We learned at the board meeting that MPS will cut 10% more from departments including athletes and The Athletic staff has decided to fund only Soccer boys and girls and Basketball boys and girls. Several parents and middle school aged students attended the school board meeting and spoke but to no avail. I sent a letter reiterating that these decisions decimate sports and participation for many grades below and the MPS students deserve better. Also to ask for more from the Athletic department at MPS to look for funding other ways and to use the vast resources of the twin cities and their professional sport teams and Superbowl legacy funds etc.etc. to find the funds and money necessary. Please see the official response from Suzanne Kelly, MPS Letter in response to that and response from Superintendent Graff. If you are moved at all. The plan is to try to reach some of the superfund and foundations interested as well as professional sports team leaders to participating and making sure that Minneapolis public school kids get to play and are included in sports and all the opportunities and advantages they bring. At this point, not 6,7,8,or 9th graders will be playing sports in MPS unless they try out for Junior Varsity of Varsity teams and at this rate who knows how long the high school teams will be supported. Please send me you contacts of an funding or let me help you for the kids. Thanks. RE: Middle School Athletics Ed Graff to you + 2 moreshow detailsshow image slideshow Ms. Dekker-Travis: Thanks for your follow-up email. I do not disagree with many of the points you make. As a part of our new organizational design, we will have a position that places additional emphasis on fundraising and partnerships. That individual, whom we hope to hire in July or August, will be able to work in a collaborative manner with Mr. Tucker and Ms. Kerry York who directs our grants office, to explore many of the opportunities you referenced. I’ve copied Mr. Tucker and Ms. York on this email so they are aware of our communication and can follow up accordingly. I know that you continue to advocate on behalf of our District and I ask you to continue to work with us to create the type of District all families feel good about choosing for their students, despite our challenging financial constraints. Have a great summer. Ed Graff cid:image001.jpg@01D1EE67.FCA48E60 Ed Graff Superintendent, Minneapolis Public Schools p 612.668.0200 a 1250 West Broadway Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55411 cid:image002.jpg@01D1EE67.FCA48E60cid:image003.jpg@01D1EE67.FCA48E60cid:image004.jpg@01D1EE67.FCA48E60 Fwd: Middle School Athletics jdekkertr to katharine.tondra + 1 moreshow detailsshow image slideshow -----Original Message----- From: jdekkertr To: Suzanne.Kelly Cc: Ed.Graff ; Jenny.Arneson ; Jesse.Winkler ; trent.tucker ; dave.wicker ; donna.andrews Sent: Wed, Jun 14, 2017 10:46 am Subject: Re: Middle School Athletics Ms. Kelley and Mr. Graff, Thank you for the response. After the public comment section at last nights board meeting I am confused at why after facing these cuts 2 years ago that the Athletic and development departments are not pursuing other funding from groups like; The City of Minneapolis, Superbowl Superfund, Stadium Impact fund, Timberwolves, Lynx, Wild, Vikings, Storm, Minnesota Twins, Pohlad Family, Carlson Family and other foundations like the Schultz family foundation. Other parents and I have looked in to these and many are specifically for Sports and or Youth and wellness. We hit the buttons on all of them but applicants have to be non profits and 501C3 organizations to qualify for the monies. Those applications would have to be generated by MPS. In reality the high school levels are not realistic for most 7 and 8th graders try sports for the first time. The equity is just not there. I am a certified Basketball, track and Soccer coach for Minneapolis park and rec and we are required to include all and provide recreation. We are not considered competitive. They even dislike those words, it is not their mission. I also Coach High School Tennis. Players that have never played competitive up until then will rarely make the cut. Maybe 1 in 100. I am a whole and big picture person. When things are gone especially something that grows and has data that it is proven to engage and retain, people go away. Makes no sense. Although neighborhoods and people specifically looking at their groups can generate micro interest like in the case of the NE booster club through Edison high school to try to fund a 2nd 9th grade team realistically, they will have no one else to play. Other MPS high schools will not have funding for that or boosters. As I said in the meeting. It is a district wide issue. All need to have the access and opportunity. I know realize are tough decisions however I would ask that you require more of your Athletic department to ask them to work with MPS Development and Grant folks to tap in to the available funding. $500,000 is not a lot of money per year to keep generating interest and engagement in the middle schools and have students go on to high schools. For example - The YMCA was awarded a Schultz Family foundation grant worth several million dollars for offering Free Summer memberships. MPS should be seeking out these types of opportunities to make sure we have Wellness, Sports and engagement. I am a certified Basketball, track and Soccer coach for Minneapolis Park and Rec and we are required to include all and provide recreation. We are not considered competitive. They even dislike those words, it is not their mission. I also Coach High School Tennis. Players that have never played competitive up until then will rarely make the cut. Maybe 1 in 100. These are facts. Trent Tucker is an alum of the U of M (more funding possible sources) and Former Pro Championship winning NBA Player (more funding sources). Who better to generate interest and champion an athletic cause with funders. He and Dave Wicker said they are for athletics but maybe they need to work to continue to have athletics and try to solve the problems in a different way like.... outreach and partnerships for funding. Just a friendly suggestion. Finally, At the end of the comment section I was approached by someone out in the hallway that said, "I work in Minnetonka and I just wonder if it is even worth all this time and fight that I could enroll my kids out there?" Believe it or not, it hurts to hear people and parent after parent talk about leaving MPS because of things like this. It is a cycle that takes investment and I find the decisions are very hard to defend with the data and proof we have. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. Sincerely, Jacqueline Dekker-Travis -----Original Message----- From: Suzanne Kelly To: jdekkertr Cc: Ed Graff ; Jenny Arneson ; Jesse Winkler Sent: Tue, Jun 13, 2017 5:21 pm Subject: Middle School Athletics Ms. Dekker-Travis: Thank you for your advocacy on behalf of student athletes and middle school athletic opportunities in particular. Superintendent Graff asked me to acknowledge receipt of your email, the petition and information regarding your meetings with Mr. Tucker. While we are unable to change our recommendation to the Board at this time, he did want me to reinforce how we arrived at the difficult decision to eliminate lower level sports at our high schools. When funding for middle school athletics was eliminated two years ago, the lower level programs model was created to give middle school students options to participate in sports at high schools. In other words, middle school students, who were not yet ready for varsity teams were able to play on lower level teams at the high schools. This year in order to meet new budget targets the district Athletics Department is eliminating the lower level programs. However the department is returning 6-8th grade basketball for both boys and girls. Coed middle school soccer will continue. Students in 7th and 8th grade may still participate in high school programs, if they can qualify for the teams. However, transportation will no longer be district funded. MPS continues to experience growth in participation in athletics, and athletes continue to achieve academically. Unfortunately, budget constraints have limited some lower level options that gave additional opportunities to some of our middle school students. We will continue to look for other sponsorships or collaborative relationships with Minneapolis Parks & Rec, the YWCA or other partners to broaden opportunities in the future. As a District we will continue to look for ways to provide access to high quality athletic programming for middle school students who wish to pursue their passion in this area. Eliminating the lower level sports programs at our high schools was not a recommendation we arrived at easily. Thank you again for sharing your concerns. Suzanne P. Kelly Suzanne P. Kelly, Chief of Staff Minneapolis Public Schools 1250 West Broadway, Minneapolis MN 55411 (p) 612.668.5342 | (f) 612.668.0195 suzanne.kelly@mpls.k12.mn.us