Speed Gibson

The Fix Is In

Last May, I predicted that the new home of the Minnesota Vikings would be the old home of the Minnesota Vikings: The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, a.k.a. Mall of America Field.  I may even be right, for Governor Mark Dayton now says that it's the only workable solution, at least in the 2012 Legislative sense.

Gov. Mark Dayton told the Minnesota Vikings on Monday that the only workable site this year for a new stadium is the Metrodome, apparently bringing the team's long search for a new home back to where it started.

"The governor spoke to Mr. Zygi Wilf this afternoon and told him that if we are going to get a stadium bill passed this year, it will have to be at the Metrodome site," said the governor's spokeswoman, Katharine Tinucci.

I came to this conclusion after watching public transit wag the stadium subsidy dog, shoe-horning Target Field in what otherwise was an inadequate, inferior location.  Yes, it proved to be a remarkably good result, but all the credit for that goes to the architects whom I hope got the professional recognition they deserve.

The only merit this site had, adjoining the garbage burner, adjoining the high crime Block E area, was transit, the obvious confluence of the Hiawatha Light Rail and Northstar Commuter Rail.  The Central Corridor Line under construction will also originate here, sharing five stops including the Metrodome station before veering east to the University of Minnesota.  And the proposed Southwest Corridor Line will terminate here as well, entering from the north.

No doubt the appropriate switching will also be installed to let the Southwest trains flow through to the Metrodome station on game days, avoiding the need to switch trains.  They can then turn around in the switch yard maintenance facility just beyond the Metrodome on the Hiawatha Line.  Of course you'll have to plan on leaving at least two hours early because as one traffic engineer has already predicted, these trains won't run on time.

The alternate downtown sites near the Basilica of St. Mary's and the Farmer's Market would be along the Southwest Corridor Route but otherwise not fit the transit dream that the Metrodome site does.  The dome site is much cheaper, especially if just remodeled, not rebuilt.  Plus, that doesn't leave an empty site behind and it gives Minneapolis Mayor Rybak at least the opportunity to slide in some pork, like a Target Center remodel.

You heard Metropolitan Council Chair Susan Haigh yesterday.  Light Rail will fix everything, not just transportation.  The fix is in and the sooner the Vikings get on board, the sooner the new subsidies will flow to all concerned.

Fire up the grill!

We're officially past halfway on winter in terms of temperature, the low point being about January 14th, today being the first day a degree higher on average.  NASCAR, Baseball, and The Masters are in sight!

The Pressure For STEAM

A comment left me a link that explains more about STEAM implementations elsewhere.  It's a good article, worth your time to read and consider.  The premise is that there is synergy to be had in adding an arts component to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) to get STEAM as the article explains.  It's a fair assessment, too, identifying limits and the absence of supportive empirical data so far.

I like how the article speaks of the "intersection" of art and science, the latter referring to all of the STEM components henceforth.  They are indeed different disciplines, indeed different approaches to life itself.  They cross more than overlay each other.  That's true of people, too, the consumate art and science masters like Leonardo Da Vinci relatively rare.  So I'm again inclined to ask, can we implement both without limiting one or the other?

The article does blur an important distinction, like when it observes that "Nobel laureates in the sciences were 22 times more likely than scientists in general to be involved in the performing arts."  One can deeply appreciate and enjoy performances far beyond their own ability.  It's the difference between real guitar and air guitar.  Similarly, an artist does not need to understand the science of his craft or his tools.  Abraham Lincoln wrote his immortal Gettysburg Address on the back of an evelope while thousands of would be novelists can't write anything memorable on a MacBook Pro.

The article also raised a question for me: just what is science in the STEM/STEAM world.  Certainly the physicial sciences like physics and chemistry, biology close enough.  But as everyone tries to get in on the premiere platform, will science broaden as in dilute to include social sciences like Sociology or Economics, even misnomers like Political Science?

As many have said, if everything's a priority, nothing's a priority.  While this article may be right, that STEAM can rise higher than STEM, trying to cover those additional bases won't be easy, especially for a new program in a district with no prior experience.

 

If Romney Didn't Exist

In listening to the passion of the Ron Paul supporters and the "anyone but Romney" non-supporters, I wondered: what if Mitt Romney had not run, and that nobody else entered as a consequence?  What if you were looking at this hand after the draw: Paul, Gingrich, Bachmann, Huntsman, Perry, and Santorum?

Every one of these candidates has some serious baggage, flip-flopping, or outright liberal positions, only some of which has made the papers in covering the debates.  Rest assured, a desperate Obama campaign will publish the rest.  I had thought ever-boring Rick Santorum was at least consistent, his one strike his huge Senate defeat in 2006.  But Jason Lewis last night spent an hour laying out what the Democrat ads will say, even on the abortion issue.  We got a taste of that yesterday, when Alan Colmes showed there is no line the liberals won't cross.

Maybe we're all a little braver promoting our more flawed candidates knowing we can always retreat to Mitt Romney.  He has some explaining to do, like Romney-Care.  He has his share of flip-flops, though nothing approaching the betrayals of John McCain and Tim Pawlenty.  Some say he's become more conservative, but we heard that baloney about George W. Bush in 2000.  Still, he's got money.  He's got people.  And he's got presidential hair!

So at this point, barring some late entry, I'm thinking not only is Romney seemingly inevitable, he is indeed our best candidate for President this fall.

STEAM: The Heat Is On

It's been about 3 weeks since the District 281 Board approved the creation of STEAM magnet program.  I and others have written several posts questioning this decision.  You can use the Categories link at the left to see them all.

Apparently the district has been hearing from many of us with similar concerns.  Marketing and Communications Program Director Tia Clausen responded in a Sun Newspaper guest column on December 29th.  Our favorite contrarian 281 Exposed has already responded but allow me to pile on.  Ms. Clausen begins with:

As the administrator in charge of marketing and communications in the Robbinsdale Area Schools, I need to dispel some misconceptions about the Olson STEAM magnet so that our communities have the correct facts.

That phrase "correct facts" sets a disquieting tone for what follows, as in "correct set of facts," as in "our correct set of facts," as in "the facts you should accept."  After all, the title of the column is "Olson STEAM program misconceptions put to rest."

Let me clarify: the financial model used for the STEAM magnet does require open enrollment. That should come as no surprise, as in order to create new programming, funding is needed, and rather than "take away from existing programs," we wish to bring in new funding that comes with new students, or with students who may previously have attended schools other than Robbinsdale Area Schools.

The one-third number that is being conveyed doesn't solely come from the new magnet. It is a ratio of the number of seats at that school that would be above and beyond the current open enrollment in the district and could be filled by new students coming to any school.

The financial model uses numbers that are in keeping with the current percentage of open-enrolled students in the district (approximately 10 percent).

Nothing is clarified here; quite the reverse, tediously so.  And she missed the point.  The issue is not whether increased Open Enrollment is needed to make STEAM financially viable.  The issue is whether STEAM can indeed attract those new students.

Regarding the financial timeline, the district would begin to see revenue as a result of the STEAM magnet after year nine, using a very conservative financial model. Then the revenue enhancement increases, with an over $5.5 million revenue enhancement in year 14.

Again, no misconceptions are put to rest.  And notice the conditional tense and somewhat indirect phrasing.  Are there some additional assumptions?  Why not just say: "We conservatively estimate that STEAM will break even by 2022, generating over $5 million of additional annual revenue by 2026.  We say conseratively because ..."  That's what inquiring minds want to know.

Implying that we can continue to be an exemplary district by contracting within our own walls is simply not forward thinking. I personally don't wish to "exist," but to grow and continue to offer students the best possible education anywhere.

This paragraph reads like a pout, but let's try to follow the intent.  If Robbinsdale is an exemplary district today (source?), why does it does need a new magnet program?  Should we "mess with success" like Steve Jobs did?  What if it backfires, like when Netflix tried to split its offerings?  Thousands of businesses have gone bankrupt from too much "forward thinking" couched in the form of a false choice like the one presented here.

As both a former teacher and coordinator of magnet programs, a "school-within-a-school" model of programming, for STEAM specifically and at the elementary level, is not feasible nor what is best for students.

I'm not sure how one assumes this can be done in a "school-within-a-school" model. Would kids be pulled out to learn STEM? If so, that's not STEM education. Would the school pool their K-5 students together in a STEM classroom? If so, how would that work with such a vast difference in curriculum, age of students, and developmental level?

As "281 Exposed" noted, the "school within a school" approach was seriously considered by the District.  The approach adopted in fact plans on leveraging the accumulated STEAM experience at the single Olson location by eventually deploying portions of it in the other schools.  Did Ms. Clausen not get the memo?

The development of a STEAM magnet at Olson Elementary School will provide options for families, and give new families the opportunity to experience the great things that Robbinsdale Area Schools has to offer.

It will also have a direct effect on the learning across the district.

I thought the purpose of this piece was to clear up misunderstandings, not republish the press release.

While I appreciate the opinions of others, this district is moving forward; it is innovative and fresh. Things are happening all across the district that is taking our students to the next level.

We must jump on this train of fast-changing education for the benefit not only of our students, but our community members, our residents, and our students yet to come.

This is marketing, not communication, unresponsive to those unquoted opinions that the author appreciates.  Not that there is anything wrong with good marketing, but we were promised the "correct facts" that would allay our supposed misconceptions about STEAM.

That's the trouble with this whole article.  By its titles, we expect communication.  But what we read is marketing, with a somewhat dismissive air toward us non-believers in the need or prospects for STEAM.  In a word, it is unresponsive, which only tends to concede the argument.

Lauderdale Completed

City #20 was done in a day.  It is only 0.4 square miles, after all.  Falcon Heights is next, both part of my Rosedale project.  I read that these three cities were orginally just one as their borders suggest.

STEAM Escapes Me

Long ago I was on a student committee to come up with our Homecoming slogan to rally the St. Louis Park Orioles over the Robbinsdale Robins.  We voted for "Kick the L out of Robbinsdale!" but our faculty advisor vetoed it.  Today's letter to kick around is the A in STEAM, the new magnet program starting this fall in the Robbinsdale Area Schools, District 281.

STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics, a variant of the STEM concept being adopted by many schools nationwide.  Here is a Connecticut school district's summary:

[Our STEM Magnet School] offers an advanced academic program focused on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Students receive a rigorous, academically challenging curriculum with rigorous and intense science and math instruction. Teachers use an innovative, hands-on inquiry approach for instruction in all content areas. Students at STEM not only receive a state-of-the-art education, but are also immersed in a nurturing and collaborative environment that is built on a partnership between the home, school, and the community.

You have to wade through a lot of Edu-Speak before you realize how little is being said here.  What non-STEM educators would agree that by comparison, their programs aren't advanced, rigorous, challenging, or innovative?  What classes are taught today without any nurturing or collaboration?

But let's take it at face value, that some students will respond better to a left-brain approach emphasizing the quantitative as opposed to a traditional right-brain qualitative experience.  I'm willing to see what happens, though my left brain insists on asking: how much better, and at what cost?  My cynical side also has a question.  Will the schools allow the rigorous application of the scientific method to disabuse their students of anthropogenic climate change and other junk science?

Now, where does A - the arts - fit in?  The Board added this in consideration of the District's long standing reputation and commitment to the arts.  I can understand how they didn't want this eclipsed by a new "state of the art" (no pun intended) STEM program.  I am at a loss, however, to see any synergy whatsoever.  Indeed, isn't STEM targeting nerds like me who have no real artistic calling or ability?  If there is no synergy, then the resources, even the focus are diluted.  Indeed, not knowing much about STEM but knowing a lot about Art could result in a "steAm" program as a fellow pundit put it.

And if the "best" Arts program will only be at Olson (STEAM's home), what is left for the other schools, including those not able to enroll in STEAM for lack of a winning lottery number?  Should someone who would benefit from STEM per se be shut out to make room for someone who wants to work in clay?  That cynical little devil on my left shoulder reminds me that Executive Director of Education Services Lori Simon said that "We need to be sure the student body reflects the district’s overall enrollment.”  Adding the non-quantitive (as in harder to measure results) arts component clearly makes it easier to do that.

If we must do STEM, let's not dilute it.  Kick the A out of STEAM!

Getting STEAM Rolled

As others have already pointed out, there are two obvious concerns about the financial projections for the newly adopted STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) magnet program.  One is the assumption for a net increase of 94 K-5 Open Enrollment students.  Two is the long payback, in the red the first 10 years, partly to amortize over $2 million in facility (re-opening Olson elementary) costs.

In year 12, the district projects a positive cash flow of about $1.5 million, largely from that Open Enrollment increase, both residents who return and non-residents who sign up.  But there are problems with this analysis.  That new money obviously comes from neighboring districts, a zero sum game meaning for Minnesota in total, nothing has changed.  We will be spending just as much overall at the state level as before.  The additional expenses in running STEAM are real and local, however. 

We sometimes see this phenomenon in business where one department saves a dollar by in effect spending two dollars of another department's budget, sometimes all unknowing.  Chief FInancial Officers usually spot these loopholes and close them.  The District (and its Financial Advisory Commisssion) could and should similarly be more forthcoming from a taxpayer's overall point of view.

The other problem is that this STEAM model assumes that the other districts will not offer programs of their own, especially when they see that they are losing students to Robbinsdale.  Assuming STEAM proves as popular as hoped, what is to prevent, say, the Osseo Schools from doing the same, maybe better?  There are no secrets to this.  Indeed, the District plans on replicating at least portions of it for use at its other non-magnet schools later on.

Few businesses today will underwrite projects with over a 5 year payback, let alone 10.  Too many things can change.  It is quite possible that the Board, Superintendent and Cabinet will be all new faces ten years from now.  The economy?  Anybody's guess.

This is not to say that STEAM isn't still worth doing.  Just don't expect it to be profitable.

Coon Rapids Completed

If you check the right sidebar you'll see that I've knocked off city #19 in my quest to walk every street therein.  Next up is Roseville, including nearby Lauderdale and Falcon Heights.  By then spring might be here for me to begin my "tet offensive" into St. Paul.

I'll also have more daylight, with sunset already 5 minutes later than the minimum of December 10th.  The Earth is not perfectly spherical hence the daylight calculations do not exactly track the solar solstices.

Does Open Enrollment Work?

National School Choice Week runs the last week of January.  Normally I would save such a post for then but this topic is at the core of the STEAM program just adopted by the Robbinsdale Area Schools.  It is a magnet program, an internal choice that the Board feels will raise enrollment.  By making 281 "a district of choice" it should lose fewer students to private schools, charter schools, and other public schools via Open Enrollment.  STEAM's financial success in fact depends on gaining students via Open Enrollment.

Let me question the Open Enrollment concept more generally, however.  Consider the recent case of the Eden Prairie Schools, where the (former) Superintendent tried to patch over sagging test scores at one school by intra-district busing.  The parents and taxpayers made enough noise to change Superintendents but as many as 300 families simply used Open Enrollment to escape this foolishness. Just being near the border of a significantly better district spurs Open Enrollment, exhibit A being the Minneapolis Public Schools that loses hundreds of students to the first ring suburbs.

The districts and unions were opposed to Open Enrollment from the start, even though the cause célèbre of DFL governor Rudy Perpich.  Many (most?) districts and certainly the unions continue to oppose it as unfair and unneeded competition.  But state officials often take a bow when Minnesota is showcased as a leader in education policy.

Open enrollment was first passed 25 years ago as optional, made mandatory 5 years later.  We on the right tend to assume more choice in education is a priori a good thing.  I submit: maybe not.

For one thing, the relative movement is small, both in numbers and geographically.  The academic difference is hard to measure.  While there are winners and losers, statewide we all lose a little in extra paperwork, accounting, and transportation.  And if the parents are involved enough to make such a change (as we did), wouldn't the same commitment bear the same fruit or nearly as much?  Or more if by pressing, the entire district corrects whatever deficiency prompted the switch?

Take an extreme example, a family living in the Lowry Hill East neighborhood who opts for St. Louis Park for their 10th and 12th graders.  They can take the #17 Metro Transit bus, maybe having to leave ten minutes earlier.  They definitely will get more educational opportunity because the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) are the quite possibly the worst in the state, particular for minority cohorts.  Isn't Open Enrollment of value here, doing what Gov. Perpich intended?  Yes, short term, but long term maybe not.  It's like Canada's single payer health care system which depends on the United States as a safety valve to treat Canadians not approved or scheduled months out, possibly fatally so.  Open Enrollment takes some pressure off dysfunctional MPS administration and disinterested DFL legislators.

It would be most interesting to see how the DFL would react if the Republicans were to introduce a bill abolishing Open Enrollment in the name of saving money and improving accountability.  Call it a "neighborhood school" bill that also requires a school district not force busing like Eden Prairie might have done as an internal form of Open Enrollment.