We Saved Our Schools!

The EMID Board has decided to accept a recommendation from member district superintendents to keep the EMID schools open under a revised financial model. That revised budgeting still lies ahead for the EMID community. But, for a moment, we hope that everyone who helped Save Our Schools feels a share of the congratulations for an effort well done! The schools are no longer under threat of being closed this year.

You came to board meetings, wrote letters, talked to the media, supported our staff, grabbed gear, donated, and organized. There will be more of all of this ahead, but for now: THANK YOU!

Come to the EMID Board Meetings

The board will next be meeting on 11/16 at Harambee.

You can also read our notes from past meetings.

Write Letters

Please write your own letter to the EMID board or anyone else you can think of.

The letters below may serve as inspiration. If you’d like your letter listed below, just send it to families@emidfamilies.org as well as the board.

Here are some letters from families: Shannon Hannigan, Kelly DeBrine, Tracy Reitmann, Nathaniel Celeste, Willow Berthiaume, Laurel & Fred LeBlanc, Leslye Taylor, The Schlenker Family (including letters from Kayleigh, Nathan, and Lauren), Carrie Dickson, Eric Celeste, Joanne & Timothy Wunsch, Mary Hess.

And here are a few from teachers: Denise Dzik, Melissa Kleemeier and Christine Anderson. You might also appreciate Mr. Livingston’s blog post.

Finally, a letter from Kathy Griebel, principal at Harambee.

Sign our Petition

While we handed over 460 petition signatures to the board at their 9/21 meeting, we still welcome your signature! Please read and sign our EMID-SOS petition.

Talk to the Media

If you are a member of the media, please see our media resources page.

The Pioneer Press ran a story by Megan Boldt on 10/20: “Harambee, Crosswinds magnet schools won’t close.”  

The Star Tribune published a story by Daarel Burnette on 10/19: “Board opts to keep integration schools open around the metro.”  

MPR aired and published a story by Tom Weber on 10/19: “Fate of East Metro Integration District’s schools to be decided tonight.”  

The Pioneer Press ran another report by Megan Boldt on 10/13: “Schools in Woodbury, Maplewood could get a reprieve.”  

The Pioneer Press published an article by Megan Boldt on 10/5: “2 east metro magnet schools face closing in Maplewood, Woodbury.”  

The Star Tribune published an article on 9/20: “Parents worry that east-metro schools face closure.”  

MPR story by Tom Weber on 9/14, Perpich Center considers taking over East Metro Integration District’s 2 schools.

MPR discussed “How do we close the achievement gap?” on Midday on 9/1. Check out the MPR Facebook page for a chance to answer the question for yourself.

MPR ran a story by Tom Weber on the morning of 8/31. East metro integration district considers closing its two schools. He quotes Superintendent Robicheau, St. Paul & EMID board member John Brodrick, and parents Mike Boguszewski and Eric Celeste. You can also follow Tom on Twitter.

Support our staff

Please check out the great ideas for supporting our staff in these stressful times.

Grab some Gear

If you want to show off the EMID-SOS message, check out this gear.

We also have stickers from back-to-school-night. Please write to Eric to gets some.

Finally, make your own gear! Here are many versions of the EMID-SOS logo. Have fun with it!

Donate

Everything above is more important that sending us money, so please do some of those things first! Then if you still want to help out with a donation, we spent about $300 on materials for back-to-school night and any donation you make helps us pay for that and future costs. Note, however, EMID Families is not a registered non-profit, so there is no tax break for donations. Donations simply go to Eric Celeste to help offset EMID Families expenses.


Come to Our Next EMID-SOS Meeting

The next EMID-SOS meeting will be announced here once we schedule it. Keep your eye on this space!