Greetings,

Please find an attached summary based on the findings of several of the feedback processes the MFT engaged in with the District over this past year.  This report will also be published in the upcoming MFT Educator.

One of the reasons I wrote and am sharing the attached summary with you now is because the District administration recently reported some of the findings and recommendations from The New Teacher Project (TNTP) study. The TNTP findings and recommendations in this District report, however, are only a piece of what was in the TNTP study.  I feel you should see all of the findings and recommendations because it is so important to be fully transparent in everything we do.   Trust must be at the heart of our work and relationships if we hope to be successful.  To build this trust,  we need to listen closely to, think deeply about, and act collaboratively on what we have learned in all of the feedback processes.   If we do, the best decisions will be made for the future of MPS students and the district as a whole.
 
In the attached summary, I have also included a few results from other feedback processes that took place this past school year.  While not all of the findings from these reports are shown (it is just not possible due to the sheer volume of them), I did email to each Steward the official TNTP and Curriculum Audit reports/results as soon as I received them and asked that they be shared with all of you respectively. I will be sending out the Workload Survey results next week as well. It is very important for all of us to read these reports so, hopefully, you will find the time this summer to do so, if not sooner. Contact your building steward or the MFT if you need the reports.

Before you click on my attached summary, know that the TNTP recommendations are just that - recommendations.  We are not inextricably bound to follow any of them.   So far, the only action that has been taken as a result is to greatly reduce the number of teacher layoffs this spring. All other actions are yet to be determined.  That said, it is important we learn, grow and continuously improve to move our district forward in a more positive direction. Therefore, we need to keep our minds open to whichever possibilities make sense for the common good of everyone.  Feel free to let me know which ones you think those are - or are not.

Respectfully,

Lynn Nordgren, President
Minneapolis Federation of Teachers