Continued: Washburn works to prove itself during hard time

Recently, in a span of 48 hours, Washburn High Principal Carol Markham-Cousins said goodbye to students, interviewed candidates for some 20 open teaching positions and greeted her new staff for next year.

The Minneapolis native, who grew up not too far from Washburn, is quick to sum up her first year at the school as "challenging."

She's tried convincing families who live in the area that her school, with its smaller class sizes and expanding arts program, is just as capable of providing a good education as the nearby and more popular Southwest and South highs.

She'd tell them that the school will soon offer the popular International Baccalaureate (IB) program along with Advanced Placement (AP) and honors courses. And that Washburn will benefit from the district's still-evolving high school redesign initiative.

"I want any kid walking through this door, whether they live in Tangletown or on the North Side, to be successful," Markham-Cousins said.

In January, Washburn was the first choice of nearly 200 incoming ninth-graders. Good, but that's about a third less than South and Southwest.

Then came the bombshell during spring break. The district announced that Washburn and Edison high schools would get a "fresh start." Because of poor state test scores and declining enrollment (each had fewer than 1,000 students), it meant both schools would get new teaching staffs in the fall.

Such restructuring usually brings new principals, too. But, since Markham-Cousins and Carla Steinbach at Edison were both in their first year, they will remain and get a key say in choosing their new staffs.

While there was some grumbling at Edison, veteran teachers and concerned students at Washburn were more vocal with their dissent. The tension was felt for weeks, capped by a student walkout that lasted for a few hours.

"It was incredibly messy," Markham-Cousins said. "I didn't know what to expect after the announcement. The students said, 'Gosh, this really hurts. These are my teachers, and I didn't have any say or control in this.'

"It was rough for a lot of us. A disruption like this, no matter how smooth you try to make it, can cause anger and hurt feelings."

Even now, during the first weeks of summer break, the feisty debate continues in online discussions. It's right up there with the Strategic Plan and the proposed $60 million property tax referendum.

Leah Sorensen, 16, an honors student at Washburn who is transferring to St. Paul Academy this fall, told me that besides some of her favorite teachers leaving, there's also a lot of unmotivated students and not a wide variety of curriculum to choose from.

"I wanted AP history and they cancelled it. That sent me over the edge to find a new school," Leah said. "I think it's important to have a new start for the school, but the way fresh start is set up, the whole process seems suspicious to me. Maybe it will turn out all right for Washburn down the road. But I wouldn't recommend going there -- not in the state that it's in."

Markham-Cousins believes that the "fresh start" was done for the right reasons. But there will be many familiar faces for students next fall, she said: More than 50 percent of last year's staff is returning this fall. There also will be a new level accountability for the staff, students and even their parents.

Markham-Cousins sees Washburn as a diverse school that resembles a global village but doesn't get enough neighborhood support.

"I want people to understand the truth and be committed to this school," she said. "A lot of kids who live around here are scared to go here because a lot of their classmates don't look like them.

"We have to change that perception."

She thinks Washburn's students already get the message.

"When I speak with students about expectations, they tell me they want good relationships with teachers and they want to be challenged," she said. "They want people to know they can be good students, and it's our job to provide ladders where they can climb and reach and succeed."

Flanagan bows out of race

Outgoing school board member Peggy Flanagan withdrew her candidacy in her hotly contested District 58A House race against incumbent Joe Mullery. Citing her mother's declining health as the reason, Flanagan told supporters last week, "My dedication to building power for underrepresented communities on the North Side remains unwavering."

Terry Collins • 612-673-1790