As part of a 5-year strategic plan, in 2009 Minneapolis Public Schools established an Office of New Schools (ONS) to provide more and different options for students and teachers in the district, to try and raise achievement, and to stem years of declining enrollment. The strategic plan calls for closing the bottom 25 percent of schools in the district, and the ONS plays a central role in providing new options.
The Office maintains a portfolio of new schools, employing chartering, contracting, and Minnesota's new Site-Governed Schools law to create new schools.
The state legislation creating site-governed district schools provides that the district board of directors and site governing council must develop an agreement identifying the authorities and responsibilities delegated to the school sites. Those not assigned to the school site in the agreement remain with the school board.
The schools under the ONS will be in one way or another 'new,' either converted from an existing site or started ground-up. The district board has limited the scope of new-innovation to that which can be demonstrated effective within the boundaries of existing research.
Resources:
Article: Star Tribune cover story, 'What if teachers ran the school?'.
Find the district RFP for Site-Governed Schools here.
Find the template for the district's Site-Governed Schools Council here.
Reporting structure:
The office’s Director reports to the superintendent of the district.
Website:
http://www.mpls.k12.mn.us/MPS_New_Schools.html
Contacts:
Jon Bacal
Executive Director, Office of New Schools
jon.bacal@mpls.k12.mn.us
612-668-0209
*Image: Cover, MPS Strategic Plan
