Project SUCCESS aims to help kids better achieve goals

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Founder and Executive Director of Project SUCCESS Adrienne Diercks formed the program in 1994 with the goal of helping students reach their dream. This is a Community Voices submission and is moderated but not edited. The opinions expressed by Community Voices contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the TC Daily Planet. “Our mission…is to inspire young people to dream about their future and help them take the steps to get there,” she said. “Give them the tools to take them through the rest of their lives. Continue Reading

Keep up the good work

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It’s the end of the year and almost the start of a new year. That means it’s the time of year when the Saint Paul Public School District’s Board of Education gives SPPS Superintendent Valeria Silva their full and unyielding support and signs the contract that keeps Silva in power for yet another year. District employees received the notice from the SPPS Board of Education today. Of course, why wouldn’t the Board of Education stamp their seal of approval for Saint Paul’s top administrator? Silva’s list of achievements include: Continue Reading

Northside Achievement Zone gets mid-term report card

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Almost three years ago, the Spokesman-Recorder reported on the origins and mission of the Northside Achievement Zone, or NAZ, which was described as “a $28 million social experiment” whose goal was “increasing educational outcomes so that kids and families have opportunities that they can point to” over the following five years. (“Northside Achievement Zone envisions a ‘tipping-point’ of success,” MSR February 22, 2012)

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Bernadeia Johnson steps down as Minneapolis Public Schools superintendent

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In a surprise move, Minneapolis Public Schools Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson resigned on Tuesday, Dec. 16, at an annual school board organizational meeting.Superintendent Johnson cited family commitments as a key reason for her resignation, saying in a letter given to school board chair Richard Mammen that she felt it was the right time for her to step aside and allow another candidate to help move the district forward.In an email sent to MPS personnel on Dec. 16, Johnson also mentions a desire to attend to family concerns, saying that her decision to resign should not be taken as a sign that she has lost faith in some of her key initiatives. “Rather, I am acknowledging that the role of superintendent for the next phase of the work requires a level of intensity and focus to which I am unable to fully commit at this time,” Johnson wrote.However, for North Minneapolis community activist Kerry Jo Felder, who was there when Johnson submitted her resignation, the superintendent’s four year tenure has been less than successful. “I’m glad to see her go,” said Felder. Continue Reading

What will become of Dinkytown’s Southeast Library?

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Dinkytown could soon lose its public library, but Hennepin County will ultimately decide if that’s worth it, or if they should replace or upgrade it.The four neighborhoods that surround the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis are underserved by library services and space, said a consultant who organized a study that could be the first step toward determining whether the Southeast Library at Dinkytown will be updated or replaced.Steve Kelley, senior fellow at the University’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs, was the lead consultant to coordinate the 25-member, four-month Southeast Library Engagement project for Hennepin County. He summarized their report on Dec. 15 to the directors of the University District Alliance.Kelley said his report will be transmitted by Dec. 31 to the Hennepin County commissioners and the library administration, which will decide whether to remodel, replace or close the current Southeast Library at 1222 Fourth St. S.E. Kelley’s task, however, was to discover what activities the four university neighborhoods – the West Bank/Cedar-Riverside, Marcy-Holmes, Prospect Park, and Southeast Como – need in library services and space, separate from any particular location.His graduate student researchers and community meetings demonstrated a strong desire for a traditional library with stacks of books that can be browsed, with places to meet and study, and large and small meeting rooms.Libraries are still strongly associated with reading, he said, and with children. Continue Reading

Students challenge who defines U of M diversity, President declines invite to meet off-campus

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Whose Diversity? is a diverse “collective” of University of Minnesota undergraduate and graduate students who came together at the beginning of the year to argue against what they call a “cosmetic” commitment to diversity at the school. After they presented a list of “diversity demands” to President Eric Kaler, the group was featured in an MSR June front page story (“Student group presents ‘diversity demands’ to U of M officials: ‘Whose Diversity?’ resists cooptation, wants more than ‘sprinkling a few faces of color in catalogues,’” June 12, 2014),

After a December 1 meeting last week with Kaler and the group at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, a University statement emailed to the MSR said, “The meeting was productive. We look forward to working with all students, faculty and staff as we continue to address the important issues affecting campus climate.”
This article is reposted from TCDP media partner Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. Check out the links below for other recent Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder stories:

Five big steps across the achievement gap
Sci-fi author places Black people, history at the center of the universe

Group members, however, say they will “push” Kaler and other school administrators to do more. Continue Reading

Harambee: Let’s pull together to dismantle the cradle-to-prison pipeline

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During my recent travels to Tanzania, I had the opportunity to learn more about the education system. The most important lesson I learned was community members play a key role in the building a network of support for each student. This network plays a critical role in accelerating academic achievement and advancing personal development. While visiting classrooms in Tanzania, I met aspiring doctors, lawyers, engineers and even a young woman who stated confidently, “I will be president of Tanzania.” Throughout our visit, I witnessed firsthand community members working together to help children learn, thrive and grow. I also watched as the adage that it takes a village to raise a child came alive. One example is the notion of “harambee” which means “let’s pull together.” Continue Reading

Vanishing bandwidth

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Superintendent Silva’s decision last spring to provide every Saint Paul Public School student with an iPad in two years has not proven to be a seamless transition for SPPS staff and students. For those students who have received iPads it sometimes takes several minutes for web pages to load on their devices. Quite often the students are unable to download apps due to a dearth of bandwidth available to the devices. The network remains sluggish and iPads often lose their IP Addresses that allow them to access the network and the Internet. This generally means the iPads need to be restarted in hopes that the devices will be able to connect to the district network after they restart. Continue Reading