Mark Gilson 🌱

I've decided to open up one of the tools I use to monitor School Board Meetings in Minnesota. This monitors 67 school districts, and it even has PELSB meetings in the mix, see the tutorial video I made below. Many 👀are better than mine alone, and I hope this helps some of you keep tabs on school districts you find relevant across the state of Minnesota. Reach out if you have questions or district monitoring requests. 🔗closedloopresearch.com/schoo…

Incredible. kstp.com/kstp-news/top-news/…

Well, there should be plenty of content over the next several years...

School: St. Louis Park (@SLPublicSchools) Topic: Superintendent contract A parent argues against the early vote to extend the superintendent's contract, citing large class sizes, low paraprofessional salaries, and a lack of classroom resources compared to administrative compensation. 0:24🔸"Are we putting our resources where they will have the greatest impact on students or are we prioritizing administrative compensation while classroom needs continue to go unmet?" 0:44🔸"Average class sizes are over 30 students with some classrooms reaching 36 or 37 students." A St. Louis Park teacher with 20 years of experience asks the board to delay the superintendent's contract vote until a meaningful feedback process is established, arguing that trust and accountability require input from staff and families before significant compensation decisions are made. 4:54🔸"This is not about opposing an administration for the sake of opposition. It is about responsible and respectful governance."

Sitting school board member Ellie Krug and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison discuss gender-affirming care, transgender athletes, legal challenges to Minnesota law, and Ellison’s criticism of Ron Schutz’s stance on transgender rights. Krug and Ellison are both seeking reelection today. 0:24 - “If a cisgendered man wants to use Viagra … because he wants to feel like more of the man that he grew up being, then that’s OK.” 1:04 - “But then when it comes to trans community, we say, no, you can’t get the gender affirming care that you need to feel like the person who you are.” 1:29 - On the athlete lawsuit: “We were able to convince the judge that they had no standing.” 1:56 - “The federal government is challenging Minnesota law, trying to say that Minnesota law is not allowed to let athletes play based on their gender identity.” 2:27 - Ellie Krug: “More than half the states in the country ban transgender athletes and more than half are banning gender affirming care for trans kids.” 3:49 - Ellison on his opponent: “You’re openly trying to exclude trans people. What else are you, Ron, other than aligning yourself with bigotry?” Full broadcast: youtu.be/LNLjTTq9FIE

School: Roseville (@ISD_623) Topic: Anti-Racist District What do "anti-racist practices" look like? "Goal number three states that we are culturally responsive inclusive anti-racist district. We want to make sure that we ensure educator commitment to anti-racist practices, hire and retain a diverse staff workforce, develop equitable leaders and build a culture of belonging where all feel welcome and included and safe."

I would happily give up all that I've paid into social security if I could avoid paying any more into it.

School: Rockford (@ISD883) Low MCA math scores are called an anomaly, graduation-rate rules are called ridiculous, and meeting A&I goals are...really impressive. 0:06 - Middle-school math: “that number is the lowest we've seen in years.” 0:20 - After comparing with FastBridge: “we do think that is an anomaly.” 1:47 - On counting students continuing into transition programs against graduation rates: “that shouldn't ever be included, ever” 2:41 - A&I goals: “for the first time in my time here, we hit all three. And that was really impressive.” The amount of explanations that excuse the often uncomfortable result of low MCA scores seems to have no bounds from Minnesota school board members...

School: South St. Paul (@SSPPS6) Topic: Race based academic proficiency South St. Paul compares achievement by race and sets different growth targets for racial groups. Every student deserves ambitious goals and support based on individual needs, not racial categories. 0:00 - The goal: “the second goal is all racial and economic achievement gaps between students are closed.” 0:46 - The categories: “our white students, our students of color, and our free reduced lunch students” 2:54 - “We have to sort of look at each group separately and then look at them sort of in comparison to each other.” 4:02 - Reading proficiency: “the proficiency increased, again, a little bit more than for white students, which is a positive.” 6:26 - “for all students and our white students, our goal is to increase the number of students on track by 2%.” 6:37 - “For our students of color and our students at free reduced lunch, to increase by 3%.” 6:42 - The rationale: “the only way we close gaps is if we can increase faster” 7:04 - “some of our students actually make more than a year of growth in a single year.”

RT @CTrooien: “I don’t want to sit for two hours being bitched at.” - Jessica Olstad, Ed MN union-endorsed board member running for re-elec…

At the Oct 27th Prior Lake (@isd719) School Board meeting, members debated adding community listening opportunities to their annual goals. Some board members opposed more public listening opportunities. Others pushed for them. Choose wisely, Prior Lake. One amendment failed 3–4 before a revised goal passed 4–3. 5:28 - Jessica Olstad - “I don’t want to sit for two hours being bitched at.” 8:39 - Mary Frantz - “I don’t think we need it. We do have town halls.” 14:06 - “That fails 3-4.” The amendment is rejected. 14:33 - Lisa Atkinson - “I think this goal is really important,” 16:35 - “So that passes.” Revised community listening goal approved 4–3.

This is Owatonna (@Owatonna761) superintendent Dr. Tammy Champa mentioning an act of violence...I had to look this one up. Some adults don't deserve the true blessing of having kids. southernminn.com/owatonna_pe…

School: Mahtomedi (@mahtomedi832) Topic: Permanent School Fund Vote 0:51 - Director Jennifer Peterson provides an update on the upcoming Tuesday ballot regarding the permanent school fund, stating, "The no vote people have really quieted down", and “this will be an interesting ballot decision on Tuesday.”

School: Lakeville (@LakevilleAreaPS) Topic: AP Courses / GPA Weighting Brian Thompson asks questions related to double counting and student participation in AP courses as well as available pathways for students. Carly Anderson asks about participation after removing GPA boosting: 4:55 - Carly Anderson: “So this current ninth grade class would be the first class to not get the grade or GPA boost, right?” 5:01 - Administration: “We haven’t seen a change in enrollment in AP. It’s up.” 5:06 - Anderson: “So it’s great.” The question Anderson didn’t ask: How many AP students could miss out on their preferred colleges because Lakeville removed GPA weighting? Iowa State accepts qualifying school-reported weighted GPAs for admission: iastate.edu/admission-and-ai…

Crazy amounts of 💰💰💰

School: Fridley (@FPS_District14) Topic: MCAs The superintendent explains that MDE changes to reading MCAs make it impossible to determine if the district met its 2022 literacy goals. How convenient... 🔹“MDE has put out information to districts saying, do not do comparisons because they’re not the same” 🔹“unfortunately, we’re really not able to say, did we meet the goal or not?”

School: Eden Prairie (@EPS272) Topic: School shooting 0:00 - An Eden Prairie parent urges the school board to release aggregate data on how many students were disciplined after a recent football game fight, warning that a lack of accountability is driving families to consider leaving the district. 🔸2:06 - “I do not want my children attending school alongside students who are actively involved in gangs” 🔸2:50 - “Safety requires accountability.” 3:17 - A parent argues that the district’s safety report is a rubber stamp that ignores staff concerns and the recent shooting, urging the board to vote no on accepting the evidence. 🔸4:22 - “Three weeks after a shooting at our homecoming game, the position is nothing needs to change.” 🔸4:37 - “Real leadership, in my mind right now, looks like asking for a harder standard, not a rubber stamp.” 6:13 - A parent describes the lasting trauma students experienced during the shooting, noting that children are having flashbacks, and calls on the board to form a committee to address safety failures. 🔸7:23 - “The kids that were terrified that night are still having flashbacks to seeing a body laying in the grass.” 8:20 - Eden Prairie Superintendent Dr. Swanson defended the staff’s response to the recent shooting, saying their training ‘paid off,’ but admitted he went home ‘angry’ and ‘hurt’ that evening, promising to continue improving safety measures. 🔸8:49 - “The training and all the work that we do continuously in the district did pay off that evening.” 🔸9:19 - “I will tell you I went home angry that evening. I went home pretty hurt that evening.”

School: Anoka-Hennepin (@AHSchools) Topic: Ethnic Studies This dad has done his homework. A curriculum sold as inclusive and enlightening ought to withstand basic questions from parents. 0:00 - Challenges incomplete history and asks what his son is actually being taught. 1:36 - “Show me the materials before my son sees them.” 4:05 - “I cannot get a straight answer from the district or the state.” 4:09 - “And what I have seen has been uninclusive and inaccurate.” 5:19 - John Wolhaupter, local Education Minnesota president: Defends ethnic studies with lofty assurances and a book presentation. 5:52 - “…more information helps us make better choices.” 6:09 - “I have two books for you tonight.” I've read the book The Color of Law, and if that's what kids were being taught, John's topic *might* be relevant, but they aren't, so it isn't. Every parent in Minnesota should know what their kids are being taught...this shouldn't be hard.

School: Farmington (@district192) Topic: Strategic Roadmap The board reviews and approves the district's new strategic roadmap, including mission, vision, and core values, following a seven-month process involving surveys, focus groups, and consultant work.

School: St. Francis (@ISD15) Topic: Math MCAs Superintendent Karsten Anderson questions the relevance of the MCA math questions: 🔹"Are these questions really relevant to the workforce today?" Ok, cool, maybe they need to be updated, but then he states, "I'm a math teacher", and then later... 🔹"I might be able to answer two or three questions out of these 15 completely, maybe." What has our public education system become? 🤷‍♂️