Now that the options are here, Black families need to be heard

In my last column about Minneapolis Public Schools’ Transformation process, I asked a question that has stayed with me: After families show up, how will they know their voices matter?

Now we are about to find out.

On Sept. 15, Minneapolis Public Schools released three proposed Transformation options. These are no longer broad conversations about what Transformation might look like. Families can now see proposed school changes, attendance boundary changes, program moves, school combinations and new pathways that could begin as early as the 2027-28 school year.

According to MPS, the three options could result in a school or attendance boundary change for up to 14% of students.

That means this conversation just became very real for thousands of families. And this is exactly the moment when families, especially Black families and families whose children have historically been underserved, need to make their voices heard.

The district says more than 40,000 voices helped shape the MPS Student Experience that informed these proposals. That is a significant amount of engagement.

But I keep coming back to the question I raised before: Whose voices will shape the final decision?

That matters because the impact of Transformation will not be experienced equally across Minneapolis. Some children could change schools. Some attendance boundaries could change. Some programs could move. Some school communities could combine. Families may have questions about transportation, special education, multilingual services, school culture, academic programming, sibling relationships, safety, and whether the relationships their children have built will follow them into a new school.

These are not small details. They are the daily realities families will live with long after the School Board votes.

That is why I am particularly concerned about whether Black families whose children will be directly affected are represented in the feedback the district ultimately receives. We know the history. Black families have experienced school closures, boundary changes, program changes, displacement and educational disparities before. So when we talk about Transformation, equity cannot simply mean analyzing the demographics of students after a proposal has been created.

We also have to ask: Who had the opportunity to shape it? Who is responding now? Whose concerns will appear in the feedback presented to the School Board? And equally important, whose voices might be missing?

MPS is now asking families to review the three options and provide feedback. The district’s online survey is open through Oct. 16. MPS has also created an interactive map where families can enter their address and see how the proposed attendance boundaries could affect them.

The district will also hold seven public meetings, all from 6 to 7:30 p.m.:

Sept. 30, Camden High School
Oct. 1, Washburn High School
Oct. 2, Edison High School
Oct. 6, South High School
Oct. 7, North High School
Oct. 8, Southwest High School
Oct. 9, Roosevelt High School

Spanish, Hmong and Somali interpreters and childcare will be available at the meetings.

This is a short window. So my message to families is simple: Do not wait until a final decision is made to learn what these proposals could mean for your child. Look at the options. Use the interactive map. Take the survey. Attend a listening session if you can. Ask questions. And put your concerns on the record.

If your child’s school is affected, ask what happens to their program. If your child receives special education services, ask how those services will transition. If your child is a multilingual learner, ask what happens to language supports. Ask about transportation. Ask about school climate. Ask about academics. Ask what happens to relationships with educators and staff. And ask how the district determined that the proposed change will improve your child’s educational experience.

MPS says feedback collected through Oct. 16 will help inform a final plan and will be shared with the School Board, which has the authority to act. That makes the next few weeks important.

But I also want to challenge those of us who work in advocacy, education, neighborhoods, churches, nonprofits and community organizations. We cannot simply post the survey link and call that engagement. We have to help families understand what is being proposed. That means reaching parents who aren’t on district email lists. It means talking to grandparents and caregivers. It means reaching families who don’t attend School Board meetings. It means helping people understand the options before asking them to give feedback about them.

Because I continue to believe what I wrote before: Information is not the same as understanding. And if the voices collected during this next phase do not reflect the families who will bear the greatest impact, we should not pretend that participation alone equals representation.

This is not about telling families which option to choose. It is about making sure they know they have a choice, a voice, and a limited amount of time to use it.

When the School Board eventually receives the community feedback, I want us to be able to answer a question bigger than how many people completed a survey: Did the families most affected by Transformation help shape what comes next?

For Black families in Minneapolis, now is the time to make sure the answer includes us.

To provide feedback or for more information on MSP’s Transformation options, visit www.mpschools.org/about-mps/school-transformation.

Khulia F. Pringle, M.A., is founder and executive director of S.T.A.N.D. Up Minnesota Parents United, commissioner on the Saint Paul Recovery Act Commission on Reparations, and co-chair of the Minnesota Literacy Coalition. You can reach her directly at khuliapringle@standupmpu.org.