Secrets of the City

(via Strib)

The Minneapolis school board voted Tuesday to open Minnesota’s first school run by its teachers.

The French-immersion elementary school, targeted to open in 2011 in north Minneapolis, would be the state’s first “self-governed” school, an option approved by the Legislature last year in hopes of improving student achievement.

As a former teacher — having experienced the hindrances (to the students) of the administration’s bureaucratic red tape — this sounds like a beautifully ideal setup, in theory; but I can’t help but wonder how well it will play out. Thoughts? Pit holes? Just as we complain that people with great knowledge don’t necessarily make good teachers, and people with great experience don’t necessarily make good managers, are teachers necessarily equipped to run a school? Perhaps they are indeed. Perhaps not.

Two weeks ago we were crying about the loss of potential in the educational system because the budget for the educational department got downsized. Maybe we can look forward with a little more optimism now. Three hundred Minnesota Schools have announced their support of the Federal Aid Plan. Part of the plan touches on teachers’ pay raises, which will depend on the students’ performance. The amount of the investment? $330 million. Well, students, show your potential so that it’ll rain dollar bills for better teachers. And, of course, cheating is prohibited!

According to MPR, “The Minnesota Department of Education on Wednesday said it will fine a charter school $139,800 for employing teachers who didn’t hold valid teaching licenses.”

Sure the school has teachers without valid licenses. And sure, they’ve been given plenty of time to correct this. But, what the story fails to stress — leaving it for the last two paragraphs — is that the school, which caters to Muslim students, is actually being targeted for allegedly promoting the Muslim religion, which is unlawful as long as they receive state funding.

My question: why not address the real issues here? Why the sideways attack?

In January of last year, the ACLU sued the school for promoting Islamic culture. In January the school counter-sued. And in August the school threatened to sue the Minnesota Department of Education for defamation. This might sound extreme, but in a year-and-a half the department had already conducted 19 inquiries in the school. Excessive?

And come now, let’s face the facts: the Buffalo teacher who sent sexually explicit notes to a student probably has a license; the high school teacher who pleaded guilty to a plot against her stepmother probably had a license; and the Sleepy Eye Public High School teacher who was charged with having sex with a 16-year-old student probably had her license, too. As a former teacher without a license (and a good one at that), I have to wonder how important these darn licenses are to begin with.

JACC, over at Metroblogging, puts in an impassioned defense of Minnesota teachers, including linking to a Strib letter that argues, forcefully, that teachers are the best asset Minnesota politicans have. Jacc says: It’s my understanding that Minnesota has some of the best teachers in the country and in my own personal experience that held to be true. We rank #1 in Academic Achievement, 2007-2008 and rank high in almost every possible category, except salaries and price spent per pupil.