From the Superintendent
Welcome to the second edition of the 2019-2020 MTCS Newsletter and Happy New Year to all! I sincerely wish each and every member of our MTCS community the very best throughout 2020 and beyond. As for many, the start of a new year is cause for one to reflect. Whether a New Year’s resolution, a look at the past, or a simple “where did the time go?”, a moment to pause, reflect, and take a breath can be refreshing. In contrast, the start of a new year can also cause a heightened sense of urgency and/or be anxiety provoking in thinking about all that is to come.
Understandably, uncertainty and change can lead to feeling uneasy and, at times, outright uncomfortable. Even in the education profession, where students are challenged to learn and grow beyond their comfort zone, daily, if not each and every class period, adults may often find themselves feeling uneasy with being challenged to grow beyond their comfort zone. However, such challenges are the very reasons why individuals continuously learn, grow and develop.
Think about a personal and/or professional challenge you, or someone you know, has been presented with and what the outcome was. Upon reflection, think about the possible feelings of self-doubt and the thought of defeat. What are the attributes that were helpful in overcoming such challenges? Attributes such as perseverance, self-determination, grit, and more may come to mind. Also, although challenges may lead to a whole host of emotions ranging from anger, think of “why is this happening to me?” to sheer elation, think of “I am so lucky that this happened to me!”, it is the very challenge and, more so, how the individual was able to overcome the challenge, that resulted in personal and/or professional growth. Because of such attributes as perseverance, self-determination, grit, and more, humans have overcome challenges throughout history and we have the potential to overcome challenges today as well as into the future.
In thinking about 2020 and those we serve throughout MTCS, we have current challenges as well as challenges to come. With that, we will all, no matter our role, age, financial status, academic, athletic, social-emotional abilities, and more be confronted with a wide array of very human emotions and experiences. With that, I encourage each and every individual to lean upon such attributes as those mentioned previously. Believe in your personal strength and value as a complex human-being who is so very capable of overcoming challenges, no matter how seemingly trivial or utterly overwhelming, and rest assured that you are not alone.
Throughout our MTCS community, no one is alone, nor does anyone need to tackle challenges alone. Because of the very strength that each individual entails, as well as the insurmountable, collective strength of the group, we can turn to each other, persevere together and overcome current challenges as well as the challenges to come. Personally and/or professionally, as the MTCS community, we got this.
Onward with 2020…
At MTCS we always have a sense of urgency. Each and every day matters because our MTCS students deserve the very best, academically, socially, emotionally, as well as all the support they can get in overcoming life’s challenges. The continuous challenge to our MTCS community is to courageously collaborate, innovate, and to listen to the voices of the communities we serve as a means of meeting the unique needs of each and every child.
As our MTCS community welcomes 2020, know that staff and faculty are focused on the very students enrolled in MTCS programs each and every day. No matter the daily challenges we as individuals are faced with, nor the daily challenges we, as a society, are exposed to via mass media, our MTCS continues to come together, students, families, community members, staff and faculty, working together to overcome challenges, learn, develop and grow. Also important to note is that students and families choose to come to MTCS. Unlike traditional public schools, MTCS, as a public charter school, enrolls students based upon choice rather than assigned boundaries.
One of the challenges faced by the charter school community, and often played out in the media, is the idea that charters are “siphoning or stealing” students from traditional school districts. This notion could not be further from the truth. The fact, and not to be misconstrued as a criticism, is that traditional public schools are not meeting the needs of all students. It’s no secret. Traditional public schools understandably have their challenges, but to say that certain challenges exist because of public charter schools, is not accurate. Public charter schools, such as MTCS, are frequently misunderstood because of lack of information and/or misperceptions. The best way for us to make a difference is to inform and advocate for MTCS, a public charter school. In thinking about this, please note the following letter/email I will be sending to legislators:
Dear Senator/Representative:
As the superintendent of Minnesota Transitions Charter School (MTCS), I am writing in request of your support and advocacy for all children enrolled in public schools throughout the state of Minnesota, including those enrolled in public charter schools.
Minnesota Transitions Charter School is currently the largest public charter school in Minnesota serving over 3600 students in grades K through 12 via 9 programs throughout 7 sites. Through our online learning programs, we serve over 2900 K-12 students across the entire state of Minnesota. Our seat based programs, serving over 700 K-12 students, are comprised of the nation’s oldest sober/recovery high school programs, P.E.A.S.E. Academy, General Colin L. Powell Leadership Academy, a secondary program with a focus on the arts, blended learning opportunities, and 3 elementary programs serving diverse demographics. Within the MTCS seat based programs we serve over 90% students of color, over 16% of students receiving special education services, and over 90% of students receive free or reduced lunch.
Understandably, throughout Minnesota there continues to be a sense of urgency to serve students well academically, socially, and emotionally. The stakes are high as we are making investments in our children so they may engage in fulfilling lives as leaders and stewards of the communities we share. More so, in the complex and ever changing world we live in, we must remain steadfast in our resolve to honor the students and families we serve by hearing their voices and continuously work to provide innovative educational opportunities to meet the plethora of diverse needs at hand.
The broad intent of the public school system is to help children fulfill their diverse potentials. In looking at educational data throughout the state of Minnesota, we know that disparities exist both academically, such as the achievement gap, as well as with discipline practices, such as disproportionality with discipline practices. In short, the reality is that the traditional public school system is not meeting the needs of all students. This is not a criticism, rather a reality that may only be better addressed through collaborative and innovative efforts that honor the voices of the communities living throughout Minnesota. Public charter schools, such as Minnesota Transitions Charter School, continuously work to collaborate and be innovative. Such efforts are a means of better serving students and families who choose to come to us because of the diverse needs they are looking to have addressed.
I respectfully ask for your support and advocacy of all public schools, including public charter schools, on behalf of the 3600+ students enrolled via Minnesota Transitions Charter School, as well as all 57,000 students currently served among the 164 Minnesota public charter schools. Public charter schools, such as MTCS, do abide by all state and federal laws, provide parents a choice where their child will attend school, and public charter schools are underfunded when compared to traditional public schools. Parents make the choice to attend public charter schools because they want a voice in what is best for their child. Public charter schools offer choice and opportunity for all families and all students. Efforts to minimize and/or eliminate such choice will only serve to further oppress the underserved and disenfranchised students and families throughout Minnesota. All students and families deserve the best public education possible, including students and families making the choice to attend public charter schools.
Thank you for your consideration of all public schools, both traditional public schools as well as public charter schools, throughout Minnesota. Please feel free to contact me for further discussion, information, or other as desired. Also know that you are welcome to visit Minnesota Transitions Charter School, anytime, at your convenience. I can be reached via email at berlandson@emailmtcs.org and or phone at 612-722-9013.
Respectfully,
Brian Erlandson
Please consider contacting your Senator and/or Representative via email, a letter, telephone call, or other. Let them know about MTCS, the work we do, and that we are a public charter school continuously working to meet the needs of a diverse body of students throughout Minnesota. Please know that I will be addressing each letter with the title and name of a specific legislator. Also, I will send an additional version to my local officials as a constituent. Whether a student, parent, educator, or other, your voice matters. Please consider advocating for MTCS as a public charter school. In doing so, we can each have a voice that sends a collective message regarding the important work taking place at MTCS and public charter schools as a whole. The following link serves as a resource of legislators representing specific areas:
Who represents me?
https://www.gis.leg.mn/iMaps/districts/
As an individual actively engaged in the MTCS community, your continuous efforts, support, and ongoing advocacy makes a difference. There is no doubt that change will come with 2020 and beyond. The remainder of the 2019-2020 school year brings the current challenges of today as well as planning for the future of MTCS and how we may continuously better meet the diverse needs of the students we so value. Thank you for your continued efforts and support of our MTCS community and all the best to you in 2020 and always.
With appreciation,
Brian Erlandson
MTCS Superintendent