Changes coming to Minneapolis Schools with new zones and site closings
By: Buzzy Bohn 10/01/2009
The Minneapolis School Board unanimously passed the "Changing Schools Options" (CSO) plan on September 22 at a standing-room-only meeting. These changes will take effect for the 2010-2011 school year. On September 1, Superintendent Bill Green had presented the school board with a new version of the CSO plan. You may recall that after months of discussions and community meetings, the superintendent presented a similar CSO plan to the board in April and then was told by the board that it was dead on arrival. After announcing the current plan, the district held three town hall meetings to answer questions and get input from parents and the community. It also held a public hearing about the school closings, which is required by state law if you close a public school building. The district, which has had financial shortfalls in recent years, will be able to save money with this plan by limiting transportation costs, eliminating or consolidating magnet programs, and by closing buildings. The district says it is committed to providing equity across the district so that every child will get the same high academic education no matter where they live.
The district will divide the city into three zones. Zone 1 will be North and Northeast Minneapolis and will be somewhat larger than what is currently called "Area A." K-8 students will be given transportation within their community school's attendance area as well as to magnets in their zone or a few city-wide magnet programs such as the Hmong International Academy. High school students will only be given transportation to schools in their attendance area, to the other high school in their zone if there‚s room or to a city-wide specialty school. Students in Zone 1 can get transportation to Henry, Edison or North High (which will become one of the citywide specialty schools with a program specializing in science, technology, engineering and math). It, along with Roosevelt High, will participate in the world-wide IBO pilot for an IB Career Certificate. There are only 10 schools world-wide that are in this pilot. The board decided to blur the high school boundary for the Bryn Mawr and Harrison neighborhoods so that those students can choose either Henry or Southwest High Schools. Students will be allowed to go to schools outside their zone if there is space and they provide their own transportation.
Another part of the plan will close five sites: Longfellow, Folwell Middle School, Emerson, the Anishinabe Academy site (the old Brown Institute building), the Lehmann Center and the site at 1250 Broadway Ave. N. Pratt School was pulled from the list of school closures at the last minute. The Dual Spanish Immersion program at Emerson will move intact to the Bryn Mawr/Anwatin site. The k-5 community school will remain at Bryn Mawr. The current Anwatin Middle School will be phased out over the next two years and a new 6-8 combined Dual Spanish Immersion-International Baccalaureate program will be created to take its place. It will serve the students from the both of the district‚s Dual Spanish Immersion k-5 programs as well as the 6-8 graders coming from the Bryn Mawr and Bethune school attendance areas. Anishinabe Academy has already moved into Sullivan School to share that space. Four schools, Cityview, Pillsbury, Northrup and Kenwood, will loose their magnet status and the Parkview Montessori program that currently shares space at the Bryn