District 622's rush to withdraw from EMID has left a lot of misinformation and questions (about finances, enrollment, curriculum & assessment, climate, plans, and more) in its wake. Thanks to Barbara Skoglund for compiling this list and sending it to the 622 school board on 21 January 2008.
I am writing on behalf of ISD622/EMID families who are very concerned about your pending vote to withdraw from EMID. We were quite saddened to learn about this last week. We are frustrated at the lack of information shared with ISD622/EMID families and dismayed that our community did not have the opportunity to participate in the study group.
Over the past week we have heard a great deal of misinformation about EMID. There are also many questions that were not explored by the study group. I spent my Martin Luther King Jr. holiday compiling the following list of clarifications and questions.
Please, make a data driven decision, not one based on incomplete information. We ask that you table your vote to withdraw from EMID until these questions are answered and issues are clarified.
Thank you.
Misinformation
1 The Minnesota Department of Education ordered ISD622 to form a new integration collaborative.
FALSE ISD622 is not obligated to form a new collaborative. Continuing with EMID meets state requirements.
2 ISD622 will gain over $2 million in revenue by leaving EMID.
FALSE The $600,000 in integration revenue will only return to ISD622s budget if the district establishes a new collaborative with an approved desegregation plan in the next 17 months. There is no guarantee that ISD622/EMID families will enroll their children in ISD622. While lower income families who rely on school transportation and those unable to afford Y-Care may be forced to leave EMID, it is highly unlikely that the more than $1.24 million in per pupil revenue will return to ISD622’s revenue stream. The nearly $500,000 $180,000 in transportation costs are paid by the State of Minnesota, not ISD622, and that revenue will not go into ISD622’s budget.
NOTE: Barbara sent in this correction... "The transportation revenue is apx. 180,000, not nearly 500,000. I misread a 622 chart."
3 ISD622 will have greater autonomy to plan programs and serve students by leaving EMID.
FALSE ISD622 currently has complete autonomy over the expenditure of $1.2 million integration revenue. ISD622 is part of EMID and participates in shared decision making for the expenditure of the $600,000 integration revenue from ISD622 and the integration revenue of the nine other partners. ISD622 would have to participate in shared decision making for expenditures of any integration revenues used to form a new collaborative.
4 ISD622 pays more than its fair share of EMID costs.
FALSE A higher percent of ISD622 families enroll their children in EMID than some of the other partner districts and each pupil brings their revenue with them. ISD622 does not pay a disproportionately higher percent of integration dollars to EMID than the other partners.
5 Ten percent of EMID students are from ISD622.
FALSE Approximately 18% of EMID students are from ISD622. Students from North St. Paul, Maplewood, Oakdale are the second largest group at EMID, second only to St. Paul. Because of high volume of applications from ISD622 families and fewer applications from other EMID partners (mainly those located farther away from Harambee and Crosswinds) more than ISD622 fair share of students attend EMID schools.
6 Less than three percent (or sometimes noted as two percent) of ISD622 students are exposed to EMID.
FALSE EMID is more than Harambee and Crosswinds schools. Every ISD622 teacher and ultimately child is exposed to EMID through the professional development and other integration and equity programs of EMID.
7 EMID families were invited to participate in the ISD622 study group but chose not.
FALSE ISD622 requested the names of two parents of tenth grade students from Crosswinds and mandated that they have no other EMID students who may have a stake in the study group recommendation. Given that ISD622 mandated the EMID representatives have no interest in the outcome it’s no surprise they did not find time to alter their schedule to attend the meetings. Such restrictions were not placed on other study group members.
8 The only reason ISD622 families enroll their children in EMID schools is for the year round calendar.
FALSE Families have many reasons for enrolling their children in EMID. ISD622 has not asked its families why they enroll their children in EMID. Nor has ISD622 asked the other 1000+ residents why they enroll their children in other district’s schools.
9 The ethnic diversity of EMID and ISD622 is comparable.
FALSE The ethnicity breakdown in the Phillips to Howley letter of 12/10/97 contradicts MDE data. Phillips asserts that ISD622 is 49% or 69% white. ISD622 is 70% white, EMID is 51% white, Mahtomedi is 92% white, Stillwater is 93% white and Forest Lake is 92% white. Grade level comparisons are slightly different because older ISD622 students are less diverse than younger students. Harambee is 48.6% white and ISD622 elementary students are 65.8% white. Crosswinds is 52.2% white and ISD622 sixth through tenth graders are 72% white.
10 The student achievement of EMID and ISD622 is comparable.
FALSE Using the measures of student achievement established by the Minnesota Legislature and MDE, EMID students consistently outperform ISD622 students despite the fact they receive six weeks less instruction prior to statewide testing.
11 ISD622 will be able to use the additional $600,000 in integration funds to focus on student achievement and attract new students to the district.
FALSE While both noteworthy goals, neither meet the state requirement that integration revenue be used to increase interracial contact.
12 The ISD622/EMID study committee fully met its charge to analyze financial, achievement, enrollment and integration activity and to provide key data, pros and cons to fully inform the board of the ramifications of withdrawing from EMID.
FALSE While the committee reviewed readily accessible data, it failed to conduct any in-depth data collection or analysis and failed to produce a comprehensive, data supported, list of pros and cons. A more comprehensive data gathering, analysis and planning process would better inform the ISD622 school board. The study group also failed to provide any data supporting its six rationale statements.
13 Because ISD622 is more diverse than it was ten years ago, it no longer needs EMID services or programs.
UNKNOWN Further research and analysis is needed.
Questions
The process has been too rushed to answer the following questions.
General Questions
1 In detail, supported with data, what are the positive and negative consequences of staying with EMID?
2 In detail, supported with data, what are the positive and negative consequences of leaving EMID?
3 What, exactly, are the issues or problem that fuel ISD622’s desire to leave EMID? How has ISD622 worked with EMID to resolve its concerns?
4 What EMID resources, other than Harambee and Crosswinds, has ISD622 used over the past decade? What are the trends in use? How has ISD622 evolved from being a leader in the creation of EMID and the second largest partner to wanting to leave the collaborative?
5 What is ISD622s internal capacity to replace the services and programs provided by EMID? How has ISD622 increased and how does the district plan to further increase its internal capacity to develop comparable resources?
6 What has ISD622 done over the past decade to increase cultural competence and effectively service its increasingly diverse community? How does the district plan to further increase cultural competency?
7 What has ISD622 done to integrate the racially isolated schools within the district? How many students are eligible to attend a different district school and how many currently take advantage of that option?
Financial Questions
8 How does ISD622 use its $1.2 million integration revenue?
9 How much would it cost to replicate the multicultural resource center, professional development, equity and integration services provided by EMID? Less than or more than the current $600,000 investment?
10 How much per pupil revenue move from EMID to ISD622? How much will it cost ISD622 to provide educational services to the new students?
11 What impact does the legislature’s intent to tighten guidelines on the expenditure of integration revenues have on ISD622s intended use of integration funds?
12 How will the loss of ISD622 financially impact EMID?
Enrollment Questions
13 How many ISD622/EMID students will leave EMID schools and enroll in ISD622 schools?
14 What types of ISD622/EMID students will enroll in ISD622? For example, predominately students of color and students in poverty that cannot afford to apply for open enrollment?
15 What grade levels are expected to see an increase in enrollment from former ISD622/EMID students? What neighborhoods are these students from? Do these neighborhood schools have room for more students? Are these neighborhood schools racially isolated from other ISD622 schools? Do those neighborhood schools have mandated school choice? What would the financial impact be of increasing enrollment of students of color and students in poverty in racially isolated schools and/or schools not currently making AYP, especially those mandated to offer school choice?
16 How many ISD622/EMID students would choose to apply for open enrollment in EMID schools? How many ISD622/EMID students would be eligible for open enrollment in EMID schools?
17 How would the lack of school transportation effect ISD622/EMID students? How would the lack of school transportation disproportionably affect students of color and students living in poverty?
18 Why do 10.3% of ISD622 families currently use open enrollment to place their children in non-ISD622 schools? Only 188 of the 1205 ISD622 children who attend school in another district go to EMID. Where do the other 1017 children go? Why? What are the demographics of the students who leave ISD622?
19 What is the historical involvement of Mahtomedi and Stillwater in EMID? How many of their residents choose to enroll their children in EMID schools? What is the level of interest and likelihood that their residents will choose to enroll in ISD622 schools? How many students from Mahtomedi, Stillwater and Forest Lake currently use open enrollment to send their children to ISD 622? How many ISD622 families use open enrollment to send their children to Mahtomedi, Stillwater and Forest Lake?
20 Where do the 2% of Mahtomedi students using open enrollment go? Why? What are the demographics of the students who leave?
21 Where do the 10% of Stillwater students using open enrollment go? Why? What are the demographics of the students who leave?
22 Where do the 12% of Forest Lake students using open enrollment go? Why? What are the demographics of the students who leave?
Curriculum and Assessment Questions
23 What services and programs does ISD622 currently offer with its integration funds?
24 How does ISD622 measure the success of its integration programs?
25 What programs will ISD622 offer to replace Harambee and Crosswinds? Will they include year round schooling, multi-aged classrooms, subject matter foci, enrichment programming like Bridges?
26 What are these new programs Mr. Cove indicates will be rolled out district wide with the additional $600,000 in integration revenue? He speaks of “great things,” like longer school days, math and reading specialists, and all day kindergarten –things that have been part of EMID and other districts for over a decade.
27 How do student achievement results (test scores, graduation rates and so on) of ISD622 students, ISD622/EMID students, and ISD622 students choosing to leave via open enrollment compare?
Climate Questions
28 How does race play a role in special education referrals in EMID, ISD622, Mahtomedi, Stillwater, Forest Lake and other districts? Do a disproportionate number of boys of color get referred for special education services?
29 What are the racially related disciplinary statistics for EMID, ISD622, Mahtomedi, Stillwater, Forest Lake and other districts? How many race related fights, hate crimes, name-calling and so on occur each year? How are race related disputes resolved?
30 How do students of different races interact in the classroom, on the playground and in the cafeteria, in co-curricular clubs, sports and activities and outside of the classroom in EMID, ISD622, Mahtomedi, Stillwater, Forest Lake and other districts? Do they segregate or integrate?
31 How will ISD622’s quick withdrawal from EMID effect its reputation among ISD622/EMID parents and others in the community?
32 How many and how diverse are the adults of color students in EMID, ISD622, Mahtomedi, Stillwater, Forest Lake and other districts? How successful are efforts to recruit teachers of color? What methods do those who successfully recruit teachers of color use? What barriers inhibit increasing student exposure to teachers and other adults of color? How can we overcome those barriers? For example, during times of teacher layoffs, seniority rules and union contracts hinder a district’s ability to recruit new teachers. Does ISD622 actively recruit substitute teachers, student teachers and regular classroom guest teachers of color to increase student exposure to adults of color?
33 While voluntary integration is the main purpose of EMID schools, the welcoming environment of Harambee and Crosswinds transcends race and provides a welcoming climate for working families, gay and lesbian families, non-Christian families and other types of diverse families. What is the environment like at ISD622 for these types of families? For example, does ISD622 still hold mandatory pre-K screening during the workday at a Catholic church?
Plan Questions
34 What is ISD622’s plan for forming a new collaborative?
35 Is it possible to form a new collaborative and develop a new integration plan that meets state requirements within the next 17 months?
36 How long have other integration collaboratives taken to form, develop a desegregation plan and budget, gain MDE approval and implement programming?
37 What are the quality implications for an integration plan developed so quickly?
38 Are Mahtomedi and Stillwater interested in leaving EMID to form a new collaborative with ISD622? Are the interested in and do they have room for additional students?
39 ISD622 disagrees with MDE’s interpretation of the desegregation rule and believes that Mahtomedi and Stillwater can be forced to form a new collaborative with ISD622. In such situations a school district can either file suit against the State of Minnesota over MDE’s rule interpretation or lobby the Minnesota Legislature to pass a law that would overrule the state desegregation rule. How much would either action cost ISD622? What is the likely outcome of either action? How long would such action take? Would it be resolved within 17 months?
40 What is ISD622s back up plan if they fail to form a new collaborative and develop an approved integration plan within 17 months? How will the potential loss of $1.8 million in integration revenue impact the district? What programs and services will be eliminated if ISD622 lost $1.8 million in integration revenue?
41 How will ISD622’s plan meet the intent and spirit of integration?
42 What is ISD622’s plan to increase interracial contacts for its students?
43 What are ISD622’s integration goals and action steps? What options for intradistrict integration will be provided?
44 Would integration plan calling for increasing ISD622 enrollment through partnering with overwhelmingly white districts be approved by MDE under state desegregation rules?
45 How has distance affected the participation levels in EMID and other integration collaboratives? To what degree would ISD622 families participate in collaboration with a district as far away as Forest Lake?
46 Does ISD622 plan on requesting integration levy?
47 The desegregation rule calls for giving parents and students meaningful choices. Currently the only public school choices ISD622 families have are traditional neighborhood schools, EMID, or open enrollment. What “choices” other than traditional neighborhood schools or open enrollment will exist in 17 months for ISD622 families? Does ISD622 plan on developing and opening cooperative magnet programs or schools designed to increase racial balance within the next 17 months?
48 How does ISD622 plan to reach out to the community preceding the development of a district desegregation plan, per state rule? How will this outreach compare to the community outreach (or lack there of) conducted by ISD622 during the study process?
49 How have other suburban districts that are racially isolated in multiple ways (significantly less diverse than urban neighbors and more diverse than exurban neighbors) dealt with these issues? In Minnesota? In other states?
50 What types of programs are offered by other Minnesota integration collaboratives?
51 What best practices can ISD622 copy from EMID, other Minnesota districts, other states and countries?
52 And so on.