Final pre-endorsement forum for Minneapolis school board candidates

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With a theme of “Why We Can’t Wait,” current Minneapolis School Board member Tracine Asberry hosted a school board candidate forum at Martin Luther King Park on April 24. The forum was intended to address school board governance questions, and it brought together citywide candidates Rebecca Gagnon, Ira Jourdain, Iris Altamirano, Doug Mann, and Andrew Minck, along with District Five candidates Jay Larson and Nelson Inz.Asberry’s forum, which was described as being sponsored by partners and supporters of “Team Tracine,” was moderated by Victor Cedeno of Generation Next and included pre-determined governance questions as well as questions from the audience and from Minneapolis high school students.An audience of around fifty people listened as the candidates sought to distinguish themselves from one another before the April 26 Minneapolis DFL Convention. The first question asked the candidates what they would look for in a future superintendent, which led to calls for someone who would lead with transparency and what Altamirano called a “collaborative yet decisive” approach to the job.As the forum progressed, a high school sophomore from Washburn asked what the candidates would do to allow for “more inclusion of Latin American history” in the district’s classrooms. In response, most candidates spoke about how they would push for the greater inclusion of parent and student voices regarding what is taught in schools, with Mann saying he would want to look at what is present and what is missing in the curriculum.Become a supporting member of the Twin Cities Daily Planet. A Bryn Mawr parent asked how to further diversify the literature students are exposed to in district classrooms. In response, current board member Gagnon said that the board is in charge of curriculum, but not Focused Instruction, which some have said emphasizes a more narrow, standardized approach to the classroom. She then went on to say that she supports the IB (International Baccalaureate) program currently used in the district because she believes it does “pull in” materials that represent broader perspectives.Mann said today’s curriculum is “still about patriotism” and therefore offers a limited view of history and literature, while Minck said he believes teachers should use as many sources and resources as possible throughout grades K-12. Continue Reading

More segregation, higher discipline rates for black students in Minneapolis charter schools

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According to data released by the Office of Civil Rights, all 44 Minneapolis charter schools have a student body that consists of over 40% students of a single race or ethnicity. Of these schools, two are completely racially segregated, meaning there are only students of one race enrolled in the schools, and 13 others have over 90% students of one race or ethnicity. A total of 10,949 students were enrolled in Minneapolis charter schools during the 2011-2012 school year.The chart above shows the number of Minneapolis charter schools by the predominant race of their student body. The colors on each bar represent the dominant race in each school. Placement on the chart shows the percent of the student body made up of a single race. Continue Reading

Minneapolis School Board candidates give their solutions to public school problems

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Delegates to the April 26 Minneapolis DFL City Convention, along with a handful of parents and educators, sat in the half-filled auditorium April 17 at Sabathani Community Center to hear candidates for the Minneapolis School Board give their views on what can be done to improve public school education in the city. The forum was sponsored by the Coalition for Quality Public Schools, a group focused on addressing racial and economic disparities in local schools.The candidates faced moderator Nicque Mabrey, an associate director at Out Front Minnesota and an anti-bullying advocate, along with a panel of four community members who posed questions about high-stakes standardized testing, bullying, class size, school closures, discipline policies and community schools.“We want to bring together different view points,” said Mabrey. “We have to transform school culture and focus on the first steps to change.”The candidates – Siad Ali from the 3rd District, Jay Larson and Nelson Inz from the 5th District, and Iris Altamirano, Rebecca Gagnon, Ira Jourdain, and Andrew Minck running for two at-large seats – are seeking the party’s endorsement. At-large candidate Doug Mann, a democratic socialist, is seeking an indorsement from the Green Party.All the candidates agreed that there are troubling problems with local schools, including ethnic differences in graduation rates. While graduation rates are rising, 21 percent of students still don’t finish high school. Continue Reading

Daily Planet offers free video class in preparation for One Day in the Twin Cities event

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Citizens across the Twin Cities will take to their camcorders and smartphones Saturday, April 26 as part of the cities-wide media creation event, One Day in the Twin Cities.One Day in the Twin Cities is a local project of One Day on Earth to “inform the future of our cities,” according to the event website. Eleven cities across the country, including the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, are taking part in the event, and the Twin Cities Daily Planet is hoping to help aspiring participants share their stories.The Twin Cities Daily Planet is hosting a free, two-hour class on the basics of camcorder and smartphone video making. The class will be lead by Eleonore Wesserle, a trainer and facilitator with Line Break Media.The class will be held from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 22 at The Common Table, 2001 Riverside Ave. in Minneapolis. Continue Reading

COMMUNITY VOICES | University of Minnesota faculty statement on the visit of Dr. Condoleezza Rice

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[Editor’s note: This is the text of a petition/statement by University of Minnesota faculty members objecting to this week’s visit by Dr. Condoleezza Rice.] On April 17, 2014, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will visit the University of Minnesota to give the Distinguished Carlson Lecture, an annual activity of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, endowed by a private gift from the Carlson Foundation. This year, the lecture has an additional significance, as it is part of the series of events entitled, “Keeping Faith with a Legacy of Justice,” sponsored by the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the American Civil Rights Act of 1964. As the flagship speaker for the main event of the series, Dr. Rice is explicitly being honored as a civil rights leader and being brought in to speak about civil rights given her purported leadership and expertise on American civil rights.We, the undersigned University of Minnesota faculty, are grateful to the Carlson Family for their past and current generosity. The Carlson family and Foundation have supported a variety of important projects on campus over the years, and have greatly enriched our environment.We have no objection to Dr. Rice visiting our campus. Indeed, as strong advocates of the right to free speech, we welcome anyone – including Dr. Rice – into our community to engage in an open exchange of ideas.In that very spirit of free expression, however, and in our commitment to the principles of truth and the common good that are inscribed above the entrance to Northrop Auditorium where Dr. Rice will speak, we object to the circumstances of this particular visit. Continue Reading

Kahn, Noor head to primary battle as convention fails to endorse

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Longtime State Representative Phyllis Kahn lost out on a DFL endorsement at the 2014 Senate District 60 Endorsing Convention on April 5, as Somali candidate and current school board member Mohamud Noor brought enough delegates to keep her vote total below the 60 percent needed for endorsement. The convention at De La Salle High School, which lasted nearly 10 hours, ended without an endorsement of either candidate, leaving them both to vie against each other in the August primary.Kahn is currently serving her 21st term in the state legislature, serving as chair of the Legacy Committee in addition to sitting on numerous other committees. She’s perhaps best known for being the chief author of Minnesota’s smoking ban.Noor currently serves on the Minneapolis School Board, where he was appointed to the late Hussein Samatar’s seat in December. Noor previously ran for the Minnesota State Senate seat now held by Kari Dziedzic, who narrowly beat him in the 2011 primary.Somali City Council member Abdi Warsame, who was elected in 2013, worked on Noor’s 2011 campaign, but in this race has supported Phyllis Kahn, who lent her support to him during his campaign. [See sidebar about Warsame’s role at the convention.] Abdi Warsame and delegate credentialsAmong the many confusions at the endorsing convention was whether Minneapolis council member Abdi Warsame would be a delegate. Continue Reading

Brother, sister carry on family gourmet tradition at Otra Cocina in St. Paul

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Miguel Linares and his sister Maria “Piti” Capouch inherited their father’s philosophy and gourmet Mexican recipes. Now their Otra Cocina Mexican restaurant (1193 Payne Avenue, St. Paul) features both. According to the duo, Otra Cocina is much more than a restaurant:”It is a museum of fine dining. It is culinary art, a way of presenting our culture through food, hence its name. Continue Reading

‘School-to-prison pipeline, stop, stop, stop!’

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Twin Cities youth and their adult allies received supportive honking and shouting from drivers as they gathered with banners at the intersection of University Avenue and Lexington Parkway in St. Paul on March 13. Their aim: to raise awareness about discipline concerns in schools and to demonstrate against the school-to-prison pipeline.The group of about 30 advocates marched down University Avenue to Gordon Parks High School where they were joined by additional students and supporters. Standing in front of Gordon Parks High School, some students took turns sharing personal experiences with disciplinary action in schools.This was the second rally organized in recent weeks by the NAACP St. Paul Youth and Collegiate Branch. Continue Reading

Recent graduates weigh in on International Baccalaureate

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Isaiah Breen, who went to Southwest High School and received an International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma, said his experience with the program prepared him very well for his college career.Breen, who went to UC Berkeley and now lives in Washington D.C. where he’s a staffer for Keith Ellison, said he chose the IB program because of the rigor that was promised with it. “I was a nerd in middle school,” he said. “I had some sense that I wanted to do whatever was the most academically challenging. In retrospect, I guess that’s weird for an eighth grader,” he said.For students choosing a high school or planning ahead for their college career, Minnesota schools offer options for accelerated learning that not only look good on a college application, but also can earn college credit. In this series, we looked at two dual credit options — Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate. Continue Reading

International Baccalaureate — “Teaching the whole person”

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As high school students race to achieve and to get into college, International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement courses vie for enrollment. What are these programs, commonly known as IB and AP? What do teachers and students think about their experience?For students choosing a high school or planning ahead for their college career, Minnesota schools offer options for accelerated learning that not only look good on a college application, but also can earn college credit. In this series, we looked at two dual credit options — Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate. (Post Secondary Enrollment Options or PSEO and College in the Schools are two other options.) The articles in this series compare the AP and IB on the basis of cost, rigor, requirements, and student experiences. Continue Reading