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Recurring themes
Community engagement meeting recurring themes

This page was last updated in Fall 2011 and is intended to be viewed for historical reference only.

Please note that not all ideas generated at the community meetings are included here.  This is a synopsis of recurring themes from each community meeting

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Green Central | Hiawatha | North Commons | Northeast | Ramsey | Somali Language | More meetings

Recurring Themes across community meetings:
  • Maintain stability and pathways for families
  • Do not increase class size
  • Open closed buildings where possible
  • Adjust grade configurations to create capacity
  • Add to existing buildings in over-subscribed attendance areas
  • Move existing programs to create capacity
Green Central – Saturday, June 18th, 10:00 am- noon
Background: Approximately 30-40 participants with over half Spanish speaking families in attendance representing Zones 2 and 3.
 
Meeting Questions:
  1. How would you address the increases in Jefferson, Andersen and Green attendance areas?
  2. One strategy is to open a school in an existing MPS building, what type of school (K-5, K-8 or 6-8) would you create at the Wilder building (no larger than 600 students) that would attract families and address the increase in enrollment in the Jefferson, Andersen and Green attendance areas?
Generated Ideas:
  • Open Folwell
    • K-5 or K-8
    • Ramsey Arts program move to Folwell
  • Open Wilder
    • Magnet
    • Dual campus with Green
    • K-8, K-5 or 6-8
  • Develop a 2nd middle school in Zone 3 (ideas: Jefferson, Barton or Ramsey buildings)
  • Make programs k-8 for stability
  • Centralize Early Childhood in one building to make room in schools
 
Hiawatha – Tuesday, May 31st, 6:00-8:00 pm
Background: Approximately 35 participants representing Zone 2.  First of the six community meetings
 
Meeting Questions:
  1. How would you use Folwell as a magnet school with an expanded transportation area?
  2. How would you use Folwell as a community school that has bussing based on a specific attendance area?
  3. What strategies would you use to address Hiawatha’s enrollment increases?
Generated Ideas:
  • Open Folwell
    • New magnet- STEM
    • Zone 2 arts magnet
    • Ramsey Arts program move to Folwell intact
    • Lake Nokomis 6-8 move to Folwell
    • Merge Spanish Dual Immersion K-5’s at Folwell
    • 2nd middle school in Zone 2
    • Seward move to Folwell
    • K-8 community school
  • Open Howe or Cooper
    • Hiawatha-Howe dual K-5 campus
    • Hiawatha-Cooper dual K-5 campus
  • Build on to Hiawatha
  • Build on to Lake Nokomis
  • Build a new building on old building site
  • Change boundaries to relieve pressure at Hiawatha (grandfather existing students)
 
North Commons – Thursday, June 23rd, 6:00-8:00 pm
Background: Approximately 20-25 participants including parents and community members representing Zone 1 (predominately north-side participants)
 
Meeting Question:
  1. If the State Legislature cuts integration funding that supports the Choice Is Yours Program, how would you address the potential kindergarten-8th grade enrollment increase of approximately 1,000 students on the North side?
Generated Ideas:
  • Create school stability- Do not add more students to an unstable school 
  • Open closed buildings – Willard, Lincoln, and/or Franklin
  • STEM, AVID
  • Middle school that feeds North
  • Afro-centric & Arts
  • Montessori
  • Provide more school choices with transportation 
  • Make schools K-5 not K-8
 
Northeast, Windom Park/Pillsbury School – Wednesday, June 22, 6:00-8:00 pm
Background: Approximately 50 participants including a number of Spanish speaking families representing Zone 1 (predominately northeast participants)
 
Meeting Questions:
  1. Northeast Minneapolis is experiencing an enrollment increase at the kindergarten-second grade level.  This can be attributed to birth rates, market share and the change in open enrollment policies in surrounding districts.  How would you address future increases in enrollment in the Waite Park and Pillsbury attendance areas? (At least 300 K-8 spots for 2015)
Generated Ideas:
  • Sheridan
    • Convert to  K-5 community school – middle school at NE Middle
    • Convert to K-5 Arts magnet
  • Build on to Waite Park
  • Build on to Pillsbury
  • Repurpose existing MPS buildings in NE – Webster, 807, Tuttle
    • Community school
    • Magnet school – STEM, Dual Immersion, arts
  • Build a new building – near river, in collaboration with Park Board
  • Centralize Early Childhood in one building
  • Edison Changes
    • Convert to K-12 program for 600
    • Convert to 6-12 program
  • Lease/Purchase an existing building (Trinity, Ying Wa, closed parochial)
  • Examine alternative schedules – Time management
  • Marcy- convert into K-5 magnet to open more K-5 spots
Ramsey School – Monday, June 6th, 6:00-8:00 pm
Background: Approximately 150-175 participants including a number of Spanish speaking families representing Zones 3 and 2 attended.
Meeting Questions:
  1. Using the outlined enrollment strategies, how would you create space in Area C/Zone 3 for kindergarten-5th grade? (At least 440 k-5 spots for 2015)
  2. Using the outlined enrollment strategies, how would you create space in Area C/Zone 3 for middle school (At least 500 middle school spots for 2015)
Generated Ideas:
  • Open new middle school in Zone 3
  • Open Folwell
    • Arts magnet from Ramsey
    • Magnets - Gifted & Talented, Environmental 6-8 for Dowling
    • Dual campus with Green
  • Ramsey building
    • Move Arts program to Folwell
    • Convert Ramsey into middle school
    • Ramsey-Washburn 6-12 campus
    • Middle school include students who will pathway to Washburn
  • Repurpose portion of Wilder
    • Middle school or K-5
    • Magnet
  • Magnets
    • Move magnets out of Zone 3 and into Zones 1 and 2 portables to accommodate increases
    • Reduce students coming from Zone 2 and Zone 1 to cross-zone magnets
  • Develop a dual campus – Jefferson, Green & Ramsey
  • Build addition on Lake Harriet lower (K-3 lower & 4-8 upper)
  • Build addition on Anthony
  • Make all Zone 3 community schools K-5 feeding a middle school
  • Move Kenwood pathway to Anwatin (grandfather students & sibling pref.)
  • Examine alternative schedules – Time management
  • Open closed buildings – Howe, Cooper, Folwell
  • Shift Chicago boundary between Zones 2 and 3 making Zone 2 larger
  • Lease non-MPS buildings
  • Do not change sibling preference – do not kick anyone out already attending schools
Somali Language Meeting, Brian Coyle Center, Thursday, June 16th, 5:00-7:00 pm
Background: Approximately 100 Somali speaking participants attended.  Questions focused more on how to attract Somali families to MPS and less on enrollment changes.
Meeting Questions:
  1. What helps your child succeed in the Minneapolis Public Schools? Topics to consider include:
    • Kindergarten-5th grade school
    • Kindergarten-8th grade school
    • Somali speaking staff and/or teachers at the schools
    • Language offerings-Somali, Arabic, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese…
    • Location of school
    • within walking distance of your home
    • With a wide transportation area
    • Safety
  2. If you could change anything at your child(ren)’s school what would it be and why?
Generated Ideas related to Enrollment Planning:
  • Provide open enrollment with transportation to all schools K-12 – more school choice
  • Develop policies that allow siblings to attend school together
  • Do not segregate schools
Upcoming meetings:
  • Spanish Language Meeting, Wilder Building, Wednesday, August 17, 6:00-8:00 pm
  • Hmong Language Meeting, Hmong International Academy, Wednesday, August 17, 6:00-8:00 pm