Grand Portage Education Director Haley Brickner presented the Grand Portage Local Indian Education Committee’s (LIEC) annual report to the ISD 166 school board on October 2, 2013 at the Grand Portage Community Center. She lauded the successes of the year but also challenged the school board to do more to level the playing field for Native American students.
“We saw a lot of really big things happen in the last 12 months,” Brickner said. She said the district did a better job keeping the Grand Portage Education Department “in the loop” and involving Grand Portage staff when things were planned. “Communication and collaboration between Grand Portage and the district continues to improve,” she said.
Brickner said the LIEC appreciated the district taking steps to supervise and provide snacks and transportation for Grand Portage students involved in after-school activities last year. This helps keep them participating in extracurricular activities, she said.
The committee is happy to see the quarter-long Anishinaabe class for all eighth grade students continued this year. “This is a step in the right direction toward a more culturally inclusive school environment…” she said in an annual report she had written. She told the school board that teachers initiating an eighth-grade exploratory day in Grand Portage was “refreshing.” The students participated in activities related to wolves, wild rice, beach geology, and a fish hatchery, hiked up Mount Rose and ate lunch at the community center.
Brickner also said the committee appreciated the district including Grand Portage Education Department representatives in interviews for the new middle/high school principal, holding parent teacher conferences in Grand Portage, and having Michael McHugh attend LIEC meetings as a teacher representative.
“We absolutely recognize the efforts that are being made by the district,” she said. Continued effort is needed to strengthen the relationship between Grand Portage and ISD 166, however, she added.
Twenty percent of ISD 166 students are American Indian, Brickner said, probably representing over 10 different tribes. “Some of them are doing really well, but unfortunately a lot of them are not reaching their academic potential.” At another meeting on October 8 following a cultural awareness workshop for students earlier in the day, Brickner said, “Our kids aren’t not achieving because they need academic intervention.
They’re not achieving because the system is broken.”
To the school board, she said that changes need to be made in the system to meet the needs of the students rather than trying to “fix” the kids to fit into the system. “There’s no excuse for letting them fail in the educational system,” Brickner said.
Brickner’s written report stated, “The Minnesota Department of Education is making efforts to reframe this situation as an ‘opportunity gap,’ not an ‘achievement gap,” and we urge the board to do the same.” She said this gap “is bad. It’s really bad” — and needs to be higher on the district’s list of priorities. Recommendations
Brickner urged the board to avoid keeping Indian issues separate from the everyday life of the school. She said kids notice if attempts to improve cultural awareness are simply tacked onto the programs already in place. The state of Montana has made Indian Education a mandatory part of the whole curriculum, including core classes, she said. It’s not just one thing done during one class. When it’s infused into the curriculum, the value of the culture starts to make sense to the students. American Indian culture can be used to enhance the educational standards, she said, helping students learn to see things from other perspectives. She mentioned a video that has hundreds of ideas on how to incorporate Indian culture into lesson plans.
The efforts have to be continuous, said Anishinaabe teacher Tom Jack. Brickner concurred, saying that stand-alone, isolated events can simply reinforce stereotyping rather than help people understand the reason for coming to a better understanding of Indian culture.
Brickner said Grand Portage contributes almost $300,000 a year for the benefit of students in ISD 166 in addition to grant funding they procure. It would be nice if the district would do the same, she said.
The LIEC Parent Committee votes each year on whether they believe the district’s programs meet American Indian student needs, and according to Minnesota statute, the district must respond to recommendations made by the committee. The unanimous vote of the Grand Portage Parent Committee was that they do not believe the district is meeting the needs of American Indian students. They recommended that the district: . Require staff to set and be accountable for achieving Anishinaabe culture goals. . In consultation with the Grand Portage community, conduct a comprehensive evaluation of what is being done to ensure that the school is a culturally relevant environment for all students, whether the efforts are effective, and what more could be done. . Require annual training on culture for all staff, faculty, administrators, and school board members. . Infuse all aspects of school life, including curriculum, teaching methods, assessment, and atmosphere, with American Indian culture. “Research shows that cultural relevance (or lack thereof) in education contributes substantially to academic achievement level of American Indian students,” said the report. . Take more initiative in generating new ideas, programs, action plans, etc., and share this with Grand Portage. . Designate an Indian Education budget and provide resources to support these activities.
The school board discussed the possibility of having a work session to address the issues that were presented.
In other school news:
. The school held a relocation drill on October 2 during
which all students were sent to Bethlehem Lutheran
Church. According to Superintendent Schwarz, they were
pretending that a science experiment had caused air
quality problems requiring evacuation.
The superintendent said relocation could be necessary if,
for example, the fire alarm went off during cold weather
and the reason could not be identified right away.
The school learned a few things about how to improve the
protocol during a relocation, such as what to do if parents
from outlying communites came in and stated they
were there to pick up both their own and other people’s
children (the other parents would need to be contacted
for permission to release their children).
. Superintendent Schwarz reported that district
enrollment was at 441. She said she thought enrollment
would fall into the 420s over the next several years but it’s
looking now like it might level off in the 430s. The number
of students projected for the 2017-18 school year is 437.
. The district’s Multiple Measurement Ratings, the
accountability measures used in Minnesota under a waiver
from federal No Child Left Behind standards, improved
between fall 2012 and fall 2013. The elementary, middle,
and high school are evaluated for student proficiency,
growth, and reduction in achievement gaps between
demographic groups. Superintendent Schwarz said she
thinks the school’s new focus on staff development may
have helped with the improvement in scores.
. Board member Deb White pointed out that the Jane
Mianowski Conference Room is now in the YMCA building
and no longer belongs to the school. The board talked
about how they could continue to honor the longtime
teacher and school board member. Her husband Walt will
be consulted for his opinion.
. The board discussed concerns about overcrowding
on the school buses, especially the Grand Portage bus.
Superintendent Schwarz said that on some days, students
also have a lot of things with them, such as sports
equipment, uniforms, and band instruments. She also said
that by the time kids are in fifth or sixth grade, more than
two students to a seat is too many.
. The school and the YMCA have worked out an
agreement in which they will trade benefits, such as use
of the gymnasiums, cleaning, snow removal, and parking
spaces. Superintendent Schwarz and YMCA Branch
Manager Emily Marshall will monitor the benefits to make
sure that they are equal, and the school board will be
updated quarterly for at least the first year.
The Y will get 30 parking spots, Superintendent Schwarz
said, and the school is reserving six parking spots for
visitors on its side of the lot. She said students and staff
could park in front of the tennis courts for free. School
board member Deb White asked if the school side has
enough spaces for both students and visitors. Schwarz
said yes, although some students opt not to park there
because of the $30/year cost.
School board member Sissy Lunde expressed concern over
the safety of the parking lot and the street due to traffic
before and after school. The board discussed options
such as banning parking on the street during those
times, allowing parking on one side of the street only, or
increasing the parking space on school property without
taking any trees down. Lunde agreed to set up a meeting
to discuss the issue with the county highway department.
The board approved a revised crossing guard plan. Two
guards will be posted at First Avenue West before and after
school and one guard will be posted at First Avenue East,
with no guard at the top of Broadway.
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