Dear Mr. Grathwol,
In your June 8th letter to Senator Higgins you state that "no one [Mpls student] chooses a career pathway" and that Mpls "does not force students to choose careers in 8th grade."
Your statements are simply not true. The small learning communities (SLCs) in Minneapolis require students to make career decisions before they enter high school.
You say that Minneapolis students "have the opportunity to choose their high schools." What you don't mention is that in 8th grade students actually must choose an SLC, and that choice determines their career pathway. SLCs are focused around future career plans. Therefore, choosing an SLC is choosing a career path. The SLC sales language calls the career pathways "themes," but they are career themes.
The American Youth Policy Forum describes SLCs
this way:
"a multi-year sequence of courses that integrate core
academic knowledge with technical and occupational
knowledge leading to higher levels of skill attainment
over time with a unifying theme around which to
organize the curriculum." (p. 6 "Rigor and Relevance,")
http://www.aypf.org/publications/aypf_rigor_0004v.3.pdfYou say that every SLC "delivers all of the state required and elective academic standards." They do indeed teach the standards, but all of the curriculum is integrated with the particular career pathway. American Youth Forum notes that, "In grades 9-10, a program of study [in SLCs] would focus primarily on academic foundations using the context of careers." (p.iii)
The MPS district website calls SLCs "school-to- career," and "school-to-work." The website states:
"School-to-Career Transition in Minneapolis is a
comprehensive system involving a diverse group of
school, agency and organization partners committed
to transforming the educational experience of
Minneapolis learners. Guided by this commitment,
the School-to-Career (STC) Transition System is
dedicated to realizing the following vision: "The Minneapolis School-to-Career Transition
Consortium seeks to establish a COMPREHENSIVE
K-life education and EMPLOYMENT TRANSITION
SYSTEM which prepares ALL Minneapolis learners
to assume their RIGHTFUL PLACE at the center of
he economic and social fabric of the community."
[Emphasis added.]
http://www.mpls.k12.mn.us/stw/index.htmAs is obvious from the above quotations, The SLC system in the MPS is a job training program which puts all students on a career path in order to proceed on to high school.
The same conclusion is evident again from the MPS website, which states:
"career-cluster programs at several Minneapolis high
schools have been developed or are in various stages
of development: "Edison High School÷ Business & Financial Services
North High School÷ Manufacturing, Engineering
Technology (including out-of-school youth
component)
Washburn High School÷ Business, Travel & Tourism,
Aviation & Aerospace
Roosevelt High School÷ Medical Health Care,
Business
South High School÷ Manufacturing/Engineering
Technology
Henry High School÷ Manufacturing--CAD
Minneapolis Charter/Alternative Schools" "All Learners
The Minneapolis School-to-Career Transition initiative
includes strategies for ensuring the participation of all
learners [in] secondary/postsecondary, career
clusters."
http://www.mpls.k12.mn.us/stw/status.htmMr. Grathwol, how can you say that "No one has a career path?" The truth is that the School to Career system is a system of career pathways for all students.
Another page on the district website refers to projects funded by outside grants for this very purpose. For example:
"The Minneapolis School to Career Transition
Consortium was recently awarded an Urban/Rural
Opportunities Grant (UROG) of $502,000 for each of
five years to support the Manufacturing Engineering
Technologies Career Pathway."
http://www.mpls.k12.mn.us/dgr/grant_writing/newsletter/1997/nov97.htmlEducation used to be an opportunity for students to establish a broad liberal arts background that would provide them a foundation to decide for themselves what they wanted to do in life. In this system, their options are narrowed to a pathway that focuses them on one direction, a path set at 13 and 14 years old.
Education under STW considers students to be "human resources" for business needs, like energy and metal. Students are also referred to as "human capital." When we require students to have careers by 8th grade, society doesn't have to waste its substantial investment. If students don't need to know much literature or geography, they wouldn't learn it, under school to work. It's not "relevant."
It is impossible to certify students for entry level jobs for business and industry in high school without sacrificing substantial academic, knowledge-based learning. This is the reason that our children come home from school without knowing real history, geography and literature.
Aside from career pathways for all by 8th grade being a bad idea, career options are limited. There are a few SLCs that are along the lines of general liberal arts, and these are the most sought after. These SLCs are swallowed up in the first round, however, so they aren't open for any 2nd choices. Keep in mind, however, that liberal arts/college prep programs are also now considered to be career pathways.
International Baccaulaureate (IB) is just for students who live in the Southwest, Roosevelt, and Washburn areas. For this fall's choices, IB filled up on the first round, with 79 more students left out in the cold.
Arts and Humanities is for Southwest students only.
The "Open" SLC at South is considered general college prep, and it's offered citywide, but that one is what lots of students want. 310 students chose it for this fall, but there were only 175 "slots." It was filled in the first round.
"Liberal Arts" at South High is offered city wide, but that one fills up on the first round too. 240 students applied for a liberal arts SLC for this fall, but only 175 slots were available. No second choices on that one, either.
The following high demand SLCs were also not available for 2nd choices: Aviation & Aerospace, Travel & Tourism, International Studies, and Health & Human Services (Washburn area only).
To make light of the fact that ONLY 256 students didn't receive any of their first THREE choices, and that they were then assigned to whatever career options their local school offered is a major problem. The even bigger issue, however, is that, at the very least, more than one quarter of Minneapolis students are not in the career pathway they most wanted -- 26%. That number doesn't include those who would have chosen "none of the above."
According to the district administrator for the choice process, "We'll have to paint a scenario for parents to show them what happens when they choose three popular SLCs," (Southwest Journal, 4/3/03)
The Journal points out that, '"a student who chose South Liberal Arts first, Southwest IB second and Washburn Travel and Tourism third, could be shut out from all three SLCs after not gaining admittance to Liberal Arts because both IB and Travel and Tourism filled during that same round."
This leaves Minneapolis families competing for the treasured slots. That is not to mention those who couldn't even APPLY for the Liberal Arts SLC. If standardized test scores are below the 70th percentile and GPA is less than a 3.0, don't bother. Better take manufacturing. The effect is to keep most Minneapolis kids in low paying jobs.
Incidentally, the American Youth Policy Council recommends that federal funding ought to be forcing this very system on all schools throughout the country by making it a requirement to receive federal money. Its paper, "Rigor and Relevance" states: "A national role is also needed to coordinate curricula frameworks, assessments and standards in high demand occupations." (p. 3)
So what is the overall effect of the MPS career system? The Minneapolis SLC system results in an education in which our children will not be educated beyond their station in life.
Sincerely, Julie M. Quist Maple River Education Coalition
TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.)
________________________________
Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
