Lao Family Community of Minnesota: A struggle in the right direction

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A well known organization in the Hmong community has been undergoing a large change since March 2013, and it’s being spearheaded by a group of six young Hmong women who just recently graduated from college. Under Lao Family Community of Minnesota (LFC), the Hmong Higher Education Scholar Program (HHESP) was developed to encourage educational attainment and leadership in the Hmong community. Not only does this signal a change of direction for the organization, but a change of leadership.Lao Family Community of Minnesota (LFC) is a 30-year-old organization that was founded in 1977 to lift the Hmong refugee community, coming from Thailand and Laos, up by providing social services, educating the Hmong population on American culture, and also providing cultural activities. Today, youth make up the bulk of the Hmong population, gender norms are changing, and refugee issues are no longer ‘issues.’ But in recent years, instead of being known for its leadership or community activities, LFC has come under fire for charges of corruption, clan politics, election fraud, and struggles to maintain relevance in the Hmong community.“I guess from the beginning I didn’t know we had an option to work with Lao Family,” said Ka Lia Lor, a member of HHESP. “It’s never really been that kind of community organization where you just walk in and contribute your ideas. Continue Reading

Parents not thrilled with Minneapolis Public Schools five-year enrollment plan meeting

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Approximately sixty parents and community members turned out to listen to Area A Assistant Superintendent Michael Thomas explain the Minneapolis Public Schools’ new five-year enrollment plan. The October 1 community engagement meeting was held at Anwatin Middle School in the Bryn Mawr neighborhood. The focus of this meeting was on Area A, Zone 1, which is in North Minneapolis. Changes under the plan will affect Sheridan, North High, the Davis Center, Cityview and Lincoln schools, as well as Hmong International Academy, Minneapolis College Preparatory and Pierre Bottineau French Immersion school. (See Zone 1 Recommended Changes – PDF document attached.)Thomas used a Powerpoint to introduce key points of the plan, taking a few questions from the audience as he went. Continue Reading

Minneapolis Roosevelt High parent advocates greater academic challenge, more parent involvement

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When Minneapolis parent Rachel Skildum-LeGarde is asked about what she is looking for in a school for her children, her answer comes quickly: she wants challenging and rigorous academics, strong art, theater, and music offerings, and a solid athletics program.Her three oldest children are currently enrolled at Roosevelt High School in south Minneapolis, and so far, Skildum-LeGarde is cautiously optimistic about the education they are receiving there. In her view, Roosevelt is making “a lot of strides” in its music and art departments, and Skildum-LeGarde also feels that Roosevelt has offered her children a “fairly good” sports program.When it comes to academics at Roosevelt, however, Skildum-LeGarde is not quite convinced that her children are getting a solid, comprehensive education. While Roosevelt is an IB (International Baccalaureate) school, Skildum-LeGarde notes that that program, with its emphasis on critical thinking and deeper student engagement, does not start until the 11th and 12th grades.Skildum-LeGarde said there is not a program in place, such as the “Middle Years” program for grades 6-10 that some IB schools have, to ensure 9th and 10th graders are being academically challenged. In fact, Skildum-LeGarde feels her son is getting an “easy” A in English class this year as a 10th grader, and wonders whether or not he’ll be adequately prepared to start the rigorous IB program next year, as a junior.For her, this is important. She said that, while she does “try to supplement” her children’s education at home, they are at school for up to ten hours a day, with classes and after-school activities, and she’d like to feel as though they are getting the “best start possible” on a path to college.Skildum-LeGarde serves on both the DPAC (the district’s citywide parent group) and the Title 7 Parent Committee, which is for Native American parents, and she thinks finding more and better ways for parents to get involved in their children’s education is important. Continue Reading

State-wide survey shows schools changing to increase students’ safety

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Increased student safety is very much on the minds of the more than 45 urban, suburban and rural Minnesota school leaders who responded to a recent survey. Many districts and charter public schools have talked with police, conducted audits of buildings and then made changes to their buildings. Many also have modified procedures of working with visitors, families and students. Every school and district contacted reported some security upgrades. Here’s what several school leaders told me: Continue Reading

Labor Day? I’ve been laboring for months!

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The heat has broke, thank god. Let me just say, the worst thing about last week’s heat wave wasn’t the oppressive temperatures, or the soul-crushing humidity. No, the worst part of last week was the fact that they cancelled school for those buildings without air conditioning. Continue Reading

Minneapolis family finds global learning opportunities at Windom Dual Immersion School

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A new school year has just begun at Windom Dual Immersion School in south Minneapolis, and second grader Libby Bures and her sister Josie, who is starting kindergarten, will be there. The two girls will be learning Spanish along with the usual academic subjects, and this is ultimately a significant part of what led their parents, Bridgit Jordan and Frank Bures, to choose Windom for their children.The way Bridgit Jordan sees it, the Minneapolis public schools offer “great and diverse choices” to parents. Although she is appreciative of these choices, Jordan says that she and her husband Frank Bures also found the school choice process to be “overwhelming.”As they searched for a school for their oldest daughter, Libby, a few years ago, Jordan recalls touring schools and not being sure “what to pay attention to.” There was seemingly so much to factor in to the decision, such as “learning philosophies, principals, gut feelings,” and what parents and kids “had to say about the school.”Finally, what won Jordan and Bures over to Windom was the small size of the school, which made it seem accessible and welcoming, and the fact that it is a dual immersion school, meaning students at the school can become fluent in both Spanish and English. As Jordan put it, “Our children would leave the program fluent in another language, opening doors for their future.”Since becoming a Windom School family, Jordan and Bures have been impressed with what they’ve found. Jordan describes a school community where “all of the teachers have connected with us and our children in a very personal way” through hugs, emails, and visits outside of regular school hours. Continue Reading

Winning the school lottery: Minneapolis family chooses Clara Barton

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When it came time to choose a school for her two children, Minneapolis resident Jody King knew where she wanted them to be: Clara Barton Open School in southwest Minneapolis. For King, getting her kids into Barton felt like “winning the lottery.” That’s exactly what the school choice process for Minneapolis magnet schools uses for schools that, like Clara Barton, have more applicants than spaces.FULL DISCLOSURE: The author of this article is also a Barton parent.King wanted a K-8 school, and one that provided a “nurturing, safe place,” for her son, Anthony, and her daughter, Maya. What she found at Barton was a “supportive community of families and teachers.” Some unique aspects of Barton’s Open School focus were especially attractive. Students at Barton, for example, stay with their classroom teacher for two years in first-sixth grades, and King ended up seeing the benefits of this longer connection between teacher and child.Seventh and eighth grade students at Barton often pair up with early primary students in a “buddy” system. The older kids are matched with a younger child for the whole school year, and they spend time reading books together, getting to know one another, and doing some classroom work as a team. Continue Reading

Too hot to learn? Patrick Henry students speak out in Minneapolis

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At 3 p.m. on Tuesday, August 27, students spilled out of Patrick Henry High School in Minneapolis, hands waving in front of their faces like makeshift fans. It was hot outside, and maybe even hotter inside Henry’s nearly 100-year-old building.At a press conference called by north Minneapolis non-profit Neighborhoods Organizing for Change (NOC), along with the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, organizers spoke about how the early start date for Minneapolis schools has impacted students and staff during this late August heat wave.No teachers showed up to speak at the press conference, but students had plenty to say. Sophomore Laura Sosa and her friend, junior Karen Miranda, said the school was “really hot,” which made them “tired” during the school day. Both girls said that some classrooms had temperatures of over 99 degrees, and that teachers “were complaining” about this.Sosa and Miranda also were grateful for the Gatorade-type water jugs provided by the district. Each filled their own water bottles several times during the day with the district-provided water.Also speaking outside the school was freshman Shaheed Bell, who said that the heat made students “not very productive.” Shaheed said that, while he didn’t think the lack of air conditioning was “unfair,” given how old the Henry building is, he does think school should start “after Labor Day.” Bell said it was so hot inside the school that no one could concentrate on their work.Senior Todd Riser also spoke out, saying students were “drowsy,” and “didn’t want to work.” According to Riser, a chemistry teacher told the students that their classroom temperature was “over 100 degrees.” In Riser’s view, such intense heat made it hard to concentrate.Anthony Newby, who is the executive director of NOC, called the press conference to raise awareness of equity issues. Continue Reading