Minneapolis Public School Facts

Comment by Doug Mann: Please take what the district's says with a shovel-full of salt. For example: There are 4,195 district employees classified as "teachers" in 2003-2004. However, the 2003-2004 budget accounted for fewer than 1,700 full-time teacher positions in regular and special Ed programs. Some "full-time" positions are filled by part-time teachers, so the number of teachers employed was probably close to 2,000. Evidently, a large part of the teaching staff consists of teaching aids. The union that represents teachers, Minneapolis Federation of Teachers local 59 also represents teacher's a

Minneapolis Public Schools, the largest school district in Minnesota, expects great things. Our schools provide students with a truly international education that will better prepare them for life in a global community. More than 11,000 students who are currently learning English speak another language in their home.

Minneapolis has 59 elementary schools, 8 middle schools, and 8 high schools; 37 alternative schools; 6 special education schools; and is the largest participant in the Interdistrict Downtown School (a K-12 located in downtown Minneapolis) and the Fine Arts Interdisciplinary Resource school (an inter-district 4-8 school located in Hopkins).

Minneapolis has among the lowest public school class sizes in the metro area. Students enjoy more individual attention with class sizes of 22 students in kindergarten through third grade, 28 students in fourth through eighth grade and an average of 30 students in grades 9 through 12.

Families may choose community or magnet schools, with an average of 10 school options available for kindergarten families. Ninety-eight percent of incoming kindergarten families who submit a choice card by the January 15 deadline receive their first or second choice.

MPS high schools have implemented "Small Learning Communities" (SLCs), which are an innovative way to boost achievement by providing high school students with a more personal learning environment. SLCs are centered around particular interest areas such as the arts, technology, liberal arts, business, automotives, communication, health, engineering, and much more. SLCs fulfill graduation requirements while better preparing students for various post-high school options. Two high schools offer the rigorous International Baccalaureate program. This high school transformation has been made possible through the $4 million McKnight and $1 million Bush Foundation grants.

While many districts are cutting funding for arts programs, Minneapolis Public Schools has integrated the arts throughout the curriculum with its Arts for Academic Achievement initiative. This strategy has been shown to improve student attendance, engage children in learning and improve academic achievement. This arts-based programming was first instituted through a $10 million Annenberg Challenge Grant.

The middle school science program has been strengthened with the help of a $650,000 grant from the Medtronic Foundation. The grant was based on the district's success in revitalizing the K-5 science program and the growing leadership of the science staff.

Through an extraordinary $10 million grant from the Win Wallin family, many students who aspire to post-secondary education are realizing their goals. In 2002, the Wallin Family Scholarship Fund granted 189 scholarships to graduating seniors based on scholastic ability, community service, character and financial need.

Students have enjoyed the benefits of small class sizes since the first referendum was approved in 1990. The referendum accounts for $40 million of the district's annual operating dollars and pays for over 600 classrooms.

In 2002, Minneapolis Public Schools implemented a major initiative to transform its seven high schools and achieve an 80% graduation rate by 2010. The more traditional high school structure has been replaced with "small learning communities" (SLCs). Each high school now has several small learning communities to which 8th graders apply.

SLCs are an innovative way to boost achievement by providing students with a more personal learning environment that is centered around particular interest areas such as the arts, technology, liberal arts, business, International Baccalaureate, automotives, languages, engineering, and more.

Students are brought together by their common area of interest and make better connections with other students and teachers. In an SLC, teachers help students see how their studies are connected to the world, while promoting an atmosphere of mutual respect and love of learning. Students take challenging classes designed to meet district and state high standards in every SLC.

Students work with their family, school counselors and high school SLC coordinators to choose the SLC that is right for them. SLCs fulfill graduation requirements while better preparing students for various post-high school options.

MPS adopted an attendance policy in 2000 requiring students to attend school 95% of the time. That means students can miss no more than eight days a year. In August 2001, Hennepin County announced the adoption of this attendance goal countywide. Research supports the unquestionable link between attendance and student achievement. Students who attended school between 85-100% of the time passed state tests in reading and math at much higher rates than students who attended school less than 85% of the time.

Outside of the home environment, quality teaching is the single largest factor that impacts student achievement. We know that 54% of our classrooms make average reading gains of one year or more and 59% of our classrooms make average math gains of one year or more. By investing in quality teaching, we expect these percentages to increase significantly. All district initiatives focus on improving the quality of teaching.

With the cooperation of numerous community partners and the Healthy Learners Board, the No Shots, No School campaign has been a resounding success. In 2001, 98% of students were in compliance with state law by the end of the first week of school. Parents will continue to be informed that students must have up-to-date immunizations prior to starting school. Incoming kindergartners must have a completed hepatitis B series. For more information about required immunizations, call the HotShot Line at 612.668.1880.

All meals meet or exceed USDA guidelines for good nutrition. Free and reduced-priced meals are also available to eligible students. To apply for free or reduced-priced meals, call the Nutrition Center at 612.668.2820.

The Transportation Department's 2003 budget is $35 million. With this budget, more than 56,000 public and non-public students are transported by MPS buses to and from school each day. In addition, the Transportation Department provides the following services:

The School Board is a policy-making body overseeing the District's budget, curriculum, personnel and facilities. The seven Board members are elected at large. The Superintendent serves as the Board's chief executive officer and administers its policies.

The public is welcome to attend School Board meetings. The Board generally meets the second and last Tuesday of each month. Regular business meetings begin at 4 p.m. in the third floor assembly room of the district's Education Services Center, 807 NE. Broadway, Minneapolis. Agendas are available at the meeting or on-line.


	Mann for School Board \| home Minneapolis Public School Facts (From the district's web site) Comment by Doug Mann: Please take what the district's says with a shovel-full of salt. For example: There are 4,195 district employees classified as "teachers" in 2003-2004. However, the 2003-2004 budget accounted for fewer than 1,700 full-time teacher positions in regular and special Ed programs. Some "full-time" positions are filled by part-time teachers, so the number of teachers employed was probably close to 2,000. Evidently, a large part of the teaching staff consists of teaching aids. The union that represents teachers, Minneapolis Federation of Teachers local 59 also represents teacher's a ============================= Minneapolis Public Schools, the largest school district in Minnesota, expects great things. Our schools provide students with a truly international education that will better prepare them for life in a global community. More than 11,000 students who are currently learning English speak another language in their home. Minneapolis has 59 elementary schools, 8 middle schools, and 8 high schools; 37 alternative schools; 6 special education schools; and is the largest participant in the Interdistrict Downtown School (a K-12 located in downtown Minneapolis) and the Fine Arts Interdisciplinary Resource school (an inter-district 4-8 school located in Hopkins). Minneapolis has among the lowest public school class sizes in the metro area. Students enjoy more individual attention with class sizes of 22 students in kindergarten through third grade, 28 students in fourth through eighth grade and an average of 30 students in grades 9 through 12. Families may choose community or magnet schools, with an average of 10 school options available for kindergarten families. Ninety-eight percent of incoming kindergarten families who submit a choice card by the January 15 deadline receive their first or second choice. MPS high schools have implemented "Small Learning Communities" (SLCs), which are an innovative way to boost achievement by providing high school students with a more personal learning environment. SLCs are centered around particular interest areas such as the arts, technology, liberal arts, business, automotives, communication, health, engineering, and much more. SLCs fulfill graduation requirements while better preparing students for various post-high school options. Two high schools offer the rigorous International Baccalaureate program. This high school transformation has been made possible through the $4 million McKnight and $1 million Bush Foundation grants. While many districts are cutting funding for arts programs, Minneapolis Public Schools has integrated the arts throughout the curriculum with its Arts for Academic Achievement initiative. This strategy has been shown to improve student attendance, engage children in learning and improve academic achievement. This arts-based programming was first instituted through a $10 million Annenberg Challenge Grant. The middle school science program has been strengthened with the help of a $650,000 grant from the Medtronic Foundation. The grant was based on the district's success in revitalizing the K-5 science program and the growing leadership of the science staff. Through an extraordinary $10 million grant from the Win Wallin family, many students who aspire to post-secondary education are realizing their goals. In 2002, the Wallin Family Scholarship Fund granted 189 scholarships to graduating seniors based on scholastic ability, community service, character and financial need. For general information: 612.668.0000 TTY: 612.668.0001 Minneapolis Public Schools news and information can also be found at KBEM FM radio 88.5 and cable television channel 15. Number of Schools (fall 2003) Early Childhood Schools 1 Elementary Schools 37 K-8 Schools 22 Interdistrict Schools 2 Middle Schools 8 High Schools 8 Special Education Schools 6 Special Sites/Alternatives 9 Contract Alternatives/Charters 37 Total 130 Student Enrollment* Based on Oct. 15, 2003, Report of the Annual Racial/Ethnic Count of Students PreKindergarten/Kindergarten 4,514 Grades 1-6 19,141 Grades 7-8 6,684 Grades 9-12 13,090 Total 43,429 Does not include charter school enrollment; includes private contract alternatives Student Demographics (2003-2004) African American 42% Asian American 13% Hispanic American 14% Native American 4% White 27% English language learners 23% Eligible for free or reduced price lunch 68% Student Inflow 15% Students receiving special education 14% Average Class Size 22 students in grades K-3 28 students in grades 4-8 Average of 30students in grades 9-12 Students have enjoyed the benefits of small class sizes since the first referendum was approved in 1990. The referendum accounts for $40 million of the district's annual operating dollars and pays for over 600 classrooms. Employees (2003-2004) Teachers 4,195 Support Staff 3,092 Principals/Administration 290 Total 7,577 Budget (2004-2005) General Fund $386,095,290 Referendum Fund 43,357,142 Food Services 16,468,865 Community Education 18,987,773 Building Construction 31,878,000 Debt 67,966,00 Other 61,344,778 Total 626,097,848 Per Pupil Spending $10,226 State per pupil $7,439 High School Reform In 2002, Minneapolis Public Schools implemented a major initiative to transform its seven high schools and achieve an 80% graduation rate by 2010. The more traditional high school structure has been replaced with "small learning communities" (SLCs). Each high school now has several small learning communities to which 8th graders apply. SLCs are an innovative way to boost achievement by providing students with a more personal learning environment that is centered around particular interest areas such as the arts, technology, liberal arts, business, International Baccalaureate, automotives, languages, engineering, and more. Students are brought together by their common area of interest and make better connections with other students and teachers. In an SLC, teachers help students see how their studies are connected to the world, while promoting an atmosphere of mutual respect and love of learning. Students take challenging classes designed to meet district and state high standards in every SLC. Students work with their family, school counselors and high school SLC coordinators to choose the SLC that is right for them. SLCs fulfill graduation requirements while better preparing students for various post-high school options. For more information about our SLCs, click here. Attendance MPS adopted an attendance policy in 2000 requiring students to attend school 95% of the time. That means students can miss no more than eight days a year. In August 2001, Hennepin County announced the adoption of this attendance goal countywide. Research supports the unquestionable link between attendance and student achievement. Students who attended school between 85-100% of the time passed state tests in reading and math at much higher rates than students who attended school less than 85% of the time. Quality Teaching Outside of the home environment, quality teaching is the single largest factor that impacts student achievement. We know that 54% of our classrooms make average reading gains of one year or more and 59% of our classrooms make average math gains of one year or more. By investing in quality teaching, we expect these percentages to increase significantly. All district initiatives focus on improving the quality of teaching. Immunizations-No Shots, No School With the cooperation of numerous community partners and the Healthy Learners Board, the No Shots, No School campaign has been a resounding success. In 2001, 98% of students were in compliance with state law by the end of the first week of school. Parents will continue to be informed that students must have up-to-date immunizations prior to starting school. Incoming kindergartners must have a completed hepatitis B series. For more information about required immunizations, call the HotShot Line at 612.668.1880. Food Services (2002-2003) Meal Cost Served Daily Breakfast --- 14,400 Elementary $0 Secondary $1.25 Lunch 27,000 Elementary $1.60 Secondary $1.75 All meals meet or exceed USDA guidelines for good nutrition. Free and reduced-priced meals are also available to eligible students. To apply for free or reduced-priced meals, call the Nutrition Center at 612.668.2820. *Breakfast is available to all elementary students at no cost through a state-funded program. Transportation Department The Transportation Department's 2003 budget is $35 million. With this budget, more than 56,000 public and non-public students are transported by MPS buses to and from school each day. In addition, the Transportation Department provides the following services: Provides more than 275 special trips each day for activities, athletics and community learning. Distribution services for mail, food, materials, and supplies. Administers and provides funding for school patrol and crossing guard programs for 86 school sites. Provides door-to-door transportation for 3,200 handicapped students. Travels 62,000 miles daily with its 525 school buses - 2.5 TIMES AROUND THE EARTH! Employs 1,275 bus drivers, attendants, mechanics, transportation coordinators dispatchers, managers and administrators. Board of Education The School Board is a policy-making body overseeing the District's budget, curriculum, personnel and facilities. The seven Board members are elected at large. The Superintendent serves as the Board's chief executive officer and administers its policies. The public is welcome to attend School Board meetings. The Board generally meets the second and last Tuesday of each month. Regular business meetings begin at 4 p.m. in the third floor assembly room of the district's Education Services Center, 807 NE. Broadway, Minneapolis. Agendas are available at the meeting or on-line.