Minneapolis Public Schools
Encyclopedia
Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) or Special School District Number 1 is a school district
that covers all of the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota
. Minneapolis Public Schools enroll 36,370 students in public primary
and secondary
schools. The district administers about one hundred public schools including forty-five elementary school
s, seven middle school
s, seven high schools, eight special education
schools, eight alternative school
s, nineteen contract alternative schools and five charter school
s. With authority granted by the state legislature, the school board makes policy, selects the superintendent, and oversees the district's budget, curriculum, personnel, and facilities. Students speak ninety different languages at home and most school communications are printed in English, Hmong
, Spanish, and Somali
.
In the 2007-2008 school year, 10,000 eligible school children in Minneapolis choose to attend other schools such as, in suburban school districts, at private schools or at charter schools. The number of students enrolled in Minneapolis Public Schools is expected to drop under 30,000 students from 2007-2011. As a result of "a severe learning gap, continued enrollment decreases and financial shortfalls" the district has at times proposed closing a number of schools, the majority in North Minneapolis. The district has space for 50,000 students.
A large portion of students that would normally attend schools in Minneapolis instead attend schools in the western suburbs. In 2000 Minneapolis branch of the NAACP
sued alleging that students were being denied an adequate education. As a result a program called "The Choice is Yours" was created that gave low-income students support in attending suburban schools. Around 2,000 students, the majority being from north Minneapolis, do so, attending other school districts in the West Metro Education Program
. Several studies have revealed that students who remain in Minneapolis Public Schools have better test scores than those that are bused to schools in the suburbs.
For 2005, the America's Promise
"Cities in Crisis" report calculated Minneapolis' four-year graduation rate at 45.3 percent, as compared to the 50-city average of 52.8. MPS disputes the findings, claiming that the study was inaccurate in the method it used to calculate graduation rates. The Minneapolis school system calculated its own graduation rate for that same time period as being at 52.8 percent.
The Minneapolis Board of Education at its September 22 meeting voted to amend and approve the recommendation for Changing School Options, a comprehensive plan to create financial sustainability for the Minneapolis Public Schools. The final vote was unanimous in favor of the recommendation.
Changing School Options creates three regional zones for transportation. With the exception of a few citywide options, students will attend an elementary, middle and high school in their zone. This three zone transportation model reduces transportation costs, retains choice for families since each zone offers at least three magnet options in addition to a community school and allows students to attend schools closer to home.
Each zone will offer K-8 students access to the following magnet programs: International Baccalaureate (IB); Teaching philosophy: Open or Montessori; Spanish Dual Immersion; Curricular: Arts and Science. Each zone will offer 9-12 students access to comprehensive high school programming.
Families with children enrolled in a citywide special education or English Language Learner program will continue to receive transportation across zones. Based on the state’s open enrollment law, families still have the option to enroll at any school in the city provided there is space available and they provide their own transportation. Students currently attending magnet, middle or high schools outside of their home attendance area or zone will have the option of grandfathering, or being guaranteed a seat in their current school, but must provide their own transportation. Students attending a community school who live outside of their school’s attendance area will be able to continue to attend if space is available, but must provide transportation.
The plan closes six buildings – four schools and two administrative centers that also house alternative programs – at the end of the 2009-10 school year: 1250 West Broadway; Longfellow; Folwell; the Lehmann Center; Emerson, which would move to the Anwatin/Bryn Mawr site; and the Brown Building, which housed Anishinabe Academy. Anishinabe has already moved to Sullivan for this school year. The Anwatin Middle School program will be phased out over the next two years; students who are in sixth and seventh grade at Anwatin may continue at the school through their eighth grade year.
The K-5 portion of Emerson Spanish Dual Immersion School will move intact to the Bryn Mawr/Anwatin site, with existing transportation services for those outside of the walk zone. A new combined Dual Spanish Immersion-International Baccalaureate middle school program will be created at the Bryn Mawr/Anwatin site to serve Emerson, Windom and community sixth through eighth graders from the Bryn Mawr and Bethune attendance areas. This program would also serve students remaining in the Anwatin program through their eighth grade year.
The number of magnet schools will be reduced from 16 to 12 in order to concentrate resources on fewer magnets to strengthen their programs. Schools that are no longer magnets may choose to retain their themes. Current magnet schools that will no longer have magnet status are Cityview and Kenwood Performing Arts, Northrop Environmental and Pillsbury Math, Science and Technology. The Park View Montessori program will close. Armatage Community and Montessori School will become a full Montessori magnet school, with the community school program closing at the end of the 2009-10 school year. Bancroft Community School will become an International Baccalaureate magnet school.
Implementation of CSO for the 2010-2011 school year was modified from the plan as stated here. Among the changes: Anwatin Middle School remains open and now offers an International Baccalaureate program to all students, with about 25% of students also participating in a Spanish Dual Immersion program (established path from the K-5 Spanish Dual Immersion feeder programs at Emerson and Windom). Emerson remains at their unique location near downtown Minneapolis and beautiful Loring Park, and has expanded to offer Hi-5 classes.
for further details on the functions of a school board. The Minneapolis Board of Education has been granted the power to carry out such duties by the State of Minnesota
and the Minnesota Legislature
.
School district
School districts are a form of special-purpose district which serves to operate the local public primary and secondary schools.-United States:...
that covers all of the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
. Minneapolis Public Schools enroll 36,370 students in public primary
Primary education
A primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...
and secondary
Secondary education
Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...
schools. The district administers about one hundred public schools including forty-five elementary school
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
s, seven middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
s, seven high schools, eight special education
Special education
Special education is the education of students with special needs in a way that addresses the students' individual differences and needs. Ideally, this process involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials,...
schools, eight alternative school
Alternative school
Alternative school is the name used in some parts of the world to describe an institution which provides part of alternative education. It is an educational establishment with a curriculum and methods that are nontraditional...
s, nineteen contract alternative schools and five charter school
Charter school
Charter schools are primary or secondary schools that receive public money but are not subject to some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each school's charter...
s. With authority granted by the state legislature, the school board makes policy, selects the superintendent, and oversees the district's budget, curriculum, personnel, and facilities. Students speak ninety different languages at home and most school communications are printed in English, Hmong
Hmong language
Hmong or Mong is the common name for a dialect continuum of the West Hmongic branch of the Hmong–Mien/Miao–Yao language family spoken by the Hmong people of Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, northern Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos...
, Spanish, and Somali
Somali language
The Somali language is a member of the East Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Its nearest relatives are Afar and Oromo. Somali is the best documented of the Cushitic languages, with academic studies beginning before 1900....
.
Enrollment
In the past decade enrollment in Minneapolis Public Schools has decreased significantly. In the 2001-2001 school year the district's enrollment was 46,256 students. In the 2002-2003 school year Minneapolis Public School's 46,037 students were enough to be the 98th largest school district in the United States in terms of enrollment. In the following school year (2003–2004) alone, the district's enrollment had decreased 5% to just over 43,000 students. At that time the district was predicted to lose 10,000 more students over the next five years if the then current trend continued. Some of the decline has been from the result of a smaller school-age population.In the 2007-2008 school year, 10,000 eligible school children in Minneapolis choose to attend other schools such as, in suburban school districts, at private schools or at charter schools. The number of students enrolled in Minneapolis Public Schools is expected to drop under 30,000 students from 2007-2011. As a result of "a severe learning gap, continued enrollment decreases and financial shortfalls" the district has at times proposed closing a number of schools, the majority in North Minneapolis. The district has space for 50,000 students.
A large portion of students that would normally attend schools in Minneapolis instead attend schools in the western suburbs. In 2000 Minneapolis branch of the NAACP
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
sued alleging that students were being denied an adequate education. As a result a program called "The Choice is Yours" was created that gave low-income students support in attending suburban schools. Around 2,000 students, the majority being from north Minneapolis, do so, attending other school districts in the West Metro Education Program
West Metro Education Program
The West Metro Education Program is a voluntary consortium of 11 urban and suburban school districts in the Minneapolis area of Minnesota. It is also known as the Joint Powers school district 6069...
. Several studies have revealed that students who remain in Minneapolis Public Schools have better test scores than those that are bused to schools in the suburbs.
Graduation rates
The 2010 graduation rates for the seven traditional high schools ranged from 74% to 98%. For alternative programs the graduation rate was about 45%.For 2005, the America's Promise
America's Promise
America's Promise — The Alliance for Youth is a foundation founded by Colin Powell in 1997 to help children and youth from all socioeconomic sectors in the United States.In late April 1997 Presidents Bill Clinton, George H. W...
"Cities in Crisis" report calculated Minneapolis' four-year graduation rate at 45.3 percent, as compared to the 50-city average of 52.8. MPS disputes the findings, claiming that the study was inaccurate in the method it used to calculate graduation rates. The Minneapolis school system calculated its own graduation rate for that same time period as being at 52.8 percent.
Changing School Options (2009)
Partly in a response to an assessment performed by a consulting company (McKinsey & Co.) and a reduction in future budgets, the Minneapolis Schools embarked on a program to reorganize the community & magnet school organization. The school administration's recommendation was posted on April 27, 2009 (April 28 Meeting Agenda).The Minneapolis Board of Education at its September 22 meeting voted to amend and approve the recommendation for Changing School Options, a comprehensive plan to create financial sustainability for the Minneapolis Public Schools. The final vote was unanimous in favor of the recommendation.
Changing School Options creates three regional zones for transportation. With the exception of a few citywide options, students will attend an elementary, middle and high school in their zone. This three zone transportation model reduces transportation costs, retains choice for families since each zone offers at least three magnet options in addition to a community school and allows students to attend schools closer to home.
Each zone will offer K-8 students access to the following magnet programs: International Baccalaureate (IB); Teaching philosophy: Open or Montessori; Spanish Dual Immersion; Curricular: Arts and Science. Each zone will offer 9-12 students access to comprehensive high school programming.
Families with children enrolled in a citywide special education or English Language Learner program will continue to receive transportation across zones. Based on the state’s open enrollment law, families still have the option to enroll at any school in the city provided there is space available and they provide their own transportation. Students currently attending magnet, middle or high schools outside of their home attendance area or zone will have the option of grandfathering, or being guaranteed a seat in their current school, but must provide their own transportation. Students attending a community school who live outside of their school’s attendance area will be able to continue to attend if space is available, but must provide transportation.
The plan closes six buildings – four schools and two administrative centers that also house alternative programs – at the end of the 2009-10 school year: 1250 West Broadway; Longfellow; Folwell; the Lehmann Center; Emerson, which would move to the Anwatin/Bryn Mawr site; and the Brown Building, which housed Anishinabe Academy. Anishinabe has already moved to Sullivan for this school year. The Anwatin Middle School program will be phased out over the next two years; students who are in sixth and seventh grade at Anwatin may continue at the school through their eighth grade year.
The K-5 portion of Emerson Spanish Dual Immersion School will move intact to the Bryn Mawr/Anwatin site, with existing transportation services for those outside of the walk zone. A new combined Dual Spanish Immersion-International Baccalaureate middle school program will be created at the Bryn Mawr/Anwatin site to serve Emerson, Windom and community sixth through eighth graders from the Bryn Mawr and Bethune attendance areas. This program would also serve students remaining in the Anwatin program through their eighth grade year.
The number of magnet schools will be reduced from 16 to 12 in order to concentrate resources on fewer magnets to strengthen their programs. Schools that are no longer magnets may choose to retain their themes. Current magnet schools that will no longer have magnet status are Cityview and Kenwood Performing Arts, Northrop Environmental and Pillsbury Math, Science and Technology. The Park View Montessori program will close. Armatage Community and Montessori School will become a full Montessori magnet school, with the community school program closing at the end of the 2009-10 school year. Bancroft Community School will become an International Baccalaureate magnet school.
Implementation of CSO for the 2010-2011 school year was modified from the plan as stated here. Among the changes: Anwatin Middle School remains open and now offers an International Baccalaureate program to all students, with about 25% of students also participating in a Spanish Dual Immersion program (established path from the K-5 Spanish Dual Immersion feeder programs at Emerson and Windom). Emerson remains at their unique location near downtown Minneapolis and beautiful Loring Park, and has expanded to offer Hi-5 classes.
Leadership
The Minneapolis Board of Education describes itself as a "a policy-making body responsible for selecting the superintendent and overseeing the district's budget, curriculum, personnel and facilities." See Board of educationBoard of education
A board of education or a school board or school committee is the title of the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or higher administrative level....
for further details on the functions of a school board. The Minneapolis Board of Education has been granted the power to carry out such duties by the State of Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
and the Minnesota Legislature
Minnesota Legislature
The Minnesota Legislature is the legislative branch of government in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is a bicameral legislature located at the Minnesota Capitol in Saint Paul and it consists of two houses: the lower Minnesota House of Representatives and the Minnesota Senate...
.
Current members
- Chair: Tom Madden
- Treasurer: Carla Bates
- Director Pam Costain
- Director: Lydia Lee
- Director: Jill Davis
- Director: Chris Stewart
- Director: T. Williams
Elementary schools (K-5)
- Armatage Community & Montessori School
- Bancroft Community School
- Bethune Community School
- Bryn Mawr Community School
- Burroughs Community School
- Dowling Urban Environmental Learning Center
- Emerson Spanish Immersion Learning Center
- Hale Elementary School (K-4)
- Hall International Elementary School
- Hiawatha Community School
- Jenny Lind School
- Kenny Community School
- Kenwood Community School
- Lake Harriet Lower (K-3)
- Lake Nokomis Lower (K-3)
- Loring School
- Lyndale Community School
- Northrop Elementary School
- Pillsbury School
- Pratt Community School
- Waite Park Community School
- Whittier International Elementary School
Elementary schools (K-8)
- Andersen United Community School
- Anishinabe Academy
- Barton Open School
- Cityview Elementary School(Charter School 6-8 grade)
- Field Community School (5-8)
- Green Central Park School
- Jefferson Community School
- Lake Harriet Upper (4-8)
- Lake Nokomis Community School (a merger of Wenonah and Keewaydin schools)
- Lucy Craft Laney at Cleveland Park Community School
- Marcy Open School
- Nellie Stone Johnson Community School
- Ramsey International Fine Arts Center
- Seward Montessori School
- Sheridan Elementary School
- Sullivan Communication CenterAnne Sullivan Communication CenterAnne Sullivan Communication Center is a community school serving 600 students from High 5 through eighth grade. The School houses a whole-day Kindergarten program as well as Early Childhood Special Education and Early Family Childhood Education programs...
- Windom Spanish Dual Immersion and Open School
Middle schools (6-8)
- Anthony Middle School
- Anwatin Middle School
- Northeast Middle School
- Olson Middle School
- Sanford Middle School
High schools (9-12)
- Edison High SchoolEdison High School (Minnesota)Thomas Alva Edison High School is the only public high school in the Northeast community of Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was named for American inventor Thomas Alva Edison...
- North Community High SchoolNorth Community High SchoolNorth Community High School, or simply Minneapolis North, is a public, four-year high school located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school has existed for over 120 years in several buildings all located on the North Side of Minneapolis...
- Patrick Henry High SchoolPatrick Henry High School (Minneapolis, Minnesota)Patrick Henry High School, locally known as Patrick Henry, is a Minneapolis public high school located in the Camden area of North Minneapolis with about 1300 students...
- Roosevelt High SchoolRoosevelt High School (Minneapolis)Roosevelt High School is a public school located in Minneapolis, Minnesota and is part of the Minneapolis Public Schools. The school is named after US President Theodore Roosevelt...
- South High SchoolMinneapolis South High SchoolSouth Senior High School is the largest public school in Minneapolis, Minnesota, located in Corcoran neighborhood. Its student population is 1963, with a staff of 115 as of the 2009–10 school year...
- Southwest High SchoolSouthwest High School (Minneapolis, Minnesota)Southwest High School is a public high school in the Linden Hills neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota . It is part of the Minneapolis Public Schools. In 2010, Newsweek Magazine ranked the school #116 their "List of the 1,300 Top High Schools in America"...
- Washburn High SchoolWashburn High SchoolMinneapolis Washburn High School is a four-year public high school serving grades 9–12 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. By enrollment, Washburn is the fourth-largest high school in the Minneapolis Public School District.Principal Mrs...
History of Minneapolis Schools
- 1834 Rev. J.D. Stevens opens the first school in Minneapolis on the shores of Lake Harriet with four pupils.
- 1849 The first private school opens in St. Anthony (which merged with Minneapolis in 1872).
- 1851-1852 Mary Schofield opens a school on the west side of the Mississippi RiverMississippi RiverThe Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. - 1857 Minneapolis' first high school, Central Union (also known as Union Washington), opens.
- 1863 Central Union High School burns to the ground.
- 1867 East Side (East) High School opens.
- 1873 Central High opens.
- 1878 The State Legislature merges St. Anthony and Minneapolis School Boards into Minneapolis Board of Education.
- 1889 Kenwood Elementary School opens
- 1891 North Side High School opens.
- 1892 South Side High School opens.
- 1898 Sidney Pratt Elementary School opens.
- 1908 University High opens on campus of University of Minnesota as a preparatory lab for the School of Education
- 1909 West Side High School opens.
- 1916 Miller Vocational High opens.
- 1922 Thomas Alva Edison High SchoolEdison High School (Minnesota)Thomas Alva Edison High School is the only public high school in the Northeast community of Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was named for American inventor Thomas Alva Edison...
opens - 1922 Theodore Roosevelt High SchoolRoosevelt High School (Minneapolis)Roosevelt High School is a public school located in Minneapolis, Minnesota and is part of the Minneapolis Public Schools. The school is named after US President Theodore Roosevelt...
opens. - 1924 East Side High closed.
- 1924 Marshall High opens.
- 1925 Washburn High SchoolWashburn High SchoolMinneapolis Washburn High School is a four-year public high school serving grades 9–12 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. By enrollment, Washburn is the fourth-largest high school in the Minneapolis Public School District.Principal Mrs...
opens. - 1940 Patrick Henry Junior High becomes Patrick Henry High SchoolPatrick Henry High School (Minneapolis, Minnesota)Patrick Henry High School, locally known as Patrick Henry, is a Minneapolis public high school located in the Camden area of North Minneapolis with about 1300 students...
. - 1940 Southwest HighSouthwest High School (Minneapolis, Minnesota)Southwest High School is a public high school in the Linden Hills neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota . It is part of the Minneapolis Public Schools. In 2010, Newsweek Magazine ranked the school #116 their "List of the 1,300 Top High Schools in America"...
opens. - 1940 Minneapolis Board of Education drops the word "Side" from the title of the all Minneapolis High Schools.
- 1967 Marshall & University High Schools merge.
- 1976 Miller Vocational High closed.
- 1982 Central High closed.
- 1982 Marshall-University High closed.
- 1982 Sidney Pratt Elementary School closed.
- 1982 West High School closed.
- 2000 Sidney Pratt Elementary School reopens.