Minneapolis Public Schools' redesign puts new magnet schools to the test

Students at some Minneapolis schools will soon be building machines in a new robotics lab, dancing in a revamped studio and sharing their music and acting skills on stage in brand-new performance spaces.

The upgrades are all part of Minneapolis Public Schools' efforts to deliver on a major pillar of its sweeping redesign that takes effect this fall: an overhaul of the magnet school program. The district's restructuring clustered the schools toward the center of the city in an effort to make them more accessible to all students.

Many of the schools — which offer a focus on the arts, science, dual language learning or global studies — are getting major capital improvements centered on their magnet themes. Each one now also has a staff member to help bring the themed curricula into classrooms across all subjects.

Those changes have brought a wave of collaboration among the magnet schools, said Erik Hensel, the district's magnet school administrator.

"In the past there was a lot of isolation between magnets," Hensel said. "The [new positions] are really key to making the comprehensive district design successful."

The comprehensive district design, approved in spring 2020, becomes reality for students when school starts Sept. 8. The plan redrew attendance boundaries and relocated the dozen magnet schools more centrally, all in an effort to distribute resources more equitably and save on transportation costs.

The redesign was controversial, and parents urged the district to pause implementation during the COVID-19 pandemic so as not to add more upheaval to students' lives. The district, however, moved forward with its timeline and is already pointing to some early successes.

The magnets have proved to be a popular choice for parents, and the results of the school choice lotteries showed progress toward a key redesign goal of integrating the magnet schools while not further segregating community schools. None of the district's magnet schools are at capacity for fall enrollment, though each have some grade levels that have filled up.

At Bethune Arts Magnet, about 160 of the 375 students enrolled in the fall will be new to the school. Principal Kelly Woods hopes the enrollment number continues to climb in coming years as the school gets some arts-focused upgrades, including a performance space and dance studio expected to be completed by fall 2022.

"Right now, it's been about informing parents about what is coming," Woods said. "Once we have the spaces to show off, we hope more people will come."

Other magnet schools are also in line for upgrades over the next couple years. Hall STEM Academy will add an observatory, and Sullivan STEAM Magnet and Franklin STEAM Magnet Middle School will have robotics labs.

Those projects represent a "shift in focus" when it comes to capital improvements to magnet schools, Hensel said. As part of the planning process, magnet school leaders toured buildings and met with architects to plan for what additions or changes could best support the school's mission.

"The people with that content experience were able to say, 'This is what we need for a performance space for dance,' for example," Hensel said. "We are trying to make sure these capital improvements are truly supporting the magnet themes vs. just being structural improvements."

Woods said that involvement made all the difference in planning what Bethune will look like. One initial idea was to combine the performance area with the cafeteria, but Woods quickly shot that down, pushing instead for the stage to be its own feature in the school. The plan now is to make an addition to the building to create a flexible space for dance, theater and music performances.

"It was great to offer that input," Woods said. "Our kids deserve the best and we want to be able to really show people why an arts magnet is different."

Marketing that uniqueness will be a priority in years to come, said Holly Kleppe, principal of Jefferson Global Studies and Humanities Magnet. The district redesign shifted the competition for school choice away from geographical parts of the district, thus relieving some of the pressure among campuses to compete for students, she said.

"Now it's about telling our story," Kleppe said.

Hensel said he's been impressed by the enrollment numbers at magnet schools so far, but he senses there may still be concerns from parents about the quality of a school based on its location in the city.

"We're really working to fight that narrative," he said. "We are trying to let the community know we're focused on putting quality magnet programming in all the buildings and make sure there's no better or worse school."

Mara Klecker • 612-673-4440