New life for a long-struggling Minneapolis Washburn

In southwest Minneapolis, a school revival is underway.

Washburn High School, which in recent years lost hundreds of students and posted bottom-of-the-barrel test scores, is making a comeback.

In the second year of a "fresh start" that has transformed how the school operates, Washburn has turned around much more quickly and dramatically than district officials predicted or could have hoped.

Test scores are up, suspensions are down, and students, staff and community members credit a new atmosphere at the school with making neighborhood families -- who had turned away from the school in droves -- take another look.

The school is throwing a gala this week for alumni and the community as part of a campaign to raise $400,000 by the end of the school year. The school wants to replenish its foundation, which also has suffered in recent years.

"It's very hard to dig out a high school," said Associate Superintendent Brenda Cassellius. "It's just been an amazing transformation in a very, very short time. ... The soul has changed in the building. The spirit has returned."

'A better future'

Almost a fifth of Washburn students still are learning English, and almost two-thirds come from low-income families.

Before the 2008-09 school year, the school district put Washburn and Edison high schools through a "fresh start," a controversial restructuring process Minneapolis has used since 1996. It lets the principal hand-pick a staff from teachers throughout the district, regardless of tenure. Edison also is making progress.

Washburn teachers who wanted to stay had to reapply, "so they were clear with what kind of school they would join," said Principal Carol Markham-Cousins, who started a year before the fresh start. "It wasn't that staff [members] were the problem, it was that they needed to become part of the solution."

The school also needed a comprehensive plan to raise achievement, she said, adding, "We didn't want 10,000 initiatives."

Now, all ninth-graders take Honors English and Honors Geography. The school has Advanced Placement classes and College in the Schools classes and is in the process of becoming an International Baccalaureate site. The school also has stepped up its arts programming.

"Teachers here help you learn, and they stay after school with you to help you," said Antonio Jones, a sophomore. "If someone sees you failing, they pull you aside. They want you to go on to have a better future."

Staff learned "restorative measures" to deal with behavior, resulting in fewer suspensions. The school has only two rules: No hats, and no electronic devices in the classrooms. Responsible use of them is allowed in the halls.

"Some people seem like they're trying harder to learn and putting more effort into it," senior Luke Beck said after his "College in the Schools" French class last week. "And there are less fights," added senior Elhadj Keita.

Over the past year, school officials threw a dozen parties for neighborhood families, to show off changes and to try to draw students back. Markham-Cousins said "30 to 40" families accepted, and the freshman class is now the biggest at the school. It's also the whitest -- 40 percent white, nearly double that of any other class.

'A comeback story'

"We have a lot of work to do," Markham-Cousins said, "but we're getting there."

French teacher Nancy Gustafson, at Washburn more than 20 years, reapplied for her job because "I really love this school, and I just always wanted to see it succeed."

The school seems more calm and focused, she said, adding: "There's a focus on teaching and best practices. It's not that it wasn't here before, it's just that it [wasn't] a coordinated effort."

Students have noticed.

"When you come to school here, you come to learn," said senior Moneshia Fly, who said that wasn't true in her other Minneapolis schools. "The teachers push you to your limits, or past your limits."

"We're living in a diverse world, and the more you can understand different cultures, the better it prepares you for a real life experience," said Julie Ristau, whose son Soren is a freshman. Ristau said she and her husband supported Soren's choice of Washburn because they're "excited about the momentum."

"There's a history and a legacy that is very much in the cellular memory of the school," she said. "It has the opportunity to be a real shining star."

David Buck, who works on the school's foundation, said that when he calls alumni, "many of them say they went to the very best school in the state." He said they want it to return to greatness with what it has now -- a diverse, determined student body.

"They recognize that the school has been through the wringer," he said, "and they want a comeback story."