Minneapolis Public Schools is starting the third year of a five year strategic plan. In June, the board prioritized five strategies from the strategic plan for the district to use this school year.The school board received a presentation from district leaders about the specific work the district has planned this year related to the board’s priorities at its Aug. 27 Committee of the Whole meeting. District leaders also told the board which metrics they will report back on to track their progress.
The district will provide updates to the board in October andMarch and May of 2025 on its progress on the board’s five priorities.
The five prioritized strategies are:
- Provide standards-based core instruction with a focus on literacy and mathematics.
- Ensure all curriculum and instructional practices are anti-racist and sustain the cultures, languages, and experiences of our students.
- Provide equitable student access to culturally responsive counseling and mental health services.
- Strengthen pathways and reduce barriers for talented and diverse MPS employees and potential employees to become teachers.
- Fully implement the climate framework to ensure all district staff, parents, and students feel heard, valued and respected.
Two of the board’s five priorities focus on academic outcomes
The district has ambitious goals to improve academic outcomes this school year. Data presented at the meeting show the district needs to increase student proficiency in reading by four percentage points and by three percentage points in math this school year to meet its five-year strategic plan goals.
The district fell behind on its goals for student growth in literacy and math last school year. To stay on track, it must increase the percentage of students making adequate progress by eight percentage points in literacy and five percentage points in math this school year.
To meet its academic goals, district leaders said they will continue to focus on improving how it teaches reading and math. By using the same standards-based curriculum across all schools, the district hopes to provide every student has access to the same quality of instruction and grade-level expectations, regardless of which school they attend.
State’s READ Act guides professional development and elementary literacy curriculum
Over 1,000 district teachers have been identified as needing additional training in teaching reading in order to comply with the State law known as the READ Act, Maria Rollinger, executive director of academics, shared at Tuesday’s meeting. The district has elected to have these teachers complete a two-year training course called LETRS. The State requires that all the identified teachers complete the course, and at least 80% need to demonstrate “mastery on their assessments” in order for the district to comply with the new law.
To comply with the READ Act, the district must also utilize a literacy curriculum that aligns with the science of reading. This means the curriculum must have two components, one that teaches foundational skills like phonics, and one that is knowledge-building to build student’s reading comprehension.
Last school year, the district used 16 different elementary reading curricula, according to Rollinger. The district will implement a new foundational reading skills curriculum at 35 of its 44 elementary schools this school year, with the other nine schools making the switch next year. According to Rollinger, this will cut down the reading curricula to just two this year.
The literacy steering committee was unable to find a knowledge-building reading curriculum that met the district’s standards for anti-racism last school year, so it will continue that search this year. The district’s goal is to select a knowledge-building curriculum this year and to implement that for elementary students in the 2025-26 school year. The district will also select a middle school and high school literacy curriculum this year, and implement that in the 2025-26 school year as well.
District will implement a new survey on climate
The district will begin using a new climate survey, based on one developed by Pittsburgh Public Schools, according to Sarah Hunter, executive director of strategic initiatives. Hunter said that the district previously used the Cultivate Survey, but found it difficult to use the data to make improvements because it took several weeks to receive the results. Hunter said the new survey will provide real-time results so schools can respond quickly to climate issues.
The district is committing to fully implementing its Climate Framework, a plan first approved by the board in 2021. The climate and equity department is now led by Executive Director Tamuriel Grace, who previously worked as the Associate Superintendent of Engagement for Madison Public Schools. She replaces Derek Francis, who led the department for the past two years.
The school board will hold its next regular business meeting on Sept. 10 at 5:30 p.m. Business meetings include time for public comments, and the board can take votes at these meetings.
