Achievement Gap Committee Candidate Questionnaire
1. The
Minneapolis Public Schools have struggled for some time to raise the
achievement of low-income students and students of color.
a.
What in your opinion are the most important factors in raising student
achievement?
I.
Intervening in the early years to make sure a child is
learning, rather than playing catch-up in Middle or High School.
II.
Focusing instruction to the specific needs of a child.
III.
Supportive family and community members who take an active
role in a child’s learning.
b.
What measures should the school board take to improve student outcomes?
I.
Maintain a low student to teacher ratio.
II.
Allow schools more freedom to adapt curriculum and
instruction to the specific needs of their student populations.
III.
Create safe, quiet spaces for students to work/study
before and after school.
c.
If the school board follows your suggestions, how soon would you expect to see
significant results?
Significant results could be achieved before my first
term has expired (four years.)
2. Some
people are concerned that focusing on academic achievement for low-income
students means that insufficient attention is being paid to the needs of
average and high performing students. How do you respond to that concern?
This is a false dichotomy. We needn’t sacrifice
academic rigor in the name of increasing student success. As a curriculum standards developer at
the Minnesota Department of Education I studied alternate, data-driven
curriculum models that increase academic rigor, specifically in science and
math that are shown to shrink the disparity of learning amongst all
children.
3. It has
been suggested that certain provisions of the teacher’s contract prevent the
administration from staffing the schools adequately to meet the needs of
students. Please comment on your opinion of the current teacher’s contract.
Poor
fiscal management and budgeting at the State level is the biggest impediment to
meeting the needs of students.
Right now many teachers are spending 8-10 hours a day working at the
school followed by several more hours of work once they return home at night
(or are at home on weekends.)
Teachers are not given enough time, during the school day, to work on
collaborative professional development, development of lesson plans and
developing curriculum to meet the needs of specific students needs?
4. One idea to improve student outcomes is to
spend more time on task. That might mean a longer school day or a longer school
year. Do you favor increasing learning time for students, and if so, how
would you like to see that happen?
I
support an elongated school day and school year. Initially it should probably be implemented in the High
Schools. I think we should start
there because High School students need to be prepared for the adult
world. In the adult world, we work
year round and don’t take a three month break over the summer. We can then look to expanding the
school year in the other grades.
5. Early
childhood education is often offered as an important strategy for addressing
the achievement gap.
a. What
are your views on investing in early childhood education?
I
believe this is an important part of our public school system. Right now I divide our students into
two groups. The first group
consists of students in grades 7 – 12.
These students are oftentimes several years behind in comprehension and
skills. We need to focus upon
helping these students get up to speed quickly.
The
second group consists of PK – 6th grade. We must focus upon early intervention. If we make sure that students are
staying on track in the early years, we will put our district in a position
where students in 7 – 12 will need less resources to get caught up and the
money can then be reinvested in early intervention. We will have to go thru a transition period, that may last
up to 10 years.
b. How can
there be better alignment between pre-k programs and the K-12 system?
If
a PK program is in place, we can look to use those PK programs as a feeder into
specific elementary schools. By
doing this, we can develop curriculum that implements State Curriculum
standards earlier than originally anticipated. We can deliberately choose certain State standards to teach
in the PK classes. This will allow
us, overtime, to increase the academic rigor in the schools because students
will have been learning from an earlier age. If we can show a successful model, it will only serve to
improve the image of MPS and will help us attract new families or families who
may have left the district.
6. Some
people suggest we need more flexible or innovative models of delivering
education.
a. Do you
favor or oppose charter schools?
I
only support charter schools if they are high-quality schools with demonstrable
improved outcomes. Charter schools
are a reality in our public education system; however, I look forward to a day
where the Minneapolis Public Schools are able to eliminate the need for charter
schools.
b. What
should the relationship be between the charter schools and MPS?
It
should be a cooperative relationship where we can openly share best practices
for district and school operations.
There are several charter schools that have shown an interest in
contracting with MPS for some basic services. I believe that we could find additional revenue streams by
contracting some district services.
c.
Do you favor or oppose self-governed (teacher-led) schools?
Favor.
7. A group
of Northside residents have formed a Northside Achievement Zone, aiming to
replicate some of the outcomes experienced by the Harlem Children’s Zone in New
York.
a. How
should the School Board respond?
These
are the types of Community Partners we should be utilizing to tackle some of the
area-specific problems in our City.
b. Is it
appropriate for the School Board to make special efforts or investments in a
particular portion of the city?
Yes
it is appropriate to help particular portions of the City to develop the
social/community capital that is integral to student success.
8. With
65% students of color, the Minneapolis Public Schools face significant
challenges with regard to integration. Some people prioritize integration
efforts, while others argue that that it is more important to improve the
quality of schools in low income neighborhoods. What is your opinion on this?
Do you favor efforts to increase integration in the city schools?
If yes, what steps would you take to make that happen?
It
is important that students go to school with a diverse student population. Ideally it shouldn’t matter where a
child lives or goes to school, because all of our schools should be serving
students equally.
Integration is important, but it doesn’t guarantee
that student achievement will increase.
9.
Improving governance of our public schools is a big topic of discussion.
a. What in
your opinion are the main governance challenges for public education?
When
making decisions that are in the long-term best interest of our district, we
oftentimes find ourselves in conflict with the short-term emotions of students
and parents. The hardest part is
making a good decision versus a political decision.
b. Are
there different governance models that you believe are worth exploring?
One
model that might be worth exploring is replacing the role of the Superintendent
with a personnel manager and expanding the role of the School Board. Other states have had success with
similar models. I am not saying
that I fully support this move, but it might be worth exploring what our
district would look like under that model.
c.
The Governor recommended that the Minneapolis and St. Paul school district be
managed by the cities’ mayors. What is your opinion of this recommendation?
I
do not support this recommendation.
It will only lead to increased politicization of our schools. We need less politics in the schools,
not more.
10. Your role in the school board
a. How do
you define the role of a school board member?
The
role of a school board member is to co-govern the district. We are there to develop a vision for
our schools and work with the Superintendent to implement that vision.
b. How
much time each week do you expect to spend on school related
matters?
A
minimum of 20 hours per week, but at times it could push upwards of 40 hours a
week depending upon what additional commitments I make to the Board.
c.
If elected, how many terms do you plan to serve?
I
will serve at least two terms, if the voters allow. I don’t know what my life will look like in 8 years, but
right now I am not opposed to serving more than two terms.
11. Finally, what does success in
the Minneapolis Public Schools look like to you?
Success
in the Minneapolis Public Schools will have been achieved when every student is
equipped with the knowledge and skills that will allow them to succeed in any
post-graduation endeavor they choose.
This, of course, requires that every child that starts school finishes
school. It will also require that
regardless of location in the city or school attended, students are receiving
an education that meets their specific needs.
Language is the purveyor of culture. It is not enough to emphasize math and cience. Without the language to convey one's thoughts, neither math nor science will avail the student of competence for a successful adulthood.
Posted by: Wizard Marks | 05/21/2010 at 04:24 PM