THE MOUNDS VIEW HIGH SCHOOL
Dec. 20, 2019
Arden Hills, MN
Inside this issue Is getting rid of advanced classes really an advancement? See pp. 2 Let’s talk about Tik Tok on pp. 5 Affirmative action: awesome or awful? Check out pp. 9
Musical madness
What do Mounds View athletes listen to before competitions?
2009 Calle Ocho- Pitbull Out Here Grindin’- DJ Khaled Britney Spears Goo Goo Dolls
2019 Jordan Belfort- Wes Walker & Dil Magic at the Hamptons- Social House ft. Lil Yachty Lose yourself- Eminem Dangle, Snipe, and Celly- Sammy Ob Theme from Rocky
Happy holidays!
Vol.LXII Issue No. 4
business@mvviewer.org
IN THE EARLY 2000s, THE VIEWER LOOKED
SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
AND IT’S NOT JUST THE VIEWER
THAT’S CHANGED...
1972 Hiring a minority teacher
or indian. The responsibility to represent their entire race to people who may never mahe met another is too much. Also Ron suggests we seek him out, and let him know if the job is open. MV has no minority teachers on the faculty. This prospective teacher may not appreciate being Ron Adderly, 10, noticed and brought up the issue sought out like a trophy to exhibit and reflect the “liberal of hiring one for MV. attitude” of MV. Ron thinks MV needs a minority teacher to give It’s possible . students a new depth in learning and to expose them to The idea is good - integration has to start someminorities to broaden their minds. where. The answer isn’t easy; but desegregation can’t be He’s right brought about by sacrificing the individual for the cause. But the way it’s being done is wrong. No minority teacher will want to be a token black
by the 1972 Viewer staff editors
2019 Minority faculty today by Samuel Magnuson staff reporter
According to the district, in 2018, Mounds View’s student population was about 71 percent white, 16 percent Asian, 5 percent Hispanic and 5 percent black. The teaching staff appears to be much less diverse. The Minnesota Department of Education’s staffing profile indicates that approximately 95 percent of the staff here at Mounds View is white. This imbalance can negatively impact a student’s learning according to a 2017 study from the IZA Institute of Labor Economics. The results found that “[e] xposure to a black teacher during elementary school raises long-run educational attainment for black male students, especially among those from low-income households.” According to science teacher Donna Andren, the district understands the shortcomings that its current staff may have. “The administration has done a lot of work,” Andren said. “The district level has supported the work in helping teachers throughout the district recognize, what are our shortcomings because of where we come from, and helping us to broaden our viewpoints, and broaden out teaching strategies so we can help students who come from different backgrounds than we do.” A diverse staff could also lead to more parent involvement in education. “I feel like some of the parents of color don’t come [to parent events]; I’ve never met them,” said Joel Brown, Mounds View’s equity specialist. “It’s kind of sad that you are not able to come to the school and talk to your teachers and talk to the administration about anything. You should be welcome.” Associate Principal Gregory Martin said administration has multiple methods of getting parents involved in the community. “We just had our IZI,” Martin said. “IZI is an intentional social conversation event. We host roughly 200 people. Sometimes, those people are people who might not normally be connected in other ways to the schools. Other ways is just reaching out for
parents to be on certain committees. We have a lot of committees where we gain parent input.” On top of the educational benefits, a diverse teaching staff can introduce students to new perspectives that they may not experience elsewhere. “I think it is important for students to have different perspectives, different outlooks, different views,” said math teacher Jon Chhay. “I think it is also important for students to also see that there are people that they can identify with. I think it is also important from a cultural standpoint that you have adults that understand multiple perspectives.” According to Chhay, a lack of diversity among teaching staff is not an issue solely confined to Mounds View. “I would say mathematically, right now, it [Mounds View’s teaching staff] is not diverse,” Chhay said. “I would say that is probably indicative of the teaching profession. I think we are probably going to see an increase [in diversity] in faculties across the country. But I think here, more so just like a lot of other schools, predominantly your staff is going to be white or Caucasian.” Many people believe the solution to this problem is affirmative action hiring practices. “I think it just helps, because our world is still so separated, even socioeconomically, it’s separated, and I think it just needs some kind of system built within that system to make everything work and everything fair,” Brown said. “I just feel like we are talking the talk but not really walking.” Although Mounds View is ranked as one of the best schools in the state, some believe that staff could better connect with students. Even though hiring a passionate, effective and diverse staff is difficult, Mounds View is aware that bringing on a more diverse staff could improve the learning environment. “In an ideal world, we would have teachers of all different heritage because it gives us a better learning environment for all of our kids,” Martin said. “When we do hiring, we try to identify needs and try to get people from all different backgrounds in the building, but if nobody has applied, it’s hard. We go to career fairs and try to recruit people, but it doesn’t always pan out that way.”