save north high coalition faq

8/8/2019 Save North High Coalition FAQ

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Frequentlv skQuestionsNorthHishSchool

Updated ctober4,z1t} PreparedyFriends f North NorthHighAlumni

Why s herea proposalo closeNorthnow?

Thebottom ine s he school istrict asnot ransformedtself o bemoreaccountableo the

community.eadershipegins t he op. Theacademicrogram t North ould otbe

transformed ithoutaccountability,upport, nd esourcesrom he district. oucannotnameone

remarkable,nnovative,1-st entury hing he districthasdoneat North n the last en years.North

High tudent's chievementcores reonlysymptoms.Students erform o expectations, uch

likeeveryone lse. hedistrictwould ather hrow ou t ts mostvaluable ssetshan do the hard

lifting o improve ducationalutcomesor North's urrent tudents ndstudentsiving n the

north ide.

Thedistrict el ieveshatsuburbanchools,harters,ndotherMinneapolisreahigh choolsan

do a better ob educating ighschool tudentsrom 55411-han Northcanwith its imited upport

from hedistrict. hedistrictsnotsimply dmitt ingheycannot ducate ur children,heyarealso

requestinghatwe quicklyindmoreappropriatechoolsor hem.

lnsix earsNorth's nrollmenteclined 5percent, utenrollment asbeen ecliningor eight

years. hereareapproximately65students nrolledn NorthHigh.Thedistrict losed schools

that were eeder choolso NorthHigh,withoutever orecasting hatwouldhappeno Northonce

the schools ereclosed. hedistrict losed orth ide chools ithoutan adequate lan or

recruiting tudentso North.Thedistrict eemso maintain rivate ata hat suggest orthside

studentsanget

a better lementary,iddle ndhigh chool ducationf theyattend nyschool

buta north-side,istrict-runublic chool.NorthStar, incoln, i l lard, ranklin,ordan ark,

Shingle reek, ndW. HarryDavis reclosed s radit ional ublic chools, hi leNorthHigh nd

Bethuneeeter. TheNearNorthneighborhoodos t8L0K-B rade tudentsn fouryears 1999-

2003)." al l nternationalaysoonbe he onlytradit ionalublic chooln NearNorthMinneapolis.

Thedistrictsclearly aying eographyetermineshe educationougetmore han eachersnd

instruction. n he past, eography asoftenbeenusedasa substituteo avoidnaming ace.

Did he decisiono makeNortha citywideprogram avean adversempacton enrollment?

No t didnot.Thecitywide rogramwasoneof severalast-minute rogramsmplemented y hedistrict o demonstrateomeefforts o distinguish orthHigh rom otherhighschools.t failed or

three easons: )A yearago, herewasalready verystrong, trategic hisper ampaignha t

NorthHighwouldclosed ithin heyear turns ut hose umorswere rue)2) Fewparents new

about t, even n official ocumentsmailed o parents, orthwasalmostalwaysmentioned san

afterthoughtn he lastparagraph f a letter3) he bureaucraticolicywasmadewithout

communitynvolvement,hichhad herebeen, ommunity ayhave nformedhe districthata

Friendsof North- AlumniAssociation OctoberL4,20L0 Page1



Why wasNorth left out of the recruitmentmaterials astyear?

Northwasnot eft out. n additiono regular istrictproducedmaterials,herewasa whisper

campaignhatNorthwouldbeclosingoon,hatNorthhadno principal,hatNorthwouldnothave

sports,ha t Northwouldget3 newoutside rogramsn he building,hat Northwasbeing

abandonedndwouldn't ave ny reshman.t is notsurprisinghatmany f these hings ave

come o pass, or s t ironichat he realmedia ampaignsed ursocial etworks,tories, nd

conversationso helpdecimateNorth's nrollment. veryesearch tudy ays arents ndstudents

mostly elyon word-of-mouthn choosing school.

Thecommunityhould lso now hatearly ast ummerhedistrict upported riends f Northand

alumnitoworkwith hem o increase orth'sallenrollment. l lsummer e meteach uesday.

However, seachmeeting assed,ewerand ewerpeople romthe district ttended. yAugust,

no one rom he district t tended urpublicmeetingso supportNorthand ncreasenrollment.

Do not be ooledassomeof uswere, his ackof district articipationandsupport-none f our

data equestso the districtwaseverdelivered) as he writingon the wall or decisions hichhad

already eenmade. t alsobemoanshat act hat nearly ll efforts rom he district ver he last

fewyears avebeen azy, naccountable,ndwithoutmerit or public ervants.

Whereare he students oing?

Thereareenough tudentsn 55411tokeepNorthopen.Students remostly hoosing rograms

where heyand heir amilies elievehere smoresupport or academicuccess.hese rograms

aremorewil l ing o educate uryouth,but heoverall utcomes resti l lunacceptable!

Why "throw in the towel" now?You mentioned he mistakes o why not do better?

Thedistrict s not hrowing n he towelnow.Thathappened 0years go .Theywouldhave ou

believehere ssomeurgency ow hat wasn't here astyear,or theyearbefore, r ten years go .

That s not rue.This s he wrongdecision t the worstpossibleime.Thedistrict tillhas he

responsibil i tyo taxpayersnd o Minneapoliso educateesident hildren.f hedistrict anonce

again bandon hildrenivingn 55411to harters,uburbanchools,ndothernon-neighborhood

schoolshenpublic ducations orsome ndnotothers.t wil lbeseparatendunequal. ho

benefitsrom our taxesandpublicsupport?Whot will the children hinkof our community?

With the new eadership ow in place,why can't he school egivenmore ime?

Northhasnot had isionaryeadershipinceMichael avor.Would he district lease harewhat

they earnedrom hisexit nterview?Mr . Favor aNorthHigh raduate,8$) s now he principal t

Cooper.Will he districtplease harewhy Cooper tudent's ducational utcomes ave mproved s

muchasNorth's ave eclined? ochange anhappen t Northwithoutexcellenteadership.

Friendsof North - AlumniAssociation October74,201'0 Page3



II

l

As ateasearlyAugust, orthHigh adnoprincipal. oinghe same hings verandoveragain, ut

expecting ifferent esults,he district ecruited newprincipal utgotan old one,who hadcome

out of retirement. hey ecruitedor a permanent rincipal ut go tanother ransitional,ne-year

principalince ontinuityn eadership ustnot benecessaryo raise tudentestscores.

There asnot bea clear hanneltoindNortha permanent rincipalinceMr. Favoreft.

Why did the superintendentsuggest hat North studentswere not getting a high quality

education?

Some tores arryoverL00kinds f spaghetti auce r salad ressings,oesn'tmean oucan'tea t

well rom a store hat carries ourbrandonly. Northdoesn'tneedeveryprogramhe othersix

comprehensiveigh chools ave, ut t does eed tudent ducationalutcomes hichare

equivalent r better.

What about downsizingother schoolsandreassigning tudents o North so that al l of the

district's schoolscan be equitable?

This saneraof choice nd t is ikelythattheuturewil lbringmore hoices.hedistrictscapable

of providinghe numberone request f everynorthsideparent: greatstudent earner. nstead f

doingeverything ossibleo make hisa reality, istrict eadershiphooseso focusour attention

on abstractionsikenewprograms, ewcharters, ndnewoptions.But herereally sonlyone

choice, greatstudent earner.

Why s he districtprivatizing ublic chools?

Charterchools reonly public" choolsn a narrow, rit ten aw.Also,heyaccept ublic ollars.Butcharter chools re unbyboardswhichhavemembers ho areonlyelectable y a verysmall,

private roupof people. ook o your eft,askyourneighbor:Who electedhe boardof the planned

Minneapolisollege rep harter chool?Where o he boardmembersive? ook head, ouhave

been oodwinked! harter chools o nothave o have nion eachers. harterchools renot as

responsibles he districtor openmeetingsndsharinginancialnformation. leaseompare ny

local harter chool's ebsite o the district's ebsite. 9%of the nformationhat should e

availableo a parentor concerneditizensnot on the charter chool's ebsite.A law o provide

information oesnot rumpwhat actually appens hen here s ittlepublic versight. oyou

know hatonlyOhioandMinnesota llownon-profitusinesses

o authorize/startharter chools?

Nationally, ightypercent f charter chools erform he sameor worse hanpublic chools.

recent tudyby he Minnesota fficeof the Legislativeuditor 2008)ound hat onlyL5 percent f

charter chools erformed etter han heir raditional ublic chool ounterparts.State f

MinnesotaOffice of the Irgislative Auditor, "EvaluationReport:CharterSchools," June2008).1

Friendsof North- AlumniAssociation October14,20L0 Page4



Oneolddefinit ion f publics hatanyone anbe here, ndonce here, o oneperson asmore

rights hananother.Whilecharter chools aveopenenrollment,heycancreate private

environment oridged, r segregated,r unwelcominghat students nd amilieswill choose ot o

enroll r chooseo quicklyeave. orexample, charter chool ancreate rulewhich ays ouwil l

besuspendedf youweara brownbelt instead f black) r smack our ipsor chewgum. Second

example,idyouknow hat a charter chool anenroll eacher'shild efore ours r hat a

charter choolmust accept brothera sister f a current tudentbefore our child? Acharter

school hal l ivepreferenceor enrol lmento a s ibl ing f anenrol led upi l nd o a foster hi ld f

thatpupi l 's arents ndmaygivepreferenceor enrol l inghi ldren f he school 'seachersefore

acceptingtherpupils y ot.See: ttps://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=124D.101hird example,

charter chools re al lowed o use otter ies o choose tudents. s ongas hey publ ish

lot terypol icy, charter chool anusescratch f fs or bingo o determinewho mayenrol l .

Whathappensnside charter choolsmuchmorearbitraryhanwhathappensnside ublic

schools.

Lastly, lthough harter chools re uition-free,manyareallowed o chargeor necessary

uniforms,earningmaterialshat are ostor destroyed,ecurity eposits, ndpossibly tudent

detention.

FromFailedPromises: ssessingharterSchoolsn the TwinCities lnstitute n Race nd

Poverty University f Minnesota November 008

"Conclusion:his eport inds hat charter choolsn theTwinCitiesmetrohavenot

servedhe students f the TwinCitiesmetrowell.Charter choolsn he region re

performing orse han he radit ional ublic chools cademicallymeasuredy est

scores) ndsociallymeasuredysegregationates)."

lf this s onlya recommendation,hy does t seem ike t's oo late o "saveNorth?"

Thesuperintendentidesbehind he thinnest ndmostoutrageousib , "what'sbest or the

students?" f the district oulddeterminewhat sbest or students, e wouldn'tbe n this mess

that s really generational-longroblem.

What sbest or ouryouth

areneighborhoodublic chools heregreat eaching,igh

expectations,ndcommunityupport roduce tudents hocan earn nything,hink or

themselves,ndnot be bamboozledy powerful eople ctingn heirown self-interests.his s

the education e received t NorthCommunity ighSchool.We expect othingess or another

t22years.GOPOLARS!

Friendsof North- AlumniAssociation October14,2010 Page5



The main indings rom MinnesotaVoluntaryPublicSchoolChoice Multi-YearEvaluation ummary

Prepared or the MinnesotaDepartmentof Educationby ASPEN ssociates, nc. May 22,2009

FINDING 34. Over afour-year period, the achievement esultswere mixed.In two of the four

years,suburbanchoiceparticipantsoutperformed he eligible, non-participants.Anotheryear, the eligible non-parlicipants ared better than the suburbanchoiceparticipants.

One year, they fared equally well. These rends held true for low-performing students.

Finally, in all but one year,suburbanchoice studentswho were new to theprogram

and those hat were returning performedequally well.

http:l/education.state.mn.us/mdeprod/groups/Choice/documents/Report/014851.pdf

Ournracu: Despiteongoingoutreachefforts targetingother ethnic groups, he suburbanchoice

programcontinues o atffactprimarily African American studentsand families living on the north

and near-northside of Minneapolis. The avallabllity of academics ontinues o be important to all

parents.As the suburbanchoiceprogram strengthens ts languagesupportprograms, his optionmay becomemore appealing o other ethnicgroups.

On average, ess thanhalf of studentswho participate n the suburbanChoice s Yours progrcm return a

secondyear.

TlteChoit^es I olrt h'ograrrrPercentof StrrdertsWho Retrurt o S*bru'bauChoiceScherols r,, -ear

1001-0: throrlsli?007-08

Sotuce: Iiureapolis Public Schools.StudenfAccauntitg Office. N{ay2008.Basecl n of&cial 'tar-endeuoiineuts

Disuic:

:001101

1-r Erd

:0(€io-l

PercentRsrtJi

:003,0.1

Pera€*tRenuri

2004/05

Perc€lrt&eRtr1r

t005ro6

PilcerfRenulr

2006i07

Pefcel}tRen]l.

2007;08

PercentRetua

? 1'ear

Yr EndTot&l

? 'ear

Refimt oftll

l vea{

Renur.+1:c

Ricbileld -ts 61qi) 62qt 55% 5l 550..i 5?o.i) 95 { so o

Edila 51 9+Cn llo..i) 78S.'i 66o'd 819,6 6?q6 90 3 5+9 60co

St. Louis Pa* ii l lgo 6'toril 59o.'a 7 S.i) :79b S-r-9b -! t ,16: 50ui)

Hopiiils 81-6.a ?40i, 689.,o 6So,i 660,6 580,,o t 125 574 510.o

Robbirsdale t90 55q6 689-n 650.0 6lC.ir 6S-qt 620,; :6 r l3-t,l 510.6

lta-\.zata ia 97o.a 6{9i, 6.lo.i .- 0 ?Osi) l0oo 99 9 { t1 :+9n

Cohuribia Hts ?? *lo.ir '74a/o 48% 4:,qi) 53o.,ir S lon ti lE J,t6 39o:o

Sr. Anlhofi_v 1{ 640.,s 600.a 850,n .{?9* RSo.i' ?59n sfi.l 2l.I {So n

EdenPmuie :9-q."6 5 o,ir l :9 l7 l99o

ltal End Toln] 472 724 l0-r{ 1.1-i: I 561 1967 1997 90s3 4,188

Pertenl 6+q']6 680i 6-59.i 6l9i 659:ir 6I9ir {rqi,

Friendsof North - AlumniAssociation October14,201'0 Page6



HALF f the kidswho attendedhe ChoicesYoursProgramransferred ut of two zipcodes: 5411 nd

554L2.

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Friendsof North - AlumniAssociation OctoberL4,20L0



2o1o Minnesota Statutes

I23B.O2 GENERAL POWERS OF INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICTS

Subdivision l.Board authority.

The board must have the generalchargeof the businessof the district, the school

houses,and of the interestsof the schools hereof. The board'sauthority to govern,

manage,and control the district; to carry ou t its dutiesand responsibilities;and to conduct

the businessof the district includes mplied powers n addition to any specificpowers

grantedby the legislature.

Subd.2.Facilities for school-agechildren.

ft is the dutv and the function of the district to furnish school facilities to everv

child of school ase residine in anv part of the district. The board may establishandorganizeand alter and discontinue such gradesor schools as it may deem advisable and

assign o each schooland gradea proper number of pupils. The board shall provide free

textbooks for the pupils of the district.

Subd.3.Limitation on participation and financial support.

(a) A district must not be required by any type of formal or informal agreement

except an agreement o provide building spaceaccording to parcgraph(f), including a

joint powers agreement,or membership n any cooperative unit defined in section

1234.24. subdivision2, to participate n or provide financial support or the purposesof

the agreement or a time period in excessof four fiscal years, or the time period set forthin this subdivision. Any agreement,pafi of an agreement,or other type of requirementto

the contrary is void. This paragraph applies only to agreementsentered nto betweenJuly

l ,1993, andJune30,1999.

(b) This subdivisionshall not affect the continued iability of a district for its shareof

bonded ndebtednessor other debt incurred as a result of any agreementbefore July 1,

1993.The district is liable only until the obligation or debt is dischargedand only

according to the payment schedule n effect on July I, 1993, except that the payment

schedulemay be altered for the purposeof restructuring debt or refunding bonds

outstandingon July l, 1993, f the annualpaymentsof the district arenot increasedand fthe total obligation of the schooldistrict fo r its shareof outstandingbondsor other debt s

not increased.

Friendsof North- AlumniAssociation October14,20L0 PageB

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