the high Black suspension rate in their district, Simon pointed out that PBIS is now in place in Robbinsdale schools to help reduce suspensions, and disciplinary numbers “are trending down not only in referrals but also in suspensions as well.

“We started it primarily [in 2010] at the elementary level, and we’re seeing some real good results,” she said “We also look at a range of consequences for students outside of suspensions and expulsions. It put into place very clear expectations at the school level so that everyone — students, staff and administration — is really clear on what are the expectations in every area of the school.

“We think we have some good things in place and plans for ongoing work, and we fully expect that our [suspension] numbers will continue to go down,” says Simon.

Edina

Edina’s Black student population was approximately five percent in 2010-12, but they accounted for 29 percent of 2010-12 suspensions (94 of 328) — up 12 percent from 2009.

“We acknowledge that we have a disproportionate number of suspensions with our students of color and need to look at a variety of strategies to correct this,” responded district spokesperson Susan Brott. She added that most Black student suspensions tend to fall under three categories: “threatening and/or disruptive behaviors,” “physical infractions” and “property infractions.”

When asked why the Black suspension rate is so much higher than that of any other student group in Edina, she admitted, “We cannot explain it. We are not pleased with the data and are working hard to address the issue.”

Edina “has also been intentional in training staff in issues of racial equity and cultural competence,” said Brott. “This is a journey for all of us, both as individuals and as a collective staff, and we know that more learning is yet to be done.”

Anoka-Hennepin

Anoka-Hennepin’s Black student suspensions (1,196 of 4,127) are up one percent in 2010-12 from 2009 to nearly 30 percent of total suspensions in a district where Blacks are only 10.1 percent of the total student population. Despite promises otherwise, our requests to Anoka-Hennepin officials for comment were not met by press time.

Levy-Pounds stressed that along with cultural competency, “A more comprehensive and holistic approach to looking at this issue [is needed] and [we should] not just take for granted that schools are exercising a sense of fairness when they selectively decide who to suspend, who to expel, and who to refer to the school resource officer in a given situation.

“I think it is a problem in the public schools in the city as well as the suburbs,” surmises the St. Thomas professor on Black suspension rates. “I think it is a both-and situation, but I think that the suburbs really have been ignored in this debate.”

She also says that she understands how suburban school officials are claiming a reduction in suspension rates for all students of color, including Blacks. “But when you aggregate students of color and specifically hone in on African American students, that typically is not the case.”

This story is the second in a series. Next week: The MSR looks at the most recent Minneapolis and St. Paul public schools suspension rates data obtained from the MDE.

Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses to challman [at] spokesman-recorder [dot] com.

Also in the Daily Planet:

Suspensions, expulsions drive prison pipeline for young, African American males (Christina Cerruti, 2013)

Racial mockery at Hopkins High sparks outrage; Black student handcuffed (Harry Colbert, Jr., 2013)

Out of school and out of luck (Mary Turck, 2013)

Hopkins

Robbinsdale

“We think we have some good things in place and plans for ongoing work, and we fully expect that our [suspension] numbers will continue to go down,” says Simon.

Edina

Edina’s Black student population was approximately five percent in 2010-12, but they accounted for 29 percent of 2010-12 suspensions (94 of 328) — up 12 percent from 2009.

Anoka-Hennepin

This story is the second in a series. Next week: The MSR looks at the most recent Minneapolis and St. Paul public schools suspension rates data obtained from the MDE.

Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses to challman [at] spokesman-recorder [dot] com.

Also in the Daily Planet:

Suspensions, expulsions drive prison pipeline for young, African American males (Christina Cerruti, 2013)

Racial mockery at Hopkins High sparks outrage; Black student handcuffed (Harry Colbert, Jr., 2013)

Out of school and out of luck (Mary Turck, 2013)

Prepare and Participate: Lao American Parenting to Pursue Knowledge

Wed, 15 May 2013 18:31:03 +0000

KKouanchao

Recently, a student in my program was preparing a speech, and she was moved by the words of the late El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz who said “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” I was impressed she had come across those words and wanted to take them to heart. She was the first in her family to go to college, having escaped the conflict in Iraq with her family. All too often it can become easy for the children of refugees to give up on their sense of the future.

After I returned from the recent Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education conference in San Francisco I was inspired and energized. The conference also reminded me of how much we need to keep getting our stories out there. And as Dr. John Hoffman always taught me as I pursued my doctorate, we need to remember to pay it forward.

How many students today know the story of inspiring Asian American activists like Grace Lee Boggs, an award-winning writer who founded Detroit Summer, a ground-breaking multicultural intergenerational youth program. She blazed a trail as a regular columnist in papers like the Michigan Citizen in a time when Asian American women were rarely heard. Then there's the tireless work of Yuri Kochiyama on behalf of those put into Japanese internment camps and other civil rights issues. Many of her inspiring words in her 1998 book Discover Your Mission still speak to us today.

I bring this up because there are so many stories we could be sharing to encourage people to speak up and get involved. I particularly wonder where we will hear Lao American voices in the years ahead.

I was recently asked by a student in Fresno about what I saw as a significant problem in the Lao American community.

While it is true our issues are complex, I hate it when people suggest complexity justifies apathy, indifference and non-involvement. I hate seeing many won’t even try to examine root causes and take action. Problems may be complex, but that doesn’t mean we can turn away from them.

Education is one issue we constantly discuss. There are many families involved with their kids success, but we have to help them keep involved at the next level. Once our kids try to explain concepts such as internships, scholarships, and the importance of extracurricular activities, something breaks down and many parents start to give up, because it’s something they never experienced. But when we find such areas, we must not think it can’t be learned or understood. We can't be afraid to ask for help. We need to celebrate asking questions.

At both the family level and the cultural level, we need to reinvest in our true traditional values of valuing education. Not just give lip service to it. We need to see education as a treasure and create a community of passionate, curious seekers.

Without that fundamental curiosity as a key part of our cultural character, all of our other efforts to succeed will always be a struggle.

Saying “Lao pride” is not enough. You must embody it through the pursuit of education. Not just for the degrees and validation of others, but for the actual gain of knowledge you can take with you and share with others.

You don’t wait for education to happen. You make it happen, and prepare for it today.

Kouanchao Corner

Letting down our students, our teachers

Wed, 15 May 2013 17:27:31 +0000

Julie Landsman

“I am afraid nothing will change”

“Nothing’s gonna change, it isn’t ever going to be any different.”

The first statement came from a number of college graduates, when asked about their fears about race. All were white, all were at different stages in obtaining a math or physics teaching license,

They elaborated on this feeling: that no matter how hard we may work to bring about racial equity we won’t succeed and things will go along as they are.

The second statement came from a group of black students in a high school in the metro area after a racial incident. Underneath their bravado, their studied indifference and much closer to the surface than many of us understand, was a deep sense of hopelessness.

It seems logical that if we put these two groups together in one classroom something must certainly change. The concerned teachers will make every effort to be open, non judgmental, and full of high expectations. The students before them will appreciate their teacher and will work up to those expectations. What should follow: more young men and women walking at graduation, more entering post secondary institutions, or finding decent jobs. Some may be the first in their extended family to get a college degree. After all, both teacher and student agree that an end to racism in their schools is what is desired. Yet, neither group is at all certain that “change is gonna come” as Marvin Gaye sang to us years ago.

After a spring of visiting many schools, speaking to student teachers, those in the classroom already and those who were beginning their educational program, I sensed great uncertainty on the part of our present and future educators. Something heavy weighs on their hearts, be they black or white, Native, or Hmong, Latino or Vietnamese. Something weighs on mine. It has to do with a system that is in chaos: too many tests, cuts in pre school funding, charter school expansion, public school dysfunction, race based gifted programs, tracked and re-segregated schools, cyber bullying, insecurity in administrators’ offices, races to the top and more. You can feel tension in the hallways, in the lounges, in the classrooms.

Black kids watch their friends suspended at greater rates than white kids for the same offense. Research comes out each week with information we have heard for years: blacks are denied mortgage rates comparable to whites when both have the same credentials. My walk down Washington Avenue North still continues to yield few if any black faces in the many construction sites all along my way. What both groups at the beginning of this piece feel-- fear of no change, and belief that there will be no change-- is evident. Are they, are we, being pessimistic or realistic? All of us desire progress and even equity in our schools and all of us know the odds.

Every day in school they see good teachers coming early and staying late. These teachers have little life outside of school, often putting off having their own families. In the five hours they teach their high school classes, seeing each individual student for one hour per day, teachers are asked to accomplish the super-human task of righting an entire history of racism and discrimination. Their students see the insanity of it all, including programmed instruction, few supplies and outdated technology. They know the fight is uphill.

Yet these young people hang on. They will go anywhere with a devoted teacher. And everyone is aware of indifferent or poor teachers in the rooms across the hall, where students leave, disrupt and shut down. Both students and teachers want this to change. Yet if they advocate for more training and efficiency in escorting negative teachers out of the profession, they are adding fuel to the fire of rabid anti teachers’ union groups. We have become so polarized around education that we have sacrificed civil dialogue. What is important to note is that the kids see and feel all this. And they shrug their shoulders and decide that nothing will change. It “aint gonna come”.

After a busy spring, I am taking this chance to reflect on the page. I have come to the conclusion that we are depriving those very students we need to encourage of our support. Until we can gather all parties to the table, without the inflammatory rhetoric of a Steve Perry or a Michelle Rhee, we will be reinforcing the fear and hopelessness of the students we care so deeply about. Until we respect veteran teachers who know better than anyone how an entire building can be affected by bad teaching, we will continue to trade insults.

Until we listen to those who sincerely want equitable working conditions and fair teacher evaluations, and who may differ with us on how to get those, we are never going to have constructive conversations. Until we accept the multiple ways that poverty impacts students who come in our door, while at the same time advocating for high standards and activism to change those conditions, we are not supporting those new, enthusiastic teachers I met in Houghton. Until we assemble successful thinkers in education who are not in it for their own reputations or their cult status, but rather are in it acknowledging the honest, day to day work it takes to bulldoze a stubborn system of economic inequality, we leave all who attend school and all who teach, administer, counsel there, abandoned.

To calm the rhetoric and sit together in order to bring order out of the chaos of policy, law, mandates, rankings and judgment is the least we can do. It is the least we can do for the 2nd year teacher, up all night with her teething baby who arrives at six a.m. to meet with a parent before he starts his shift at the factory nearby. It is the least we can do for the veteran teacher who has set up after school help sessions three afternoons a week, all the while worrying about his sister who is ill and alone a city away.

It is the least we can do for the students who come to school filled with excitement even while wondering where they will be sleeping that night. It is the least we can do for the twelve-year-old girl who is hungry, after giving her breakfast to her sister because there is not enough food in the house until the following day. It is the least we can do for the brand new teacher who struggles to reach her students that first tumultuous year. It is the least we can do, to sit and listen to each other.

The View From Here

House and Senate begin talks on higher education spending

Tue, 14 May 2013 21:34:28 +0000

Sarah Lemagie

Session Weekly/Session Daily

With a week left until the Legislature is due to adjourn, Senate and House members are starting to hammer out the differences in their funding plans for Minnesota’s public colleges and universities.

A conference committee that met Monday is shooting for a compromise that would raise state spending on higher education by $250 million over the next two years. That target, agreed to by Gov. Mark Dayton and DFL leaders in both legislative bodies, is much closer to the Senate’s proposed increase of $263 million than the $150 million approved by the House.

The new number, which was announced over the weekend, drew thanks on Monday from Rep. Gene Pelowski Jr. (DFL-Winona), sponsor of the House’s version of the omnibus higher education bill, HF1692. With more money to work with, House members may have an easier time reaching agreement with the Senate. Sen. Terri Bonoff (DFL-Minnetonka), who carried SF1236 in the Senate, said she expects the committee to finish its work quickly.

Still, there are wide gaps between the higher education budgets passed by each body. While voicing a common chorus of dismay at the rising cost of higher education, House and Senate lawmakers have disagreed about how best to help students. Both passed budgets that would fund a two-year tuition freeze for resident undergraduates at the University of Minnesota. Their plans diverge, though, when it comes to tuition relief for students in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. The bill passed by the House would bar MnSCU from raising undergraduate tuition for two years; the Senate plan would cap increases at 3 percent.

The Senate chose to offset tuition for low- and middle-income students by funneling an additional $80 million into the state grant program. The House added only $11 million to the program.

Both budget proposals would provide the first state funding increase for higher education in years, DFLers say.

The Senate chose to offset tuition for low- and middle-income students by funneling an additional $80 million into the state grant program. The House added only $11 million to the program.

Both budget proposals would provide the first state funding increase for higher education in years, DFLers say.

Starting Line: Establishing a Student Religious Liberties Act

Staff — Tue, 14 May 2013 20:56:54 +0000

Session Weekly/Session Daily

The first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution are collectively called The Bill of Rights. Originally drafted to lessen fears that the Constitution would open the way to tyranny by a central government, this document enshrines citizens' most important basic freedoms.

From time to time, however, there have been calls of alarm that personal freedoms are being compromised. For instance, Rep. Duane Quam (R-Byron) sponsors a bill because he says, in some cases, constitutional rights are being restricted. His bill, HF1771, is the topic of this week’s Starting Line.

Minneapolis school superintendent Bernadeia Johnson plans to implement autonomous zones, modeled after charters, at 20-30 percent of schools

Mon, 13 May 2013 21:31:51 +0000

Sheila Regan

TC Daily Planet

A standing-room-only crowd listened as Minneapolis Public Schools Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson announced her plans for changes in the district, including a new “innovative partnership zone” which would include 20-30 percent of schools. She said school teams in these zones would “exchange autonomy for accountability,” and would be governed by performance based contracts and freed up from what she characterized as outdated rules. The announcement came at 8:00 on Monday morning (May 13) at Pohlad Hall, the meeting room on the second floor the downtown library.

The plans announced by Johnson will require substantial contract changes, and the announcement came as the current two-year teacher contract is about to expire on June 30. Last time around, for the 2011-2013 contract, negotiations for a new contract began in September 2011 and the contract was approved in April 2012.

Minneapolis teachers' union president Lynn Nordgren responded just before press time, saying that the Minnesota Federation of Teachers is "encouraged that the Superintendent has brought forward several ideas that the teachers union has championed for many years," including hiring teachers earlier in the year, hiring more teachers of color, creating a collaborative partnership, maintaining a quality, experienced teaching workforce, and developing a "homegrown teachers program."

Johnson said the district is embracing the methods of high performing charter school programs such as Hiawatha Leadership Academies and Mastery School. “They are modeling the performance that will soon be our norm,” she said.

Johnson received a standing ovation at the meeting, which was attended by Mayor R.T. Rybak, school board members, and a number of City Council members and mayoral candidates. Her speech called for an end to “blaming others” for poor performance, and said MPS had to stop being satisfied with the status quo.

“I am not satisfied,” Johnson said. “Our school board is not satisfied. Many of our leaders, teachers and staff are not satisfied. Yet some adults in our system are satisfied with the status quo — and they will need to change or they will need to leave. It is their choice.”

Moving beyond the status quo

Response from Minnesota Federation of Teachers - Lynn Nordgren

(excerpts from response)

The opportunity gap is a problem that has its roots in the racism, classism and white privilege of our city. We know that we must accompany social and economic reforms with education change in order to solve it. It is time for all of us to step up to the plate to wipe out the opportunity gap once and for all. We have spent far too long as a city and a District admiring the problem, pointing fingers, and applying one silver-bullet solution after another. It is our moral imperative to ensure all children/youth are successful in school and in life. ...

[W]e do not believe that Superintendent Johnson goes far enough in her proposals to close the opportunity gap. ...

The following also need to be included in the discussions and collective actions:

1) Small Class Size ...

2) Focusing on Teaching, Not Testing ...

3) Time for Educators to Plan, Prepare, Gather Resources and Team with one another. ...

4) Solutions, Not Suspensions ...

5) Focus and align the work of the District. ...

6) Provide wrap-around services for students. ...

7) Schools that Meet the Needs of Students ...

8) Partnership Schools: Strong Partnership Between Families, the Community and Schools ...

9) High-quality Teaching and Learning ...

10) Culturally Relevant Curriculum and Teaching ...

11) Using Our Collective Voice in the Fight for Social Justice ...

We look forward to working with everyone to close the opportunity gap and raise the learning bar. Our sleeves are pushed up and our hearts are wide open.

Johnson’s new partnership zones (or autonomous zone) would begin with a planning stage during the 2013-2014 school year, to be implemented during the 2014-2015 school year, she said. The zones would start with the district’s high priority schools: Anishinabe, Bancroft, Cityview, Folwell, Green Central, Elizabeth Hall, North High School, Olson, Pratt and Sheridan.

These schools would develop a new relationship with the central office, Johnson said. “In these schools, we want to work together to set aside old ways of thinking, progam and practices that no longer add value and outdated contract provisions in areas such as staffing and instructional time.” These schools would be “freed from many central office or contract rules so they can build school teams, innovate and deliver what students need at that site.”

The autonomous zone model has proven successful, Johnson said, in cities like Boston (where it was originally called “In-District Charter Schools”) and Denver. The model is in some ways similar to charter schools, she said in a follow up question and answer session with media. The model would give the school autonomy to hire people from outside of the district, and would give them more flexibility to fire them go if they aren’t working out.

This flexibility would be given to the schools, she said, in exchange for accountability, based on performance.

At the same time, Johnson said that currently the district “is testing too much.” The accountability that Johnson foresees will be based on college and career and core life skills, instructional processes, student engagement and ownership of learning, family and community engagement and financial and legal performance.

After Johnson’s speech, Julie Guidry, a parent and Executive Director of Upstream Arts, a nonprofit arts organization that works in the schools with kids with disabilities, says she was hopeful after the speech, and liked that Johnson focused on keeping it positive.

Art Seratoff, a community activist and educator, was disappointed that Johnson didn’t speak more about community and parent input.

Moving beyond the status quo

Response from Minnesota Federation of Teachers - Lynn Nordgren

(excerpts from response)

[W]e do not believe that Superintendent Johnson goes far enough in her proposals to close the opportunity gap. ...

The following also need to be included in the discussions and collective actions:

1) Small Class Size ...

2) Focusing on Teaching, Not Testing ...

3) Time for Educators to Plan, Prepare, Gather Resources and Team with one another. ...

4) Solutions, Not Suspensions ...

5) Focus and align the work of the District. ...

6) Provide wrap-around services for students. ...

7) Schools that Meet the Needs of Students ...

8) Partnership Schools: Strong Partnership Between Families, the Community and Schools ...

9) High-quality Teaching and Learning ...

10) Culturally Relevant Curriculum and Teaching ...

11) Using Our Collective Voice in the Fight for Social Justice ...

We look forward to working with everyone to close the opportunity gap and raise the learning bar. Our sleeves are pushed up and our hearts are wide open.

This flexibility would be given to the schools, she said, in exchange for accountability, based on performance.

Art Seratoff, a community activist and educator, was disappointed that Johnson didn’t speak more about community and parent input.

I am glad that you honed in on the proposal to create "autonomous zones". To me, this was the proposal with the most substance and potential significance for the community. It gives the identified schools greater autonomy in the decisions that matter for children's success. Superintendent Johnson says they are trading accountability for autonomy. Certainly accountability should be an integrated part of the entire public school system. Therefore, I don't understand what the "trade-off" is (unless it implies that the rest of the system is not accountable and this situation is unique). This experiment is, at one time, a great opportunity for community and parent involvement in shaping the autonomous zone or it will be another demonstration of an empty strategy that is conceived and implemented through the school system with little connection to the people that have the highest stake in school success, the parents and the children. The original charter school law specified the structure of the charter school governing body to have significant representation of parents as well as teachers. This is a good foundation for the experiment. Lynn Nordgren's response for the MN Federation of Teachers raises all the right issues, in my opinion. The question I have is whether these are slogans or do they have substance? And what is the substance? Two of the high priority schools are in my neighborhood. I hope the MPS REALLY takes advantage of the opportunity to do it right this time. - by Art Serotoff on Tue, 05/14/2013 - 8:37am
We need less administrators and more teachers and aides. We don't need more buildings built to make admininstrators happy. We need to recruit from the resources we have here, not repeat stupidity like hiring Thandiwee Peebles, who is now causing people in her new place of employment (Rockford, Illinois) to wonder where she came from, what is she actually doing, and what she gets paid for her secret work? All the pep talks in the world are not going to hide the shame of people who pretend to care about schooling kids and then do everything to destroy the school system. Bernadeia Johnson is a promoter of privatization, which has not helped children of color to succeed in school. The root of the problem is in classism and racism. Privatization takes wealth from the people and siphons it to the top. This is not a sustainable situation. Just because someone is a high position is black doesn't mean that racism is over. Most of those down at City Hall who are black must "put on their face" in the morning, because they don't care about the deteriorating lives of the black population in Minneapolis. When Bernadeia goes, it'll be with a big check in her pocket and a smile on her face. - by Janet Nye on Tue, 05/14/2013 - 1:38pm
What happened to the 2007-2012 five-year plan, and staying the course? This new initiative is a continuation of a school reform strategy that has failed to deliver its promised results. The new plan promotes further corporate-style reforms and the process of privatizing / charterizing the school district. The district continues to ignore glaring inequities in allocation of resources that might explain much of the racial test score gap, persistently high suspension rates for African-American students, etc. Students of color are much more heavily exposed to inexperienced teachers, high teacher turnover rates, and watered-down curriculum. The district was never in compliance with anti-discrimination provisions of the Desegregation Rule, and the state never tried to enforce those provisions of the Rule. The Desegregation Rule "sunsets" this year, unless the Minnesota legislature takes action to keep it on the book. Doug Mann, candidate for mayor of Minneapolis, http://facebook.com/mann4mayor. - by Doug Mann on Wed, 05/15/2013 - 8:41am

COMMUNITY VOICES | 2013 Minneapolis Urban Farmers Collaborative candidate questionnaire: Lisa Bender, Ward 10

Lisa Bender — Mon, 13 May 2013 20:02:36 +0000

Community Voices

The Minneapolis Urban Farmer's Collaborative has invited candidates for Minneapolis City Council, Parks & Recreation Board, and Mayor to complete a candidate questionnaire to determine where the candidates stand on current policy issues relevant to urban agriculture, including food production on public park lands, on-site vegetable sales for urban producers, and ownership of chickens for small-scale commercial purposes. Completed candidate questionnaires are being posted on the Minneapolis Issues Forum at www.e-democracy.org for public viewing as they become available.
Below, read the response from Lisa Bender, candidate for the Ward 10 City Council seat.

Urban agriculture city code amendments passed Minneapolis city council in spring of 2012 and laid the groundwork for urban farms to take root. In the year since these new rules have been in place many small businesses have endeavored to grow, sell, prepare, and compost hundreds of thousands of pounds of Minneapolis produced fruits and vegetables. This spring, the urban farmers and residents that rely on their food would like to enhance the growing environment for urban farms in Minneapolis. The following initiatives and rule changes would nourish and enrich this growing movement.

Do you as a candidate for -Mayor, City Hall- support the following initiatives and rule changes in order to promote urban farming in Minneapolis?

• The current MPLS chicken ordinance only allows chickens in residential back yards. Many urban residents would like to purchase eggs and chicken from urban farms, and urban farmers could use the proceeds from chicken farming to support their urban farms in the winter months. Do you as a candidate support allowing chickens as livestock at urban farms?

Yes, I strongly support increasing access to fresh, locally raised eggs and chicken to benefit our community. I will support allowing chickens as livestock in urban farms. I also think it is important to ensure that raising chickens as livestock is economically feasible for farmers. I would work in partnership with farmers and city staff to determine what kind of regulation system, if any, is needed to provide safe, humane conditions for animals without creating barriers to raising chickens as livestock.

I also believe the current license fee structure for backyard chicken permitting is unreasonably expensive and support lowering the permit fee for backyard chicken permits.

• Urban farm sites often don’t have water spigots and in most cases urban farmers purchase water from neighbors to water their plots. Will you as a candidate work to build affordable access to city water hydrants and support city cost assistance for water for urban farmers and community gardens?

Yes, we need to find a workable and cost-effective solution for Minneapolis farmers to access water. I support a system similar to that provided to community gardens in Minneapolis.

• Urban land is priced too high for urban farming to be financially sustainable. Most urban farms are leasing land without any guarantee that they’ll be able to continue leasing year to year. Urban farm sites need years of fertility building before they become highly productive. Do you as a candidate support creating a city pilot program for leasing public lands for urban farming?

Yes! I think public lands are an incredible opportunity to expand urban farming and provide the cost-effective, long-term access that farm sites need to be successful. Libraries, parks, schools and other public lands could provide low-cost land for farmers as well as increase community knowledge about and connection to food production and urban farming. Use of many of these sites would require coordination with partners such as the Park Board and School Board and I will be a strong champion in helping make the case for the community benefits of using public lands to support local food production.

• Urban farmers and family owned businesses rely on their work vehicles to run their local businesses. It is currently illegal by city code to park work vehicles on the street in Minneapolis, resulting in hundreds of family owned businesses being fined for parking in front of their homes. Will you as a candidate support small businesses by removing barriers to on street and off street parking of contractor work vehicles and trailers?

Yes, I support on street and off street parking for reasonably sized work vehicles and trailers and would work with farmers to understand what specific regulations would support their needs while not burdening communities with large trucks.

• Urban gardeners and farmers who wish to sell produce to neighbors now have to apply for a costly permit to sell vegetables. This permit only allows for 15 days of on-site sales per year, and when seeking a permit, farmers must pre-schedule their sales days. Since weather, climate, and variations in growing seasons affect production of vegetables it is almost impossible to predict when will be the best days to sell vegetables. Additionally if one farmer runs multiple sites, that farmer must apply for multiple permits to have sales from each site. These restrictions mean that valuable produce is going to waste even while there is a high demand for purchasing it within the neighborhoods. Will you as a candidate support the local food system by easing the permitting process for on-site vegetable sales, by reducing permit fees, increasing the amount of days farmers can sell, and allowing produce sales from multiple farm sites?

Yes. I do not support the current permitting process because it is a huge barrier to farmers selling their produce and limits access to fresh, local food. I strongly support changes to the permitting process, and support a large number or unlimited sale days, reduced permit fees and allowing produce sales from multiple farm sites. I would also support exempting backyard farmers setting up a farm stand to sell extra vegetables to neighbors from the permitting process, as I do not think these very small, locally focused efforts to sell extra backyard vegetables should be regulated any more than lemonade stands.

Broad vision question:

As a candidate for public office, what would you like the food economy of Minneapolis to look like in 2017?

I believe the food economy of Minneapolis is going through an exciting transition and support a transformation of how we grow and access foods. I will strongly support expanding the local foods movement and urban agriculture because it is good for our health, our environment and our city’s economy. Urban farms and farm stands could dramatically increase access to fresh foods in underserved communities, better connect our children to knowledge about how our food is grown, and reduce our community’s exposure to toxic chemicals.

In the next five years, I envision our community supporting and building upon the urban agriculture movement. Last year’s policy changes were a great new step, and I would support quickly enacting the policy changes described above to reduce barriers to urban farming. I would like to work with Minneapolis Public Schools to support and build upon farm to school initiatives to improve the nutritional quality of foods served in our public schools and better connect our children to knowledge about local food systems.

I am interested in learning more about how the city can support and develop year-round urban farming and would be supportive of partnering with farmers to expand the local food options grown in the winter. I am also interested in pursuing regional partnerships which might enable Minneapolis communities to access foods grown locally, within a close radius of the City.

I envision creating a full cycle to food production and waste by championing organics composting as a city service. I will also work to reduce our residents’ exposure to toxic chemicals and would support a ban on Styrofoam and am interested to learn more about how the City could support restricting or regulating use of toxic yard chemicals which impact our vulnerable pets and children, wash directly into our lakes and river, and impact our expanding organic food system.

As the next City Council member from Ward 10, I will be a strong champion for urban farmers. I believe our support of local food could set Minneapolis apart from peer cities in a bold and exciting way. As a City Council member, I will not only dig into the details and support policy changes to make it easier to farm and sell locally raised foods, but will partner with farmers to educate and expand knowledge about urban farming to continue.

The Minneapolis Urban Farmer's Collaborative has invited candidates for Minneapolis City Council, Parks & Recreation Board, and Mayor to complete a candidate questionnaire to determine where the candidates stand on current policy issues relevant to urban agriculture, including food production on public park lands, on-site vegetable sales for urban producers, and ownership of chickens for small-scale commercial purposes. Completed candidate questionnaires are being posted on the Minneapolis Issues Forum at www.e-democracy.org for public viewing as they become available.
Below, read the response from Lisa Bender, candidate for the Ward 10 City Council seat.

Do you as a candidate for -Mayor, City Hall- support the following initiatives and rule changes in order to promote urban farming in Minneapolis?

I also believe the current license fee structure for backyard chicken permitting is unreasonably expensive and support lowering the permit fee for backyard chicken permits.

Yes, we need to find a workable and cost-effective solution for Minneapolis farmers to access water. I support a system similar to that provided to community gardens in Minneapolis.

Broad vision question:

As a candidate for public office, what would you like the food economy of Minneapolis to look like in 2017?

Minneapolis Public School's summer program opens to more students

Mon, 13 May 2013 18:55:55 +0000

Robin Sauerwein

TC Daily Planet

I was surprised when I received a letter encouraging my son to attend summer school. It didn't make sense to me — he made the honor roll and his test scores were good. Why would I send him to summer school?

When I investigated, I found a confusing web of rules about summer school. A student might be "invited" to go to summer school for a variety of reasons, including status (English language learner, homeless or highly mobile student), grades, attendance, etc. But students may also qualify to attend summer school even if they have good grades and score high on the MCA tests.

According to Daren Johnson, district program facilitator for Minneapolis Public Schools, “We’ve made it loose to qualify.” He said the only requirement is that students must be current Minneapolis Public School students. “We want them to come. It’s a good program,” he said.

For those who are recommended for summer school, letters were sent to parents during conferences, but Johnson encourages parents to check and see if their children could qualify. If you think that your child may not qualify or does not need it, you might want to look more closely at the program. Students who have good grades, and test high on the MCA still may be eligible to attend.

This year’s program will run Mondays –Thursdays, June 17 - July 25 (with July 4th off).

Minneapolis will offer a total of 16 cluster sites. Class size will be about 25 students per teacher and will integrate literacy with a science focus. There is no cost for the program, which includes transportation, breakfast and lunch. Deadline for registering for summer school in Minneapolis is May 24. After the May 24 deadline, interested students will be put on a waiting list.

According to MPS, curriculum is set up so all students will be challenged and can be easily accessible for students at different entry points.

The point of summer school is not to punish students but to give them stimulating learning opportunities to grow over the summer months and avoid as Johnson puts it, “the summer slide,” where kids lose academic skills over the summer. One of the biggest frustrations for a teacher in the fall is discovering how much students have forgotten over the summer months.

During the summer, without the routine of daily classes, it is really up to parents to supplement their kids’ vacation time with learning activities. That doesn’t always happen. Summer is about vacation for many families and often there is little time or room in the family budget for summer camps or other structured learning based programs.

While all students may experience the summer learning slide, the impact is greatest on the most vulnerable students. Summer Learning Association research shows that during the summer break:

All students experience up to a two-month loss of math skills, though this is usually made up in the fall.
Low-income students lose more than two months in reading achievement, despite the fact that their middle-class peers make slight gains.

According to Johnson, the Minneapolis program “is real exciting for kids to make them learn. They just don’t know it.” Educational partners such as the Bakken Museum, Kroening Interpretative Center, Eloise Butler Wildlife Garden, Wilderness Inquiry, and Jr. Achievement give students hands on experiential opportunities.

Johnson said it used to be difficult to find community partners for the program but that is no longer the case. “It is amazing how people back the youth in Minneapolis,” he said.

Another Minneapolis Public School program, The Fast Track Scholar program offers those going into eighth grade an opportunity to earn four quarter credits during the summer school program. It gives an edge for students and helps them transition more easily into high school. Before MPS offered the program, very few eighth graders attended summer school but now between 300-400 students attend. They also receive a free city bus pass to use for transportation.

I asked parents about their past experience of summer school in the Minneapolis Schools and those who responded reported positive experiences.

Melissa Hernandez sent her daughter to Windom for summer school. Her daughter enjoyed the poetry/song instruction used to familiarize the kids with word sounds and patterns. She also met new friends and spent a lot of time outside.

“We appreciated the pride with which the program was executed," Hernandez said. "Despite the fact that it was the summer everyone who was there appeared to want to be there serving the kids. We felt she was ready for a full day kindergarten program cognitively (per the assessment they gave her at the end of the program) and emotionally. It made the transition that much easier."

Another parent sent her daughter to summer school at Marcy two years ago. The program helped her catch up on reading along with having two recesses each day to make summer school fun.

“We are having him go to summer school at NEMS to get a vibe for the school,” said a parent whose son will enter middle school in the fall. She also noted that five weeks of summer school is free. “My husband went to summer school when he was a kid and has fond memories. The people running the summer school at NEMS said it’s more like a 'camp' than school. They get to do all the fun projects they can’t do during the year and also get to teach the kids about their hobbies,” she said.

Parents can go to the MPS summer school website for more information or contact Daren at 612-668-0064 with questions.

This year’s program will run Mondays –Thursdays, June 17 - July 25 (with July 4th off).

According to MPS, curriculum is set up so all students will be challenged and can be easily accessible for students at different entry points.

While all students may experience the summer learning slide, the impact is greatest on the most vulnerable students. Summer Learning Association research shows that during the summer break:

All students experience up to a two-month loss of math skills, though this is usually made up in the fall.
Low-income students lose more than two months in reading achievement, despite the fact that their middle-class peers make slight gains.

Johnson said it used to be difficult to find community partners for the program but that is no longer the case. “It is amazing how people back the youth in Minneapolis,” he said.

I asked parents about their past experience of summer school in the Minneapolis Schools and those who responded reported positive experiences.

Another parent sent her daughter to summer school at Marcy two years ago. The program helped her catch up on reading along with having two recesses each day to make summer school fun.

Parents can go to the MPS summer school website for more information or contact Daren at 612-668-0064 with questions.

People with disabilities face gap in higher education employment

Tyler Gieseke — Thu, 09 May 2013 21:12:48 +0000

The Minnesota Daily

Sandra Buchholz has had difficulty landing a job because she’s deaf.

Some employers wouldn’t hire her because her deafness would make it hard to communicate, said Buchholz, who works as an American Sign Language instructor at the University of Minnesota.

“I would say that there are a lot of deaf people out there who have a tough time getting a job because of their disability,” she said through an interpreter.

Nationwide, there’s a large gap in the employment of people with mental or physical disabilities — the unemployment rate for people with disabilities is almost double the rate for those without, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

To combat employment discrepancies in higher education, last week the U.S. Office of Disability Employment Policy partnered with the Higher Education Recruitment Consortium, a group that includes the University.

People with disabilities are underrepresented in all areas of the labor force, said Colet Mitchell, ODEP employer and workplace policy team lead.

It’s difficult to estimate the number of University employees with disabilities because job applicants aren’t required to disclose whether they have disabilities, said University spokesperson Julie Christensen.

Part of the alliance will include promoting a database of 2,000 college graduates with disabilities as a recruitment tool for colleges and universities, Mitchell said.

“You want your workforce to represent the people that live in this country,” Mitchell said. “We need to increase the exposure of people with disabilities into those workforce networks.”

ODEP will also work with HERC’s member colleges and universities to include people with disabilities in their diversity plans, Mitchell said.

In her previous job at a community college, Buchholz said she struggled since she was the only deaf employee.

“I felt like I had no support,” she said.

In the University’s ASL department, many employees are deaf, she said, and they work together well.

“It’s a wonderful team,” she said.

As an equal opportunity employer, the University looks for the most qualified job applicants regardless of disabilities or medical conditions, said Dave Fuecker, associate director of UReturn — a division of Disability Services.

An equal opportunities statement must be included in every University publication, according to policy. In addition, most communications to job applicants must provide information for requesting disability accommodations.

‘Doing the right thing’

If faculty or staff need accommodations to return to work after an accident or because of a medical condition, UReturn will provide those resources if they’re reasonable, Fuecker said.

The program might set up a remote connection, for example, so employees can carry out their work from home or provide a motorized chair for those who need it.

Buchholz said she doesn’t use Disability Services often but will sometimes to request an interpreter for the first few days of classes or if she needs to talk with human resources.

Rather than abiding by the legal definition for a disability, which Fuecker said can be narrow, UReturn tries to reasonably accommodate anyone who needs it.

“It’s doing the right thing, and it’s good business,” he said.

UReturn has had about 1,900 clients system-wide in the past fiscal year, Fuecker said.

The process of returning to work could begin with several counseling sessions with UReturn employees, Fuecker said, to discuss the issue and determine what’s feasible.

“That’s pretty charged stuff,” he said. “It’s life-changing.”