Minneapolis School Board Candidate Questionnaire
2016
Completed by Doug Mann, candidate for the at-large seat
(with light editing)
Questions and answers
1. In your own words, identify some of the crucial anchors in MPS that are
supporting the school to prison pipeline. What are top systemic solutions that
you would propose that are needed to dismantle this pipeline in MPS that
focuses on methods that promote safety beyond policing?
The top problem: Huge racial disparities in exposure of students to newly hired
and inexperienced teachers. The policies that produce this situation also
contributes to high push out rates for teachers of color, in part because
teachers of color are more heavily assigned to schools where they are more risk
of being fired or pressured to quit. The most effective and efficient solution
is to increase teacher retention rates and to bring teacher turnover rates to
low levels in all schools. How? In cases of layoff, no teacher should be
replaced by a new hired unless continued employment is offered and refused.
Except for school districts serving cities of the first class, all teachers
have recall rights. The district must provide more support to teachers in
"struggling schools" and reject the "rank and yank" strategy for teacher
quality improvement. Administrative due process procedures should be in place
for all teachers.
2. 64% of students graduated from MPS in 2014. Identify some crucial barriers
to increasing the graduation rate in MPS. What are potential solutions that
take into account short term and long term measures?
Important barriers to raising the graduation rate also contribute to the school
to prison pipeline, especially racial disparities in exposure to newly hired
and inexperienced teachers and curriculum tracking. The type of curriculum
tracking which I oppose, also called "ability-grouping" involves labeling
students as fast, medium, or slow learners, then placing them in separate
classrooms or into separate in-class instructional groups accordingly. As
widely practiced during the 1950s and 60s, separating children for the entire
school day, "ability-grouping" was outlawed in the early 1970s, but is allowed
on a subject by subject basis. Ability grouping usually begins with reading and
/ or math in the early elementary grades, and grouping in other subject areas
tends to mirror grouping in reading and math. The curriculum provided to
"academically gifted and talented" children is watered-down to varying degrees
for a majority of students, which adversely affects their self esteem and
motivation. Strategies recommended for gifted and talented students work well
for nearly all students.
3. 16% of teachers in Minneapolis are teachers of color, where students of
color represent 67% of the student body. This can impact implicit bias,
curriculum choice, discipline, and relationships whether consciously or
subconsciously. What specific commitments and/or policies would you propose to
diversify the teaching force in MPS as well as make our district a model in
equitable practices?
The district's affirmative action in hiring program needs to be scrutinized
to ensure that teachers of color are better represented in the pool of job
seekers and new hires. But once hired, teachers of color must not be more
aggressively weeded out than white teachers. Far too many teachers are weeded
out early in their career, and teachers of color are disproportionately weeded
out of the profession. Teachers of color are often assigned to schools where
they are most at risk of being pushed out of employment. A reduction in teacher
turnover rates to low levels in all schools by increasing teacher retention can
increase retention rates fore teachers of color. District polices are the
problem, not tenure, seniority and due process rights. Teacher evaluations
based largely on student test scores and other outcomes are the basis for a
"merit system" that should be rejected.
4. In an urban district, schools have the power to connect students and
families with the access to services, opportunities, and resources to tackle
systemic barriers and round out their educational experience. What models would
you recommend the district implement to position our schools as critical
community hubs?
Charter schools and the "community partnership" model are associated with harsh
discipline and a narrowed, test prep curriculum. The school district should
work with government and private agencies to get on-site services, improve
access to resources, and to provide other programming, along the lines of the
full-service community school model. Board members should also be advocates for
an anti-poverty agenda, such increasing the minimum wage enough to get families
out of poverty, and aggressive enforcement of fair employment and housing laws.
The high "concentration of poverty" in Minneapolis and parts of the Minneapolis
School District is a by-product of unlawful, and mostly hidden / covert
discrimination. But little is done that can be done to detect and prosecute
those who discriminate. Those who discriminate, whether they do it
intentionally or not, should be required to take corrective action in order to
keep their license to do business.
-Doug Mann, Folwell neighborhood, Minneapolis