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.

Comments

[NumbersGuy]

Good points Speed!!! This kind of "Correcting the Fact" piece is ALL the District can use when THEY DON'T have the TRUTH or the FACTS on their side??!!!

Ms. Clausen used this same tactic in responding to the Letter to the Editor in the G.V. Patch earlier in December!!

Thanks for pointing out the HOLES in the District's latest attempt to SILENCE the people QUESTIONING their decision!!!!!

[Give2Attain]

The SUN News folks let me plug both Speed and G2A in my comment about the article. Cool !!!

Too bad more people won't read it.

[Rikta11]

I read it Give2Attain!

[Give2Attain]

Cool !!!

[Steve Pihl]

My question is why didn't you, or the folks at 281 exposed bring these issues up at the community meeting? I am guessing it is easier and safer to avoid open debate but blog instead.