For Lisa Sayles-Adams, the energy of the first day of school never gets old.
“It was exciting for me as a student,” said Sayles-Adams, the superintendent of Minneapolis Public Schools. “It was always exciting for me as a teacher. I was excited for the first day of school as a principal and for the superintendent, it’s no different.”
She’s hoping to channel that excitement to set a positive tone for her first full year as Minneapolis superintendent. Since Sayles-Adams started her job in February, she’s helped navigate the district through a difficult budget cut process and helped avert a teacher strike . In coming months, she’s expected to play a key role in the district’s “transformation” process, which may include school closures and consolidations.
But as teachers and principals prepare to start classes next week, Sayles-Adams says she can feel the excitement in the air. Teacher staffing vacancies are at their lowest levels in years. A technology levy on the ballot this November may help close budget gaps. And she’s witnessed “amazing things” in Minneapolis Public Schools that she says don’t match common narratives about the district.
One example: the relationship between students and staff. Shortly after she started her job as superintendent, Sayles-Adams ran into a former coworker at Nellie Stone Johnson Elementary School, where she taught early in her career. “He is still a kid magnet, and a really important figure in the building,” she said. “Our staff connect with and love our kids, whether it’s a high five, a hello, how are you doing, checking in on them when they’re doing their work. I just really, really, really like that.” She describes returning to Minneapolis Public Schools as “coming back home.”
Sahan Journal spoke with Sayles-Adams about her vision for the year ahead and next steps in the district transformation process. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What are you looking forward to as the school year begins?
We have already gotten a solid start to the school year, welcoming our leaders and teachers back. I’m hoping to carry that momentum forward.
I have been asking people to stand with us in talking about some of the good things that are happening in Minneapolis Public Schools — of course, knowing that there are many things that we need to continue to work on. But I do feel that excited energy in the air. I want to keep that going.
Doubling down on our commitment to educating every student and making sure that we help ensure that they reach their full potential.
One thing to note: we do have a technology levy question on the ballot this November. So on November 5, our voters will be asked to vote on the increase in the amount of $20 million annually for dedicated funding for technology, which will minimize the cuts to other programs and services.
And then, of course, I think everyone knows that we are working through school transformation, so making sure that we’re able to get the information that we need for the board so they can certainly help guide the way.
In December, the board passed a resolution asking the district to do four things: the physical space study, community engagement, finding efficiencies within the budget, and then developing a Spanish dual-language task force.
Our next steps are the walkthroughs of all our facilities. We want to make sure that we’re getting the voices of our communities of color and for our families that typically don’t engage in the traditional ways that we as the district normally set out. We want to go out to the community. We want to make sure that everyone’s voice is heard.
With the efficiencies with the budget, we’ll continue to do the priority-based budgeting that we’ve been doing. And then the Spanish dual language task force: right now we are identifying members for the task force, and then we want to determine the objectives, and then we’ll start setting the timeline.
So you’re preparing for walkthroughs? What does that entail?
In the resolution, the board identified specific staff that would be there. So they named the board chair, the vice chair, the board member of that election district, area assistant superintendent. They also noted the principal of the school, a special ed teacher, a multilingual teacher, and then additional staff.
So that will be a pretty large undertaking. My understanding is to walk through the facility, through the building, to see how the actual spaces are being utilized, to see if they’re being utilized for their intended use — or over the years, as we have brought on new programs, different mandates from the Legislature, are we using the spaces differently?
I think it could be all of the above. One thing that we really want to think about through the transformation process: We really want to deliver on our district vision, our mission, our commitments and goals for our students and families. With the transformation process, we want this to be sustainable to the future, so it could include consolidation. It could include closures. It could include growing our enrollment. I think it is variable. It’s not just one thing.
I don’t have that information just yet. I believe through the four areas of the transformation resolution, we will take the next several months to actually gather that data. And then my expectation would be to give that information to the board so they can discuss it, they can analyze it, they can reflect on it, and then we can work collaboratively together, and then they can share what their expectations are and possible next steps.
Shifting gears a little bit, how does the district plan to support newcomer students this year?
First of all, we’re very excited to have our newcomers. We are one of the districts that are leading in supporting our newcomers. Although we did have some challenges with our budget, we did make an investment of 24 additional English language teachers. We’re also prioritizing our funding for our Office of Latine Achievement, and that department has quite a bit of family engagement, support and connecting with our families and our newcomers. Over the summer, we’ve been working really hard to connect with organizations so that we can work closely with the city, the county and the state to support and help our families and our students that are new to the country.
Are there other changes or new programs you’re excited about this year?
I’ve had an opportunity over the past eight months to be in 52 of our schools, and I have seen some really amazing things that really don’t match the narrative that it’s been out there regarding Minneapolis Public Schools.
We have Minnesota’s 60th Teacher of the Year, Tracy Byrd . We also have Christian Ledesma, who was selected as the High School Principal of the Year (Hennepin Division) by the Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals.
On this Thursday [August 29], we are going to have the renaming ceremony for Camden High School, which took place after years of advocacy from our students. And we’re encouraging people to come out and check out our North CTE [Career and Technical Education] center. And we will have two additional CTE centers across the city, one at Roosevelt and one at Edison High School.
How do you think this year may look different from last year after the budget cuts?
Our vacancy rate, for sure. It’s 4.5%, so it’s the lowest that we’ve had in years. As I have checked in with principals, they’re excited that they actually have teachers in place. They’re ready to start the year. So that will look a little different.
What is something you really want students and families to know or to be thinking about as they’re getting ready to come back to school?
This is their year. These are their schools. This is their school district. We are here to partner with them, to support them, to give them what they need. We want to continue to build healthy and sustaining relationships and just to support our students. We are here to serve them and support them. That’s the whole reason why we exist.
Are there any other stories or examples that come to mind as you’ve been visiting schools over the last seven, eight months of things you wish people could see about Minneapolis Public Schools?
Every time I went to visit a building, one of the main places that our principals would take me to were their media centers: very beautiful, vibrant places full of culturally responsive books, where our students can see themselves in literature. The furniture is beautiful. The space is really beautiful. And it just brought me back to being an elementary student, where I fell in love with reading at our school in our media center. We still have that same vibe, whether it’s at the elementary level, the middle level, the high school level. It’s a place where the circulations are high, books are flying off the shelves, and [there is] great conversation.
The strong relationships that students have with each other, the care that they have for each other, and the connection that they make with adults as they’re passing from one class to the next class.
The past couple of weeks have been wonderful, welcoming people back. We’re at the Convention Center the past two days, and the energy — you could feel it, it’s palpable. People are just smiling. They’re excited. It’s like a reunion. So it feels good. So I’m really excited about the start of the school year. And you know, just being back home.
The post After spring of hard choices, Minneapolis superintendent starts new school year with note of optimism appeared first on Sahan Journal .
Local Minneapolis, MN
Most Popular
Comments / 0