Education funding: High expectations must be met by high support

Last week, I sat in a room full of students, policymakers and parents, witnessing five Minneapolis Public School seniors receiving "Beat the Odds" college scholarships from the Children's Defense Fund of Minnesota. Our students were recognized for achievement in the face of adversity.

Whether it was overcoming the challenges of homelessness, hunger, trauma or discrimination, these young people courageously shared their stories and spoke to us about the importance of community and the possibilities that come from positive, trusting relationships with adults in our schools.

As the Minnesota Legislature discusses caps in compensatory aid and cuts to early education funding — policies that would disproportionately effect students living amid the highest concentrations of poverty — teachers in classrooms across Minnesota understand that high expectations must be matched with high levels of support.

What happens in the broader community shows up in powerful ways inside our classrooms. Our job as educators is to try to understand our students, the systems they are moving through and how we can make sure we are meeting their needs while addressing their academic, social and emotional well-being.

Having graduated from McGregor High School in Greater Minnesota, I understand that barriers to learning exist for students in every corner of our state. Yet, it is undeniable that Minneapolis Public Schools students face some of the highest concentrations of poverty, homelessness and trauma.

That is why the state formula for compensatory aid has historically and necessarily ensured additional support for students in areas of highly concentrated needs, like Minneapolis — and, more recently, communities like Worthington, Red Lake and Albert Lea. It is also why funding for voluntary pre-kindergarten in our schools serving those same kids must continue.

So what does it mean for Minneapolis to have high concentrations of need?

We need to have high expectations for every student, regardless of their circumstances. And we do. Compensatory aid helps schools in Minneapolis address key needs of students, including: instructional support and achievement; bilingual support; physical and mental health support; class size reduction; school climate and safety; teacher and staff training and collaboration; parent and community involvement; and, culturally relevant curriculum development.

Take the example of Henry High School in North Minneapolis. Eighty-five percent of Henry students receive free and reduced price lunch. In the neighborhood around Henry, our kids are seeing and experiencing real challenges. Earlier this year, aggravated assaults in the community were up 39 percent, weapons offenses were up 300 percent. Homelessness in the area is real, poverty is real, lack of good paying jobs is real, housing instability is real.

Yet despite these challenges, Henry has an 87 percent on-time graduation rate with a student body that is 93 percent minority. In 2015, it was named one of the best high schools in the state by US News and World Report.

Today, Minneapolis Public Schools relies on $57 million in compensatory aid. One hundred percent of this funding goes to the schools that generate it — schools like Henry where the concentration of need is especially acute. In fact, schools with the highest concentrations of poverty in Minneapolis receive the most funding per pupil.

And we know improving graduation rates doesn't just happen because of the work taking place in our high schools. Rather, it is because students in areas of highly concentrated poverty have pathways to success that begin with strong early childhood programs — like our High Five program that readies students for kindergarten.

Instead of reducing funding for students who already face significant barriers to learning, I hope that our state policymakers will do the right thing by supporting policies that help improve achievement in the face of adversity. As Children's Defense Fund founder and public education champion Marian Wright Edelman said last week, we cannot go backwards. And as she has famously insisted over the years, if we don't stand up for children, then we don't stand for much.