The final redistribution proposal for Minneapolis Public Schools will reduce the number of magnet schools and relocate them to the city center, reduce the number of isolated schools, and make fewer surviving students than originally planned.
The comprehensive school district design plan released on Friday will overturn the state’s third university district, redefining attendance boundaries and other major changes to take effect in the 2021-22 school year. The purpose of the redistribution is to resolve ethnic differences, narrowing achievement gaps and an estimated budget deficit of nearly US$20 million.
“We don’t think our students have the ability to wait patiently. We must take immediate action to create conditions for them to succeed.”
The existing routes in the area have caused schools to be more isolated, while schools on the north side have worse performance. District leaders say the proposal will help achieve better racial balance and avoid the potential closure of schools with insufficient enrollment rates.
Although most parents think that a major repair is needed, many parents have postponed the plan. They said that the school district provided little detailed information about the reorganization of the entire system, which could destroy many students and educators, thereby addressing the achievement gap. They believe that some of the more important suggestions came later in the process and deserve more scrutiny.
This debate may exacerbate the final school board vote scheduled for April 28. Although parents expressed opposition, they fear that the final plan will not be hindered in any way under the unprecedented virus devastation.
According to CDD’s final proposal, the area will have 11 magnets instead of 14 magnets. Popular magnets such as open education, urban environment and international bachelor’s degrees will be cancelled, and the focus will be on new programs for global research and the humanities and sciences, technology, and engineering. , Art and mathematics.
Barton, Dowling, Folwell, Bancroft, Whittier, Windom, Anwatin and Ordnance Eight schools such as Armatage will lose their appeal. Six community schools (Bethune, Franklin, Sullivan, Green, Anderson and Jefferson) will become attractive.
Eric Moore, head of research and equality affairs for the school district, said the reorganization will transfer many magnets to larger buildings, adding about 1,000 seats for students who want to attend the school.
Based on the bus routes required to support simulated admissions, the school district estimates that the reorganization will save approximately $7 million in transportation costs each year. These savings will help fund academic courses and other operating costs. Regional leaders also predict that improvements to the Magnet School will result in a capital cost of $6.5 million in the next five years.
Sullivan and Jefferson maintain the grade configuration, which will reduce but not eliminate K-8 schools.
Local officials say that there are enough seats for students in bilingual immersion schools, a statement that has aroused suspicion among many parents who are not demanding about numbers.
The final district plan keeps these plans at Sheridan and Emerson Elementary Schools, while relocating the other two schools from Windom Elementary School and Anwatin Middle School to Green Elementary School and Andersen Middle School.
High school students do not need to change schools according to the plan. The proposed boundary changes will start from ninth grade freshmen in 2021. According to recent enrollment forecasts, high schools in the north of Minneapolis will attract a large number of students, while schools on the south side will decrease and become more diverse.
The district concentrated its vocational and technical education (CTE) programs in three “city” locations: North, Edison, and Roosevelt High School. These courses teach skills ranging from engineering and robotics to welding and agriculture. According to data from the region, the capital cost of establishing these three CTE hubs totaled nearly $26 million in five years.
Officials say that the reorganization of the school district will result in fewer students than originally thought in the reorganization of the new school, while reducing the number of “apartheid” schools from 20 to 8. More than 80% of students in segregated schools belong to one group.
Although the region once said that 63% of students will change schools, it is now estimated that 15% of K-8 students will undergo a transition every year, and 21% of students will change schools every year.
Officials said that the initial 63% prediction was a few months ago, before they modeled the migration of magnet schools, and considered the percentage of students who changed schools each year for any given reason. Their final proposal also provides some students with the option to reserve seats for students studying in community schools. These seats will become more and more attractive and will attract new education focus.
Leaders hope that 400 students will leave the school district each year during the first two years of the reorganization. Officials said this would bring their projected student attrition rate to 1,200 in the 2021-22 academic year, and pointed out that they believe that the attrition rate will eventually stabilize and enrollment rates will rebound.
Graf said: “We believe that we will be able to provide a stable life for students, families and faculty and staff in the area.”
KerryJo Felder, a member of the school board representing the North District, was “very disappointed” with the final proposal. With the help of her family and teachers in the north, she developed her own redesign plan, which will reconfigure Cityview Elementary School as a K-8, bring the trade plan to North High School, and bring Spanish immersion magnets to Nellie Stone Johnson Elementary School. No changes were made to the final proposal for the district.
Feld also urged the school district and her board members to ban voting during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has restricted many families to their homes. The district is tentatively scheduled to discuss the final plan with the school board on April 14 and vote on April 28.
Governor Tim Walz ordered all Minnesota people to stay at home, unless absolutely necessary, at least until April 10 to slow the spread of the virus. The governor also ordered public schools across the state to close until May 4.
Feld said: “We can’t reject the precious opinions of our parents.” “Even if they are angry with us, they should be angry with us, and we should let us hear their voices.”
Post time: May-08-2021