The Republicans are coming. So are the media. And the Anti-War Committee, RNC Welcoming Committee, Women Against Military Madness, ANSWER, the Call 'Em Out Coalition from Detroit, the Latinos Against War from Los Angeles, the Madison Ragin' Grannies, and probably hundreds of other protest groups.
The Republicans estimate that 45,000 people will show up for the convention. Their estimate includes 15,000 national and international media, but doesn't include the protesters. A small oversight—maybe no one told them. Estimates of the number of protesters range from 20,000 to 60,000.
We invited editors, writers, organizers and city officials to a meeting on May 27 to talk about RNC coverage: issues, stories, sources, suggestions. The amount of information people had was impressive, and inspired me to put together a little quiz.
Convention quiz:
1) How many of the following organizations can you identify?
RNC-WC
CUAPB
AWC
YAWR
SPPD
WAMM
2) If you were a downtown business, would you
a) tell your employees to work from home so they don't have to fight their way through the Republicans, lobbyists, press and protesters to get to work
b) close your doors until September 5
c) hire a helicopter to deliver employees from a safe zone at the St. Paul airport to the rooftop of your building
3) True or false: The Secretary of Homeland Security declared that both conventions are National Special Security Events.
4) The number of extra police officers being assembled for convention security is:
a) 1000
b) 3000
c) 8000
5) The RNC COA is:
a) the Committee On Acronyms – somebody's got to keep a list.
b) Cherish Our America, a group organizing patriotic counterprotests
c) the Chapel Of America, which will be open 24 hours a day during the convention
d) the Committee On Arrangements, now headquartered in downtown St. Paul with 100 employees from across the country.
6) How will the Daily Planet cover the RNC?
a) articles from citizen journalists
b) re-published articles and videos from community media partners
c) a blog with stories from lots of different people
d) all of the above – and maybe more. What can you add to the mix?
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Biking to Breakfast
by Mary Turck, 5/14/08 • A vegan tofu scramble, pancakes, vegan caramel rolls, scrambled eggs and tortillas, and more—the breakfast spread at the Green Institute was more like a bounteous buffet than the continental breakfast promised on the Bike/Walk to Work Week Web site. And I was ready for it, after biking over from St. Paul, passing the Daily Planet office on my way to the celebration. When I arrived, they had just run out of plates, but the supply was quickly replenished. Almost 120 people biked to the Green Institute breakfast, and four walked. This was one of a dozen locations across the Twin Cities offering free breakfast for people who biked or walked to work.
breakfast on the roof
Breakfast was served on the roof, where we enjoyed a view of downtown Minneapolis, the new bike/pedestrian bridge over Hiawatha Avenue, and the LRT line. Rooftop gardens surrounded the large, round table, and rows of solar panels stretched southward.
Breakfast on the roof
I arrived too late to have breakfast with the mayor (who also biked to Bedlam's breakfast), but two young women from South High School were there. South expected more than 200 biking students, and had extra bike racks ready in the athletic field. Two other breakfast guests were on their way to the University of Minnesota.
Roof garden at Green Institute
Even if you missed the Great Commuter Challenge on Monday and the breakfast on Wednesday, you still have a chance to catch several Bike/Walk events.
Rooftop solar panel array
The Freewheel Midtown Bike Center Grand Opening is Thursday morning at 7 a.m. in Minneapolis, on the Midtown Greenway between Chicago Ave. and 10th Ave. S. The bike center will offer a place along the Midtown Greenway where cyclists can get repairs, rentals, bathrooms, showers and more.
Walkers get their turn over the weekend, as the Minnesota Historical Society offers walking tours of Summit Avenue, focusing on the architecture, social history and current preservation issues of the historic neighborhood.
Sunday brings the renaming of the Midtown Greenway Bridge, which stretches across Hiawatha Ave. and the light-rail transit line. The bridge is being renamed in honor of former U.S. Rep. Martin Olav Sabo.
For more information on these and other events, go to the Bike/Walk Week Web site.
I'm sure that high gas prices and a long-delayed end to winter gave an extra boost to this year's Bike/Walk Week. If you haven't yet tried biking to work (or to the grocery store, or the library, or to run errands), give it a whirl. You'll be glad you did.
Achievement Plus in St. Paul
• by Mary Turck, 4/27/08 • The little boy began kindergarten already behind, explained Lynnell Thiel. He had never been to preschool, he knew only 14 of his letters, and he just didn't seem to be making any progress. Luckily for him, Johnson Elementary School on St. Paul's East Side has a tutoring program, provided by the School Sisters of Notre Dame. After six weeks of one-to-one tutoring four times a week, he knew his whole alphabet – and could sight-read 42 words. That little boy is now ready for success in school. His story is part of Achievement Plus, an 11-year-old collaboration between St. Paul Public Schools, Wilder Foundation, the YMCA, Ramsey County and the City of St. Paul.
The story came from an April 25 brown bag lunch meeting sponsored by the Committee on the Achievement Gap. Achievement Plus now operates in three St. Paul schools – Dayton's Bluff and John A. Johnson elementary schools and Cleveland junior high school. (Next year it will add North End elementary. Monroe was initially an Achievement Plus school, but did not remain in the program.)
According to Thiel, who is one of three Achievement Plus staff, the program uses a community school model that includes:
• School as a center of community life
• School, families and community partnering to educate children
• Open to students, families, and community members with extended hours throughout the year (One school reported 387 evening and Saturday events in an eight-month period.)
• Educational opportunities for families and community (such as basic education or English classes for parents)
• Array of services for families and communities (including on-site dental clinics and mental health services and family rooms that offer services such as emergency food or parenting classes)
The Achievement Plus schools have high levels of poverty, as measured by free and reduced-price lunch eligibility. They began the program well below the district-wide levels on student achievement tests. They have high numbers of students beginning school with limited English proficiency. In short, the Achievement Plus schools are not easy targets for success.
When it began 11 years ago, the program focused on providing support services for students and families. After a few years of support services, no clear pattern of student achievement was seen, according to Wilder Foundation researcher Dan Mueller. So changes were implemented.
Achievement Plus added a strong focus on standards-based academic achievement, including high expectations for all students and increased professional development days for teachers. In addition, Dayton's Bluff was "reconstituted," with big changes in staffing and administration beginning in 2002.
Today, both Dayton's Bluff and Johnson elementary schools can point to dramatic improvements in student achievement, measured by MCA tests.
In 2000, Mueller said, only 12 percent of Dayton's Bluff students met MCA test standards. By 2005, 66 percent of Dayton's Bluff students tested as proficient on MCA tests. Johnson's improvement was measurable, but less dramatic, especially since Johnson did not start from as far down as Dayton's Bluff. Absenteeism has dropped, and school staff report fewer disciplinary problems and better school climate.
Parts of the Achievement Plus model – such as involvement by the East Side Learning Center tutoring program and the East Side Neighborhood Development Corporation and the East Side Family Center – now extend to other schools in the district. Community partners, including the East Side YMCA, are crucial to delivering the broad array of services to students and families.
Today, school staff strongly believe that Achievement Plus improves student achievement. That's a marked change. In 2001, less than 40% of teachers believed the program was effective. By 2007, about 90% said they think the program working.
The most important lessons of Achievement Plus can be found in the conclusion to the written report on the program, "The Journey to Reform," which summarizes the first eight years of the program. The conclusion identifies two "intangible qualities present in thriving projects or programs," as:
"An attitude that all students can learn if all the pieces are in place to assist them. …
"A belief that when the larger community works together, anything is possible."
The story came from an April 25 brown bag lunch meeting sponsored by the Committee on the Achievement Gap. Achievement Plus now operates in three St. Paul schools – Dayton's Bluff and John A. Johnson elementary schools and Cleveland junior high school. (Next year it will add North End elementary. Monroe was initially an Achievement Plus school, but did not remain in the program.)
According to Thiel, who is one of three Achievement Plus staff, the program uses a community school model that includes:
• School as a center of community life
• School, families and community partnering to educate children
• Open to students, families, and community members with extended hours throughout the year (One school reported 387 evening and Saturday events in an eight-month period.)
• Educational opportunities for families and community (such as basic education or English classes for parents)
• Array of services for families and communities (including on-site dental clinics and mental health services and family rooms that offer services such as emergency food or parenting classes)
The Achievement Plus schools have high levels of poverty, as measured by free and reduced-price lunch eligibility. They began the program well below the district-wide levels on student achievement tests. They have high numbers of students beginning school with limited English proficiency. In short, the Achievement Plus schools are not easy targets for success.
When it began 11 years ago, the program focused on providing support services for students and families. After a few years of support services, no clear pattern of student achievement was seen, according to Wilder Foundation researcher Dan Mueller. So changes were implemented.
Achievement Plus added a strong focus on standards-based academic achievement, including high expectations for all students and increased professional development days for teachers. In addition, Dayton's Bluff was "reconstituted," with big changes in staffing and administration beginning in 2002.
Today, both Dayton's Bluff and Johnson elementary schools can point to dramatic improvements in student achievement, measured by MCA tests.
In 2000, Mueller said, only 12 percent of Dayton's Bluff students met MCA test standards. By 2005, 66 percent of Dayton's Bluff students tested as proficient on MCA tests. Johnson's improvement was measurable, but less dramatic, especially since Johnson did not start from as far down as Dayton's Bluff. Absenteeism has dropped, and school staff report fewer disciplinary problems and better school climate.
Parts of the Achievement Plus model – such as involvement by the East Side Learning Center tutoring program and the East Side Neighborhood Development Corporation and the East Side Family Center – now extend to other schools in the district. Community partners, including the East Side YMCA, are crucial to delivering the broad array of services to students and families.
Today, school staff strongly believe that Achievement Plus improves student achievement. That's a marked change. In 2001, less than 40% of teachers believed the program was effective. By 2007, about 90% said they think the program working.
The most important lessons of Achievement Plus can be found in the conclusion to the written report on the program, "The Journey to Reform," which summarizes the first eight years of the program. The conclusion identifies two "intangible qualities present in thriving projects or programs," as:
"An attitude that all students can learn if all the pieces are in place to assist them. …
"A belief that when the larger community works together, anything is possible."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
