Before the Dust-Up

Since several folks mentioned in news pieces suggest the Burroughs' school language program might have served as a starting point for Chris Stewart's (and the Minneapolis School Board's) rage and knee-jerk accusations of racism, perhaps we should look to items before Chris Stewart flew off the handle and pulled out his well-worn Broad Brush of Racism.

Twin Cities Daily Planet:
"Mend, Don’t End" WMEP, say parents; "a vanity project," says MPS
By James Sanna , TC Daily Planet
March 09, 2009

More than 100 parents and students in the West Metro Education Program descended on Minneapolis Public Schools’ headquarters March 5 to give a piece of their mind to the Minneapolis Board of Education. The meeting followed last week’s vote to accept Superintendent Bill Green’s recommendation that MPS pull out of WMEP, effective June 30, 2009. Green says WMEP did not fulfill its desegregation mission, and failed to address the achievement gap between poor students and students of color, and white students.

“Pulling out is a step backwards,” said Leah Lynch of Minneapolis, the aunt of two WMEP students. Lynch and her brother are black.

The reporter considered it important to mention that a relative of two black students of the West Metro Education Program disapproves Superintendent Bill Green's recommendation and the Minneapolis School Board's decision to pull out of WMEP.

Hey, Chris Stewart! (Hey, Rahelio Soleil!) Do you think that element of the story is important or unimportant?

According to the reporter, another black person wants the program to continue.

“You don’t chop down a good tree,” said Adrian Kemp, a black IDDS parent, “you use it as a model for success.”

One can only assume what Minneapolis School Board member Rahelio Soleil (also known as Chris Stewart) thinks of Adrian Kemp.

What does Superintendent Green (and probably the Minneapolis School Board) dislike?

...Green pointed to WMEP’s failure to provide school environments that reflected the metro area’s demographics...

Because, as we all know, a school in one city must AT ALL COSTS precisely reflect the percentages of the area at large.

Why such a high priority? Shouldn't a school's first concern be teaching?

“Several member districts are using the program as a vanity project,” said Chris Stewart, a member of the MPS school board.

Stewart said WMEP was not trying to spread knowledge of their successes among member districts, many of whom have seen a dramatic increase in the number of immigrant families, poor families, and families of color over the last few years. School-by-school racial and economic segregation is getting worse, not better, Stewart said. “It’s getting to a point where we can only afford to work with those districts who are serious about addressing this,” he said.

Hopefully, more parents and folks from the neighborhoods have additional information... and hopefully, we'll see that information.