AMSD Newsletter Features Task Force Recommendations

The February 2011 newsletter of the Association of Metropolitan School Districts (AMSD) features an article on the Task Force Recommendatons.  To read the full article, click on the link below.

AMSD Connections - February 2011

Final Report and Recommendations

On Monday, January 17, 2011, MSIC released the Final Report and Recommendations from the Statewide Task Force on School Integration.  According to MSIC President, Kathy Griebel, "It is most fitting that as we celebrate the life and work of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we offer Minnesota the opportunity to create an integrated society that ensures equal opportunity for all of its children.  Strong integration policy is a key strategy that will move our state toward achieving equitable outcomes for all learners."    Now is the time to renew our commitment to every child, every day.

To read the full report, click on the link below:

Final Report and Recommendations

NAACP Summit on Education to Look at Return of Segregation

The NAACP Daisy Bates Education Summit honors the late Daisy Bates, former president of the Arkansas State Conference of the NAACP and advisor in 1957 to the Little Rock Nine, the students who braved hostile opponents of integration to Central High School.  Despite mob threats and intimidation, cross burnings on her property, and other acts of attempted violence, Mrs. Bates persisted because of her strong beliefs.The 2010 Daisy Bates Summit will convene grassroots organizers from across the country in early December to focus on moving the NAACP’s education agenda forward with a combination of traditional and innovative education organizing techniques conducted in concert with local allies.

NAACP Summit on Education to Look at Return of Segregation

Students and others talk of the benefits of integration initiatives

West Central Tribune
Linda Vanderwerf - 11/11/2010

http://www.wctrib.com/event/article/id/74654/

WILLMAR — The two juniors from Worthington High School stood on the stage of the theater at Kennedy Elementary School and described the effect the Nobles County Integration Collaborative has had on their lives. They have gone on college visits, gotten help with homework and learned leadership skills, said Ananaya Alwal. Both girls said they were from large, single-parent families. “We feel that without the collaborative, we wouldn’t be as motivated,” said Apoman Abella. The staff members of Nobles County Integration Collaborative “are there all the time,” Alwal said. “Now, we have a broader future to look forward to.” The girls and more than 50 other people attended a listening session conducted by a task force of the Minnesota School Integration Council. The task force is preparing a report for the Minnesota Legislature to describe what integration collaboratives are doing for students across the state. Becky Marquez, an employee of the West Central Integration Collaborative who works in the BOLD School District, welcomed the group by speaking about the goals of collaboratives. They were developed by the state to address the needs of school districts that have much larger minority populations than surrounding districts. They provide services to all districts that are members. Collaborative programs can include foreign language classes in elementary schools and school success coordinators to help struggling students stay on track to finish high school. They teach students in member districts about different cultures and about respect for others. People who testified at the session came from as far away as Worthington and Pelican Rapids. The work of the integration collaboratives has increased parental involvement for minorities and has helped keep a cross-section of students in school, they said. They listed some barriers to their work, particularly transportation to bring students from different rural districts together for activities. In a small-group discussion, participants talked about programs offered in different collaboratives and shared their personal stories. “I can say I wouldn’t be speaking English if the collaborative wasn’t there,” one young man said. Several also raised the issue of disparate funding. The first integration collaboratives were in Minneapolis, St. Paul and Duluth. They are allowed more money per pupil unit than the rural collaboratives which were created later. Collaborative funding comes from state aid and also from local property taxes in member districts. The Minnesota School Integration Council organized the task force after the Legislature failed to pass funding for a state task force to study integration. The group has held a series of listening sessions around the state and will deliver its report to the Legislature in January. Area members of the statewide task force include Willmar Mayor Les Heitke, New London-Spicer Superintendent Paul Carlson and community representative Margie Aranda.

Feedback Survey

MSIC is gathering input regarding school integration through an online feedback form. To share your perspective, complete the survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/school_integration_in_MN by

Monday, November 15.

Regional Listening Sessions

. To support the work of the task force, MSIC will facilitate five regional listening sessions. These public meetings will provide a forum to include a variety of perspectives related to essential questions guiding the work of the task force.    Listening sessions will focus on the following areas of study:

·        Purpose of Integration (What are our values?)

·        Recommended Policies (What outcomes do we want?)

·        Effective Practices (How do we achieve our desired outcomes?)

Date	Time	Location
Tuesday, November 9	6:00-8:00 PM	University of Minnesota Rochester University Square, Room 414 111 South Broadway Rochester, MN 55904 Co-sponsored by Univeristy of Minnesota Rochester, Rochester Diversity Council, and Rochester Public Schools
Tuesday, November 9	6:00-8:00 PM	Kennedy Elementary Little Theater 824 7th Street SW Willmar MN 56201
Wednesday, November 10	6:00-8:00 PM	Duluth Public Schools Historic Old Center High School (HOCHS) Administration Offices, Public Boardroom 215 North First Avenue East Duluth, MN  55802
Thursday, November  11	5:30-7:30 PM	University of Minnesota: UROC (Urban Research and Outreach/Engagement Center) 2001 Plymouth Avenue North Minneapolis, MN 55411 612-626-UROC (8762)uroc@umn.edu
Monday, November 15	6:30-8:30 PM	Ramsey County Library – Roseville 2180 North Hamline Roseville MN 55113 (651) 628-6803

Your organization is invited to attend a listening session and provide input to the task force.  If your organization would like to present prepared comments for the task force, please send an email request to MSICinfo@gmail.com.  Indicate which listening session you plan to attend and identify a contact person for your organization.

"Call me MISTER" Initiative

The mission of the Call Me MISTER (acronym for Mentors Instructing Students Toward Effective Role Models) Initiative is to increase the pool of available teachers from a broader more diverse background.  Student participants are largely selected from among under-served, socio-economically disadvantaged and educationally at-risk communities. 

To learn more, read this MinnPost article (10-11-10).