New MPS superintendent is all ears during community tour
Dr. Lisa Sayles-Adams walked from table to table listening to feedback sessions at Bethune Community School. Photo by David Pierini
By David Pierini, Editor
The new Minneapolis Public Schools superintendent hire did not present herself as a cool, disconnected administrator. Instead, Dr. Lisa Sayles-Adams worked the room like a teacher, her ears forward as she slowly orbited tables full of people engrossed in discussion.
Interested Northsiders got a chance to meet Sayles-Adams on May 6 at Bethune Community School, one of seven sessions for her to hear out parents, students, teachers and local organizations held over a few weeks.
Sayles-Adams took over a school district in crisis on Feb. 6. She said she would spend her first 100 days listening. Indeed, her ears have worked overtime with the rollout of heartbreaking budget cuts for next year and two contentious union contract negotiations now settled and ratified.
Sayles-Adams often addresses concerns by saying, "We’re working through the process,” and the listening session was indeed a process intentionally designed for her to play second to the other voices in the room.
“Once I have the information, it helps me to better understand how I want to lead,” Sayles-Adams told participants. “I never come in like I have all of the answers.”
The teacher in Sayles-Adams gave the room three questions to prompt useful feedback, including what you would change if you were superintendent. Staff guided table discussions and typed responses into their laptops.
Sayles-Adams listened in, pausing the sessions to pass a microphone for a summary from each table.
“I feel like voices are being heard,” said Hahn Bergerson, a mother whose children attend Loring Elementary, Olson Middle and Camden High. "When she said, ‘I am here to learn, to listen and evaluate,’ I feel like that happened. We’ve never had anything like this.”
Hahn Bergerson, upper right, raised her concerns as her table addressed a series of questions. She has three children who go to Minneapolis Public Schools. Photo by David Pierini
Bergerson has been bothered by Olson’s revolving door in the principal’s office. She said school culture is tense because the district does not give one person long enough time to stabilize the environment.
Another parent, who asked not to be identified, said she is bothered that schools in whiter, wealthier areas of the city seem to have more resources and electives, such as music and art.
James Cooper attended to discuss college and career readiness for the district’s students of color.
“I will say it’s a step in the right direction as far as capturing community voice,” Cooper said. “I’m not surprised by what we heard, but that is nothing with the superintendent because I’m really appreciative of her starting in this role; it’s a challenge, and the more we can get the community together, especially when it comes to education and access, the better.”
