Photo from the envelope of this year's NAZ Christmas card.
First things first, I do think the Northside Achievement Zone is doing good work in north Minneapolis, and we're a better community for it. And I chose to publish this now, instead of around the time of their gala, so as not to discourage supporters from attending.
The Peace Ball, now known as the NAZ Ball after the Peace Foundation changed its name, was the social event of the year for north Minneapolis. I looked forward to it every year, as it was a chance to come together and celebrate our community. But to me, it hasn't felt that way for a few years now. The change in what the NAZ Ball meant to me happened when...
Post by the Hawthorne Hawkman, photo credits linked above.
The Star Tribune recently reported in error that there would not be an incoming freshman class at North High this year. However, a proud North High parent posted to the Minneapolis Issues Forum an email from Superintendent Johnson that indicates the exact opposite. Organizers who have recruited new students repeatedly say that the number one barrier to getting committed students, parents, families, and other supporters is the concern that North High will close.
Since Johnson specifically stated on May 9, 2011, "I am pleased to announce that North High School will welcome a ninth-grade class in the fall of 2011," we need to spread the word that our North High Polars will indeed have a freshman class this year.
Superintendent Johnson's email is reprinted in full after the jump...
There will be a meeting this Saturday to plan the next steps for North High School. The video above leads off this post because in it Director Davis reads her amendment (a version of which was passed), and at the 2:00 mark she says we can no longer afford to disinvest in north Minneapolis. That statement drew raucously enthusiastic applause, and we need that kind of energy tomorrow.
Here is what the Save North Coalition announced in an email regarding Saturday's meeting:
"Last Tuesday the community campaign to stop the closure of North High School won a partial victory when the Minneapolis Board of Education voted 4 to 3 to keep North High open another year if the community could recruit 125 9th graders to the school by March. While this is a far cry from what the community was demanding, it shows that when we organize, we have real power. It also provides a new window of opportunity to continue to organize to save our school!
"This Saturday lets come together as parents, students, teachers, alumni, and concerned community members from across the Twin Cities to map out our next steps to keep this school open and revitalize public education on the North Side and beyond. We need all hands on deck and all voices at the table this Saturday to collectively create a student recruitment plan, a political strategy, and to take the lead in creating a community-led vision for revitalizing North High School."
For those of you who haven't seen the rest of the footage from the most recent School Board meeting, it can be found, along with some commentary, after the jump...
This post will encompass the remainder of those who spoke out during the public comment period of the School Board meeting where North High was saved*.
(*if we get 125 incoming freshmen by March of '11. Let's not lose sight of that. Otherwise, it will close for one year and reopen.)
Due to another hearing I was at, I missed both the rally and the first part of the School Board meeting. I captured as much of it as possible and will share that on my Youtube channel and NXNS. In the videos above, Superintendent Johnson lays out her proposal for a new North High. The big question marks come surrounding the external consultant who will help develop a plan, and the "design team." Who will those people be, and how will they be selected? Can these people be put in place in a way that builds and repairs community trust?
Those clips are somewhat dry, but the fireworks REALLY got started with the public comments...
After much deliberation, and an outpouring of community input, Superintendent Johnson's proposal from last week was brought before the Minneapolis Public School Board as a whole. Due to other job commitments, I was unable to attend the rally before the meeting, and missed some early parts. But I stayed until the end of the meeting and recorded the vote that kept North open.
There are several hours of footage to upload and review. Until I have the chance to get a well-written post up about the broader issues, people can feel free to check out my Youtube channel for the videos I took during the meeting.
The VERY short summary of what happened is this: Johnson's proposal was presented, and amended to allow for the chance of a freshman class continuing to attend North High in 2011 (her previous proposal called for North to not accept incoming freshmen in 2011 while creating a new program, phase out the existing school, start a new North in 2012, and add a class each year until there would be a full school in 2016). In order for there to be a continuous student body at North High, we in the community will need to work with the school board to recruit an incoming freshman class of 125 students by March of 2011.
I'm guessing by now most everyone reading NXNS has heard Superintendent Johnson's proposal to continue with a phasing out of North High, take a year off to develop a new model, and re-open a new North High in 2012. (although not necessarily in the same building; we'll get to that) In looking at chatter on Facebook, the Strib, and elsewhere, reactions to the plan are varied - ranging from calls for a failing school to be shut down immediately to feelings that this "plan" has nothing of substance that is different than Johnson's original proposition.
While my initial response did not embody such extremes, it was still mixed. My first thought upon hearing Johnson's new idea was, "This might be as good of a deal as we're going to get." My SECOND thought was...
POST COMPLETE. All video footage from the press conference has been uploaded and added.
Minneapolis Public Schools Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson called a press conference this morning to announce plans for North High. The buzz was that she would continue with the plans to phase out the existing North High, but there was speculation that somehow the school would be saved. After all, if plans to close were moving ahead as previously announced, why call a press conference to remind the community that you're doing something incredibly unpopular?
In essence, her plan now involves closing down the existing North High, phasing out current enrollment, working with the community on a plan during 2011, and re-opening a new North High for incoming freshmen in 2012, then adding a grade each year.
Plenty of news media were there, and the Strib and KSTP at least have articles and some footage up already. But the initial details were broken first on the NXNS Twitter feed, proving once again the speed and agility of non-traditional media.
More video footage will follow after the jump, as soon as it's done uploading on youtube...
Post, videos, and photos by the Hawthorne Hawkman.
Over 250 northside residents and North High supporters gathered for a community forum on Monday, October 18. We told the Minneapolis Public School board and superintendent exactly what the community thought of their proposal to close down North High School. Board members Madden, Williams, Lee, Stewart, Davis, and Flanagan were in attendance, as well as state Representatives Mullery and Champion, state Senator Higgins, and a representative from Congressman Ellison's office.
Superintendent Johnson began with a series of slides that gave an empirical account of North's decline while conveniently managing not to take any School Board responsibility for such events. The slides began...
At Monday evening's community forum about the future of North High, the Minneapolis Public School board passed out a sheet that outlined their reasoning (or lack thereof) for proposing the closure of North High School. That document can be found here. However, in the interest of placing this document in a forum where people can comment openly or anonymously on the validity of the proposal and how it will impact our children and our community, I am re-posting it on North by Northside.
I do encourage everyone who comments here to forward their comments to Ms. Johnson and all school board members (and before the election, also to the candidates).
Here, without any further editorial commentary on my part, is the document in question:
Frequently Asked Questions | North High School
Updated October 18, 2010
Why is North being recommended to phase out?
Many factors led to the recommendation, but the bottom line is this:
Over 250 people gathered at the North High School auditorium tonight to voice their support for keeping the high school open. Minneapolis superintendent Bernadeia Johnson and six school board members were on hand to (hopefully) listen. More posts are sure to follow, but here are Congressman Ellison's words regarding North High:
October 18, 2010
Dear Students, Community Members and Supporters of North High School,
As a long time resident of North Minneapolis, and someone deply concerned about the viability and growth of this neighborhood and all neighborhoods that make up North Minneapolis, my position is that North High School should remain open until we have had a true community wide dialogue regarding education, housing and public investment with a clear commitment to the near north section of Minneapolis.
When I reflect over the last half decade, I do not recall forthright conversations about the future of North High School. What has taken place though is...
Post and photos by the Hawthorne Hawkman. Quick editorial note: I apologize for the lack of photos indicating the broad community support. I got into participation and note-taking and completely forgot about my camera.
On Saturday, October 16, Mel Reeves, Pastor Brian Herron, and representatives of PEJAM, Friends of North High, and the North High Alumni Association led a community forum on what can be done to keep this community asset open. Herron opened with a stirring invocation, and Reeves spoke about how school board members removed everything that made North High attractive. The removal of the "home zone" and feeder schools was especially damning.
Reeves and Herron rightly pointed out that this is not just about current or future students, but the community as a whole. Nobody is going to make a significant investment in a community without a school - not potential homeowners, nor businesses or employers. But the level of commitment goes both ways. "It's asinine to save a school if you're not going to support it," Reeves said. This means that the community has to work together on solutions, AND parents have to be committed to sending their children to the school.
Marcus Owens, a '99 graduate and member of the Friends of North High said that the school board's only plan was to close North High, and that they were not prepared for the 100-150 people that filled the last board meeting beyond capacity. We need to build on that momentum by bringing even more community support. But such support alone won't be sufficient without a plan, which is why PEJAM proposed...
Honoring the Polars' seniors and those close to them.
Ballard was running like a man possessed.
David Hall (#11) is about to teach South some manners
The Tigers' QB, Soly Senaphanh, had moves of his own.
Ballard's intensity increased as the game wore on.
The Polars were swiping at the ball all game long, causing fumble after fumble.
Post and photos by the Hawthorne Hawkman
The Minneapolis South Tigers opened the game with a call rarely seen to start things off - a successful onsides kick. Several plays after a long run by South's nimble quarterback, the Polars forced a fumble and recovered - the first of five times they would do so in the contest.
Running back Morocco Ballard was a man on a mission, twice running for gains of over ten yards on North's opening possession. He finished off the drive with a dazzling 20-yard sprint into the end zone, putting the Polars on the scoreboard first, 6-0.
I couldn't help but notice the juxtaposition here: We're rallying to save North High underneath the Minneapolis Public Schools banner: "Expect Great Things."
Where will this child go to high school?
This young woman was very well-spoken. Her story will be told later in the post.
Due to a prior commitment, I could not stay for the meeting itself. But there was an overflow crowd.
Post, photos, and videos by the Hawthorne Hawkman.
The Superintendent of Minneapolis Public Schools announced her recommendation to close down North High School due to its low enrollment numbers, and that recommendation was brought before the school board today. As expected, scores of north Minneapolis residents, North High students and alumni, and other supporters rallied in front of the school board to call for the school to be saved.
Earlier in the day, North High was the focus of an hour-long discussion on Minnesota Public Radio. In that session, a north Minneapolis resident called up and said he looked at North High's average test scores and decided that there was no way he would send his child to this school. The sad part is that he lives only a few blocks from the school itself. This scenario was exactly what I had pondered when I wondered if North can be saved. And the comment would lead one to believe that the school has little to offer to honors or other exceptional students, and that children who attend there may be unprepared for a job or continuing education.
Let me tell you right now, from speaking with children and parents at the rally, this is not the case. Kids are graduating prepared for a university education. Kids are taking honors courses and they don't have to be bused elsewhere for that. It's happening right here in our community and we need to keep it that way.
Since the Star Tribune broke the story about the Minneapolis superintendent proposing the closure of North High, a rally has already been scheduled for tomorrow night's school board meeting. A robust discussion is occurring on the Minneapolis Issues Forum. I encourage readers to check it out and contribute to the dialogue there. However, the Issues Forum has its limitations. Only two comments per 24 hours are allowed, and one cannot comment anonymously. So I'm offering up the NXNS site for a such a dialogue if folks wish to do so here.
This is quite the conundrum. North High is reportedly the oldest continually functioning high school in all of Minneapolis (although not always out of its current location). It boasts quite a few famous graduates (we'll forgive them for letting Sid Hartman get a degree). And yet, despite everything it ought to have going for it, only 42 students enrolled in the freshman class. The current proposal allows for these 42 to remain until graduation, but I can't see that happening. If I were a freshman and the school were closing, I know I'd want to transfer somewhere else.
We can cry and holler all we want, but at the end of the day it's that number that's the most significant factor at play. A school of this size simply cannot function with so few students entering its doors each year. On the Issues Forum, some very pertinent questions get raised...
