The "Covenant," a pact intended to close the enormous achievement gap between black and white students in Minneapolis public schools, may be falling apart.

Disagreements over how to proceed and the resentments of some black participants who feel shut out of the process have festered. In January, a meeting about the agreement devolved into shouting as children were ushered out.

Meanwhile, one activist involved in the effort pronounced the Covenant dead.

The only thing everybody agrees on is that the performance of black students in the district is a "tragedy," said Kinshasha Kambui, a former aide to Mayor R.T. Rybak and a community activist who signed the agreement.

Only 34 percent of the district's black students graduate from high school in four years, compared with almost 70 percent of whites, according to state figures. Last year, only 8.6 percent of black students were proficient on state science tests, compared with 61.4 percent of white students.

"Our children are in a state of emergency," Kambui said, "and nobody seems to be noticing it."

The 2008 Covenant says that the city's schools and black families "must commit to working with a deliberate focus on African-American students in order to overcome a legacy of educational inequity." It focuses on teacher training, school stability and keeping track of what works.

The idea was taken from a similar agreement the district has with the city's American Indian community.

The Covenant was seen as a hopeful sign that resolve might finally be high enough to turn the tide of failure. But for some, resolve has turned to recrimination.

The district is forging ahead with the agreement and hopes to start pilot programs in one or two schools this fall, said spokesman Stan Alleyne.

One district ally said some community members are angry because the district might not implement a $700,000 behavior-management program run by Covenant advocate Titilayo Bediako.

Black parents have long distrusted the Minneapolis public schools.

With the Covenant, "We thought that despite the history, because we were so organized and we received such well wishes from the school board, we really thought that it would be different this time," Kambui said. "... I guess you could say, 'Silly us.'"

A group called the African American Mobilization for Education [AAME] forged the Covenant with the district. But the district has since worked with an "advisory council" to determine how to proceed. Since the council started meeting, the district has not invited AAME to the table, the group says.

The district denies that, saying the group has always been welcome. But the district adds that it needed to get experts together in order to move the plans along.

"If you bring a concept such as a Covenant to the district, and they implement it, then they're not taking it away from you -- that's what you wanted them to do," said Bill English, co-chair of the Coalition of Black Churches/African-American Leadership Summit, which has worked with the district.

Rites of Passage

The "Rites of Passage" program is a major issue of contention. It's run by the We Win Institute, a north Minneapolis nonprofit founded by Bediako. It's designed to reduce suspensions of black students, improve their attendance, and decrease their numbers in special education.

Bediako, who helped initiate the Covenant, feels the district agreed to fund an expansion of her program and then backed out, moving on to other initiatives without explaining.

"The question then becomes, 'Why isn't it included?'" Bediako said. "Is it because it's not a good program? Is it because it's hurting children? ... This is a program that's been in Minneapolis schools for 12 years."

Alleyne said the district never agreed to fund it. Some district officials were present when the proposal was constructed, he said, "but it doesn't mean that the district endorsed it." He said it is still being considered.

The district planned to have a community-wide meeting Feb. 22 to discuss progress on the Covenant, but officials canceled it because of a conflict with another meeting. It has yet to be rescheduled.

'Beautiful concept destroyed'?

In the meantime, the district's Covenant advisory group continues to meet to work out a pilot program that might be in place this fall.

Ron Edwards, an AAME member, said he thinks the Covenant is dead.

"I don't want to see a beautiful concept destroyed because of what appears to be pettyism," he said. "... The district has no commitment to really spend the money to upgrade educational opportunity for children of color."

That's something district officials vehemently deny.

"We cannot afford to get frustrated and slow down this work," Alleyne said. "Everybody agrees that this is critical work, and whether we're frustrated or having a misunderstanding, the one thing we all need to agree on is that we need to continue to move forward."

Emily Johns • 612-673-7460