Administrators from the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) are in the process of creating a plan to radically overhaul the district’s high schools, a plan that may restrict school choice based on attendance area.

Several hundred people attended an Oct. 15 public meeting at South High School, at which Brenda Cassellius, associate superintendent for Area B, gave a Power Point presentation of the draft plan, which Cassellius said is in “the design phase” and is being amended based on public comment.

While the draft has not been officially distributed by the district, final details of the plan are expected to be presented to the School Board at their Nov. 6 meeting, in conjunction with the final recommendations for the district’s long-term strategic plan.

Some at the Oct. 15 meeting were skeptical of aspects of the plan, including how the district would pay for the reform. Among the 17-point draft plan is a proposal to provide each Minneapolis high school student with a laptop.

According to MPS, the district is projected to have a cumulative $96 million budget shortfall by the 2011-12 school year, despite $140 million in cost reductions over the last six years.

At the Oct. 15 meeting, Cassellius said the district would deal with a lack of financial resources by “aligning resources to the plan.”

What’s in the draft plan?

The goals behind the high school reform plan are threefold: to improve the college readiness of Minneapolis students, to eliminate the persistent achievement gap between students from different demographic groups and to make sure that schools are safe.

The reform plan, which Cassellius said is still in the design phase, includes 17 design elements, including the following:

— Expanding the popular International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement, College in the Schools and Signature Tech programs to all seven of the Minneapolis comprehensive high schools: Edison, Henry, North, Roosevelt, South, Southwest and Washburn.

— Adding small specialty schools throughout the city, focusing on career topics such as law and health sciences, and creating “success schools” for students who temporarily need more intensive academic or behavioral support.

— Revising school choice options, so that ninth and tenth graders would attend an “MPS Academy” at the comprehensive high school in their attendance area, and giving eleventh and twelfth graders the choice to attend a different school, possibly with free transportation on city buses and light rail.

— Increasing the safety of schools by requiring all students to wear uniforms or follow a dress code and carry ID.

— Creating a learning environment free of disruption by providing more counselors and support services and placing students who need more intensive support in success schools.

— Increasing the flexibility of the school schedule, so that students might have longer days or attend Saturday seminars, and rethinking learning environments, so that students might take courses in local colleges or other community institutions.

— Providing each student with a laptop.

Public reaction at the Oct. 15 meeting was largely skeptical about the merits of the plan.

Many were concerned about the fate of the popular South Open program, which Cassellius said would not be closed. Many parents living outside the South attendance area were concerned about whether their future ninth and tenth graders would be able to attend South. Cassellius said choices for ninth and tenth graders under the plan would “not be limited, but focused,” and that the final decision about school options and attendance areas would be up to the school board.

Several current high school students were skeptical about the cost of the reform, asking how the district could pay for such an overhaul when they were currently suffering with large class sizes and not enough textbooks.

Cassellius tried to reassure community members by saying the plan was still in the design phase and that it would be rolled out incrementally, so little would change for eighth-grade students applying to high schools for next year. They will still apply to one or more of the district’s Small Learning Communities, or SLCs, she said, though there will no longer be entrance requirements, as the district was informed last year that those requirements violated federal funding guidelines.

Cassellius said she is continually amending the reform plan as she gets feedback from community members. As of press time, information about the plan was being distributed at community meetings, though it was not available on the district’s web site.

The main number for Minenapolis Public Schools is 612-668-0000. Information about the process for applying to Minneapolis high schools for fall 2008 is available “here”“:highschoolchoice.mpls.k12.mn.us/Choice_Questions.html.

last revised: October 17, 2007

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