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Codifying community wisdom for educational equity

The murder of George Floyd demanded that Minnesota, and the country, reckon with the violent systemic racism in American policing.  The pandemic has made similar demands of our education system. The past couple of years were supposed to be a watershed moment of transformative change. Unfortunately, there now exists a narrative (and for the most part, a reality) that little progress has been made.

It has become clear that our systems are unlikely and unable to lead change at the scale of what is needed. The Minnesota State Legislature adjourned with billions left on the table this year. While community groups continue to demand a special session to move critical legislation forward to meet the urgent needs of students across the state, it remains doubtful that the legislature will substantially reconvene and pass an education bill.

At Pillsbury United Communities and our Office of Public Charter Schools, we are not waiting for the political posturing and an election cycle to conclude to move forward with transformational change. We are acting now. The primarily Black, Brown, Indigenous, and low-income students, and families we serve deserve an educational accountability system that is built for and designed by them. 

Pillsbury United has been a community-driven charter school authorizer since 2007. We intentionally authorize schools that serve students who have historically been served poorly in traditional district settings, enduring chronic educational disparities for decades. We come to the work with an investment and a track record of attacking the institutional racism that plagues education.

In 2021 our team set out to redesign our accountability system for the schools in our portfolio to align with our values as an organization and the assets in our schools. Our goal has been to develop an accountability system that celebrates schools’ innovative, anti-racist, student-centered, and community-responsive practices, while also calling all of us to be better and do better.

No longer could we accept a narrative that our students were failing.  Our students, families, and communities are incredible assets that bring infinite wisdom to our education system – if only we really listen to them and act.

In our structures, we have codified community wisdom into an accountability framework that is relevant and responsive to our students and not reliant on racist, white normative measurements of assessments.  Our Equity Framework, developed in partnership with Future Focused Education, is the highlight of this work and will be submitted to the Minnesota Department of Education for approval to ensure our schools report outcomes using our new system for the 2022-2023 school year.

This is the work our students, families, and communities have called for and it has been our mission to deliver.

Read the full framework here

samd@pillsburyunited.org

Samantha Diaz Named Director of Office of Public Charter Schools

Welcome graphic for Samantha Diaz

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Pillsbury United Communities has named Samantha Diaz as its new Director of the Office of Public Charter Schools (OPCS).

In this role, Samantha will provide oversight and evaluation for all charter schools authorized by Pillsbury United Communities—supporting the operations, compliance, and efficacy of existing and prospective charters within the Pillsbury United network.

Additionally, Samantha will facilitate the OPCS’ ongoing work of developing a “community of practice” within the charter school sector, deepening best practices around authorizing standards; building awareness of policy shifts impacting the sector; and developing collaborative approaches to achieve the best educational experience for all students.

“Samantha is a fierce advocate for Black and brown children, with a deep commitment to equity and accountability,” said Adair Mosley, President & CEO of Pillsbury United Communities. “Given her immense knowledge of charter schools and policy, she was the ideal candidate to lead the continuing evolution of the OPCS in developing new and pioneering authorizing practices.”

Samantha previously served as Associate Authorizer Liaison for the OPCS and most recently served as the Education Legislation & Policy Director at the Minnesota Council on Latino Affairs. Prior to Samantha’s work in Minnesota, she served as Legislative Director for the Chairman of the Health, Human Services and Senior Citizen Committee in the New Jersey State Legislature. She received her Master’s in Public Administration at Baruch College – Austin W. Marxe School of Public and International Affairs, and a Bachelor’s degree in History at Kean University. Samantha is also an alumni of the National Urban Fellows leadership development program.

The OPCS authorizes 20 public charter schools throughout the state of Minnesota, including sites throughout the Twin Cities Metro, and in Rochester and St. Cloud. These schools are designed so that the children and families whose needs are not being met by traditional public schools have access to relevant education that supports each student’s personal, social, and academic achievement.

samd@pillsburyunited.org

Learning that sparks imagination and potential

Young girl at PEEC

Birth through age five is a critical time in childhood, when little brains make more connections than at any other time in life. During this important window, children need access to age-appropriate learning — social, emotional, and academic — or risk falling behind. Yet many children in our state lack the early learning opportunities they need to arrive at kindergarten prepared. That feeds the pronounced achievement gaps in Minnesota, where our students of color rank at the bottom nationally for graduation rates, test scores, and other metrics.

The reality is, access to high-quality, affordable, and culturally-relevant preschool is severely limited in precisely the communities where it’s most needed. We see that as an urgent call to action. To give more children in our community the opportunity to succeed, we created Pillsbury Early Education Center, or PEEC.

Situated in Minneapolis’ Phillips neighborhood, PEEC prepares children to thrive in school and life with a genuinely integrated approach. More than ABCs and 123s, PEEC works to nurture kids’ curiosity, creativity, and cultural identities and support their physical and emotional well-being. Staffed by experienced teachers who know the communities they serve, PEEC brings culturally responsive instruction that responds to and celebrates diversity and difference.

Arts have the power to increase access, attachment, and agency for all. So we make creativity the hallmark our curriculum. The school is housed in a vibrant neighborhood arts center that supplies teaching artists to the program. Our teachers are creative role models who encourage children to express themselves through writing, drumming, movement, music and formal and informal performances. As part of PEEC’s theatre and storytelling curriculum, preschoolers create and act out their own stories — developing literacy, communication skills, and confidence in the process.

When families are engaged, children simply learn better. PEEC is co-located with a variety of Pillsbury United social services, making parental involvement part of families’ daily routine. Through tuition support and other resources, we help families in times of financial hardship, so kids have a stable foundation for whatever uncertainty life brings.

Around 40 children a year participate in PEEC. And the results speak for themselves. In 2017 and 2018, 100% of children aging out of the program demonstrated kindergarten readiness. 100% of younger children showed age-appropriate social, emotional, cognitive and physical development. 100% were up to date with immunizations and received well child check-ups. And 100% of parents and caregivers reported that the information and resources PEEC provided helped with positive parenting.

Of course, PEEC can’t solve the gaps in educational access and achievement on its own. Our brand of culturally-attuned education can serve as a model, in Minnesota and beyond, for how communities prepare their youngest members for a lifetime of lively learning and creative participation.

“Our family has loved the exposure to the arts — dance, singing, theatre, art and the cultural influences provided at Pillsbury. Our girls’ confidence in themselves and creative energy is a direct result of their time at Pillsbury.” — Genevieve, Parent

BY THE NUMBERS

100% success rates for kindergarten readiness over the past six years

4-STAR rating from Parent Aware, their highest rating

3 languages of instruction: English, Spanish, and ASL

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