Dear MPS Partners and Friends,

As you may have heard in the media today, we are now planning for enrollment increases that will continue over the next five years. I am pleased to be the first superintendent in over 10 years who can say that MPS enrollment is on the rise in many areas of the city. This growth and anticipated future growth spurred the Minneapolis Board of Education on November 29 to approve proposals that address changing enrollment across the school district.

Increased market share, retention of students and data from the 2010 U.S. census indicated a need to address the varying enrollment changes in the northeast, south and southwest areas of Minneapolis. The approved plan adds space to accommodate 2,000 more students in kindergarten through eighth grade anticipated to enroll in MPS over the next five years. I consider our growing and changing enrollment to be a very positive challenge for Minneapolis Public Schools and our city as a whole.

Increased enrollment means that more families are choosing Minneapolis Public Schools and indicates the public’s confidence in our work to prepare every child for college and a career. We are extremely appreciative of the hundreds of parents and community members who engaged in conversations about how to effectively manage the changing enrollment in the school district. This plan was the result of recommendations from the community. There were 20 community engagement meetings held from May to October to discuss changing enrollment as well as numerous meetings of school site leadership and staff members that shaped the final proposals to the Board of Education.

The following recommendations were approved:

• Jenny Lind Community School will become a K-5 program and Floyd B. Olson Middle School will become a 6-8 middle school.
• Sheridan Arts Magnet will become a Pre-K-5 arts magnet. The current Sheridan 6-8 program will close and students may choose to attend their community school or another K-8 option.
• An early childhood center will be created at the Webster building or another northeast Minneapolis school building in 2013-2014.
• The Howe School building will be reopened in 2013-2014 to serve as a Pre-K-5 dual campus with Hiawatha Community School.
• The Folwell School building will reopen and the arts magnet program at Ramsey School will relocate to the Folwell building for the 2012-2013 school year. A new 6-8 middle school will be created in the Ramsey building for the Lyndale Elementary School and Burroughs Community School attendance areas. Students at Hale, Field and Green Central schools will also have the option to request the new middle school based on space availability. This school will start with sixth grade only in 2012-2013 and will add subsequent grades each year.

 Our goal is to support students and families who may be impacted during this transition and ensure that each student is placed in a successful program with as little disruption to their education as possible. If you have any specific questions, please contact our enrollment planning team project leader, Courtney Cushing Kiernat, at 612.668.0475.

Thank you for your support and patience as we work to welcome more students to Minneapolis Public Schools.

Sincerely,

Bernadeia Johnson, Ed.D
Superintendent, Minneapolis Public Schools

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