The results are in ….more bad test scores

After reading this article all I have to say is that it takes more than “hope” and “luck” to fix these problems. Maybe that is the problem! All that MPS is doing is clinging to the hope they get lucky and the problem goes away, because they sure aren’t doing what it takes to fix it.
http://www.startribune.com/local/23928854.html?page=1&c=y

Whats the big deal? So some Minneapolis citizens are paying more in property taxes … so what

So some 20,000 properties in Minneapolis are being taxed higher than expected. Why is this a big deal? We’ve seen higher than expected tax increases for as long as I can remember. We face that all the time. It doesn’t matter if it’s taxes on property, sales, or fees; these costs increase every year. Why is this so surprising? Who in Minneapolis gives a rat’s rear end anyway? We keep voting for the increases. Be it schools, libraries, parks, or politicians; the majority in Minneapolis keeps voting for the increases. I thought the Mayor and City Council liked tax increases. They keep giving them to us. I secretly think they are jealous because someone else is doing it this time. Hey, Ostrow, if you don’t like the increase maybe you should go to a meeting!!! At least that is what he always tells me to do every time I complain about this issue. I say the people whose taxes went up, it’s their fault; they didn’t show up to a meeting. Just like the Mayor told us a few years ago; crime happens to those who are looking for trouble. The only thing I have to say to those folks in the Nokomis and U neighborhoods is to sit down, shut up, and pay up. Besides, think of it as a down payment on a new bike path, movie rental from the library, a patch of grass on the roof of city hall, or maybe even a new cool looking light pole in front of someone else’s yard. If you seriously don’t like this situation then stop electing the boobs who keep doing it all the time that represent you in city hall. That is a good place to start.

Minneapolis one of the best places to build net worth…more Hogwash

Surveys such as this from Salary.com in an article from the StarTribune http://www.startribune.com/local/24034604.html?location_refer=Minneapolis:highlightModules:5 can be very deceiving. Given the fact that we are one of the highest taxed areas in the nation, the education results in Minneapolis are horrible, and the sprawl of the Twin Cities area; the conclusion can be drawn away from these survey results. Need I say more!

Can anyone succeed in the Minneapolis Schools?

It doesn’t matter what color skin you happen to have the deck is stacked against a ‘yes’ to this question. It is even more so if you are black. Stats don’t lie! Last year 69% of black students failed state reading tests, and 78% failed the state math tests. That is completely unacceptable. Whose fault is it? The teachers? The students? The parents? The administration? The system? The academic plan? The answer is everyone and everything is a complete failure. It doesn’t matter what little successes that a board member might be able to point out, it still is a colossal failure worthy of a class action lawsuit by all parents that have had a student in a Minneapolis School over the last ten years. There are talks to create an agreement between members of the black community and the Minneapolis School system to affect some change in policy to address the poor results by black students. This is all wrong-headed. What really needs to occur is a wholesale change in the way MPS does business. Very simply put the following needs to occur.

Longer school days
Longer school week
Longer school year
Mentoring and Tutoring services for struggling students
Discipline policy that focuses on the root problems of behavior issues and is a signed agreement between parent, student, and teacher.
Get rid of specialized programs that are target specific in nature and create an all-inclusive approach (ie get rid of programs such as Welcoming Schools).

Realize that these suggestions alone are not an end all be all solution, but it’s a very good start. All residents of Minneapolis should require this to be part of the referendum agreement before the voters this November.