The Road Ahead
By Rashad Turner, Minnesota Parent Union President and Executive Director
Minnesota educators know how to teach white students. We see these kids graduating, going to college and having very successful lives and careers all the time. It’s Black, Brown, Indigenous and low-income students who our state’s schools are failing to educate. If you don’t believe me, check out the section below titled “The Reality” for a glimpse at the future our children are facing.
Now, we can all agree children shouldn’t have to suffer because of a teacher or school’s inability to educate them or relate to their struggles. But how do we go about making our state’s K-12 education system one where students of color and low-income children are not left behind?
I believe it all boils down to parent advocacy.
The Impetus Behind Minnesota Parent Union
My father was killed when I was young, and my teenage mother, who was still a kid herself, got caught up in the streets. It was my grandmother who took me in and raised me and my brother. Her advocacy allowed me to succeed in school. I watched her navigate the education system – talking to my teachers and sitting in on school board meetings. She was my rock, and the reason I’m here today – the reason I’m able to do the things I do.
Kids with similar upbringings to my own often have a much different story – one filled with crime, poverty or incarceration.
When I was the African American liaison at White Bear Lake schools, I gained a new perspective on the issues facing Black students. So many parents were out of the loop. Unlike my grandma, they didn’t know the power and influence they could have on their children’s education. While working there, I suggested we visit the local women’s shelter where some of our less privileged students lived. The moms we spoke with had so many questions about their school, their children’s teachers and how we were educating them. It was then that I understood that parents need someone to help them realize their power and get them seats at decision-making tables.
The inequities and disparities in education came to a head for me when I worked at Century College. Underprivileged students who had been given a high school diploma were coming to the college uneducated. They were having to spend all their financial aid on developmental courses, which they don’t get credit for, and they would end up either failing out or having to quit. The system was broken, and it broke my heart to see how these students had been pushed through the school with no regard to how that would impact these kids’ futures and our society.
Instead of educating underprivileged students to be engineers or scientists, Minnesota's education system is preparing students of color and low-income students for a life of crime. And for the people out there who think this issue doesn’t affect them, think again.
The Reality
When children graduate from high school uneducated, it negatively impacts our society as a whole. It comes in the form of more individuals on welfare and unemployment, as well as increased crime and incarceration rates. Studies have also shown that uneducated individuals have more health concerns, putting a strain on our community’s health care systems.
Every year, the Minnesota Department of Health releases the Minnesota Report Card. This data shows just how bad it is for our students of color and low-income children:
Nearly 82% of Black/African American children in K-12 schools are not performing at grade level in mathematics, and almost 72% are not reading at grade level.
The majority of students who are on free or reduced-price meal plans are also suffering. Almost 79% are not performing at grade level in math and more than 70% are not reading at grade level.
For Hispanic or Latino students, nearly 79% of students cannot do grade-level math, and more than 70% are not meeting grade-level standards in reading.
As a parent, it pains me to see how much our children are struggling and how little is being done to address the issues. Minnesota has lacked the political willpower to make education better for students of color and low-income students. Our children deserve better.
How We Change Minnesota’s Education System to Better Serve Our Children
1. Promote Parent Advocacy
To get where we need to go, Black, Brown, Indigenous and low-income parents need to realize the influence they have over their children’s education. They have a choice when it comes to their children’s education. They can enroll in a new school. They can and should participate in school board meetings. They should do this not only because it’s good for their children, but because it’s what’s best for our schools, future students, Minnesota and our society. And if they don’t know where to start, Minnesota Parent Union is here to help guide them in the right direction.
2. Shine a Light on the Issues
We need to stop sweeping issues under the rug, and instead, start shining a light on what’s really happening in our children’s classrooms. The problems are real, and the stats are undeniable. Let’s stop making excuses for bad schools and get to the real root of society’s woes.
3. Give Freedom to Parent Choice in Schools
Cost is often a barrier when it comes to parents choosing the best school for their children. Minnesota Parent Union is working with lawmakers to develop Minnesota Education Grants. This will give parents the freedom to invest in schools where they feel they will get the best return for their children’s education – not to mention the ROI it will create for our community. The grants would take $18,000 – a portion of families’ taxpayer dollars that the district receives to educate students — and apply it toward non-public school tuition and approved education services including tutoring, curriculum, transportation, educational therapies, tuition at a postsecondary institution and computers.
4. Provide School Transparency
To hold teachers and schools accountable and for parents to become partners with their children’s schools, we need transparency. Minnesota Parent Union developed a transparency campaign, asking for Minneapolis Public Schools to be required to list their student bodies’ proficiency rates in areas such as reading and math, as outlined in theMinnesota Report Card, on the schools’ website's home page. By doing this, we hope parents will become more informed about their children’s education and administrators and teachers will take action to improve their schools' poor performance. Eventually, we plan to introduce this campaign in each of the local chapters we work in.
If you’re wondering where to start, visit mnparentunion.org/contact-us and fill out the form to learn how you can become involved and create a better future for our children’s lives.