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Thank you for the wonderful news that Minneapolis Public Schools is about to get a new permanent superintendent ("Finalist states her case for MPS post," Nov. 30). There are some urgent needs. MPS has the space to serve 40,000 students, yet enrollment is just 27,000 students. Clearly, some schools will need to be closed, consolidated or repurposed. As the adage goes, the best way to get out of a hole is to stop digging. The same thing applies when you are racing toward a fiscal cliff. Stop wasting money!
According to a Nov. 16 Star Tribune article, the school district will be voting on a resolution in December 2023 to audit the district's real estate holdings. Inexplicably, however, "District officials will make their final recommendations during the 2025-26 academic year," meaning that actual changes will happen after that. A quick glance online reveals that MPS has around 15 schools with less than 250 students. Tough decisions on which schools to close, consolidate or repurpose clearly should be made in months, not years. MPS students deserve better!
MPS launched a Comprehensive District Design recently that disrupted many students and families by changing enrollment boundaries. Hundreds of students had to change schools. Despite this major disruption, MPS failed to close any schools when the plan was implemented. Obviously, this was a huge missed opportunity, and now more disruption is inevitable. MPS has great teachers and needs competent leaders.
A few years ago, MPS conducted its own research on why families were leaving and learned there were concerns about lack of academic rigor, safety concerns and lack of a welcoming feeling. These persistent problems must be addressed or students will continue to depart. Meanwhile, across the river, St. Paul Public Schools confronted its declining enrollment and made the difficult decision to close six schools. As a result, it is on sounder financial footing than MPS and is not wasting money on empty spaces or excess principals. The new MPS superintendent would do well to consult with Minnesota Superintendent of the Year Joe Gothard in St Paul. Gothard has courageously addressed district capacity issues that the brain trust at the MPS Davis Center has consistently kicked down the road.
Patricia Praus, Minneapolis
STUDENT WELL-BEING
How are we helping or hindering?
As a parent of three children in Roseville schools, news of students bringing guns to school is harrowing. As a clinical social work student providing therapy to children, I'd like to add an individual thing we as adults and parents can do about this. The deteriorating mental health of our kids, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, is well documented. The most recent Minnesota Student Survey Report by the Department of Education shows more Minnesota kids are feeling unsafe in their neighborhoods, unsafe at school, greater anxiety and increased bullying. A potential sign of anxiety that may be missing from our assessments and research is whether some kids deal with being anxious/scared by becoming scary themselves (i.e., carrying weapons, intimidating others, etc.).
