Legalectric

Deer up the bluff — look closely, see the brown spot? That’s a deer about 30 feet up from the “poop deck” off my home office, photo taken from my desk looking up at about a 50 degree angle. Krie was just running around up there yesterday, so I’m suprised they’d stop with fresh dog scent. There are at least 4 who go through probably every day, I’ve seen them between 10 and 11:30 a.m. — I like them up there where they have less of a chance of being another hood ornament or aftermarket groundeffects…

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Back to northfield.org/blogs…

What’s up with this rhetorical semantic resistance to reality? Let’s see… I posted the notice I got from nco, verbatim, telling me that they weren’t doing blogs anymore, and Doug Bratland calls it “rumor.” HUH? He blogs:

Weblogs are Alive and Well on Northfield.org

Q: What moves faster than high-speed Internet?

A: The Northfield rumor network!

Of course we’re not eliminating citizen weblogs.

…. stopping hosting of blogs, no more northfield.org/blogs will exist. Sounds like eliminating blogs to me. Sounds like pulling the plug to me!

northfield.org/blogs are dead. Long live northfield.org/blogs!

Whatever… I gotta deal with this rumor. I’ve got the domain names, have a … host? server? … So keep your eyes open for Legalectric and OverlandLaw coming soon to a rumor mill near you! In the meantime, I’ll be ruminating… burp!

My friend Maria, in Kenyon, has had one hell of a week… she’s a teacher at the Village School, well, until last Tuesday, and then on Monday, well, here’s her report:

Friends and family, everyone who has sent us support,

On Monday afternoon, for no apparent reason, our house started on fire and burned up. I was the only one in the house at the time, sitting peacefully in the basement doing school work. Something caused a fire to start in the kitchen. It must have been electrical. I heard popping noises and then banging sounds like something was falling, and by the time I came upstairs to see what was going on, it was already out of control and the house was filled with smoke. I bolted out the door and yelled “FIRE”! That was the end of our life in that lovely old farmhouse where we have spent the last 13 years of our lives. The house burned while we waited for the fire trucks to come. It took 5 trucks and 15 people to put out the blaze and when they were done, our house was gone. We are still trying to grasp the reality of this.

We are trying to go day by day and figure out the little stuff and the big stuff at the same time. The Red Cross has given us 4 nights in a hotel in Faribault to camp out and regroup. We have to find a place to live by Friday which is really big. And we need things like underwear which is kind of small, but still… It’s pretty overwhelming.

When people ask “what do you need?” I keep thinking, a house! That doesn’t really get me anywhere. So then I think, underwear, dog food, socks… well that’s not exactly it either. This is just hard to figure out in a step by step way.

We did decide that we need to get our barn sorted out because that appears to be our home at this time. Not that we will live there but that is where we will keep our stuff for the time being. Two of out bedrooms didn’t burn up in the fire, smoke but no flames, so we have stuff from there, and our basement didn’t burn either so there’s stuff from there. But it’s such a weird jumble and collection of stuff and it doesn’t make up a household so sorting it seems really confusing. When my mom died I remember going in to her house and feeling this way. I just stared at everything and it all reminded me of stories and I was useless at doing anything practical. That is how I am right now. Kind of at a loss.

We are inviting anyone who can come to help us on Thurs. (tomorrow) to get everything out of the house that can be saved and to help us produce some sort of order in the barn. We will hopefully have a dumpster there. We might try to save some of the plants that have been living around the perimeter of the house. We are counting on the power of the collective mind to make this happen as our minds are not really able to figure this out alone. If you can’t come, don’t worry. Prayers are always helpful.

So that’s where we are so far. We hope that everyone who comes can also bring some food to share, remembering there is no kitchen, no serving spoons, no chairs… you know… We will have a saw horse and plywood table, and probably will discover other useful things as we go along.

We will be getting cell phones today so we can be in touch with people soon. Sorry for not talking to every one of you. I’m having a hard time figuring out what to do moment to moment and end up thinking up things but doing very little. I really appreciate your love and concern.

Thanks, Maria

From Maria this morning, it’s a whole new day:

Thank you to everyone for your love and support, your positive energy, your donations and condolences.

Yesterday was amazing. We had about 50 people at our place and everyone was busy, which only goes to show how much work there was to be done. Our devastation was transformed and we now have a home again. Lois lent her camper for sleeping, stocked with dishes, beds, fuel, even tape! We cleaned out the barn and made room for all the random things that survived the fire, then organized them so that we can now take stock of what is left.

Many people took home photo albums to revive and bags of clothes to wash. They brought food to stock our “summer kitchen”, and we ate really well for the first time all week. All the plants around the house were transplanted so they will be out of harms way when the house is taken down. A set of dishes I had forgotten about was retrieved from the attic. My school files that I was working on at the time of the fire were found! I feel so grateful. I can’t even put in to words how much it has meant to me to be helped by all of you and to be healed by your love.

With the power of this incredible group of friends and family we moved in one day, from chaos to order, from hopelessness to clarity. I was so overwhelmed yesterday that I could barely bring myself to show up at our farm. I felt at a loss about where to start, what to do, and I was feeling so inept. How could I ask people to come and not even know what I was asking for? But it didn’t matter. Each person found their place and stayed with their task, made do with what was there, and created a vision that came to be: We are no longer homeless.

We are ready to move to the next phase. Knowing you are there to help us through is going to make this all possible. A phrase we use in AVP kept floating through my mind yesterday, “Trust the process.” Well, this is a process and you have all really helped me to trust. Things are going much better than I could have imagined.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Maria

From Randy – and thanks for the site cites!

Gee, do you think good ol’ Cariboo would appreciate it if the good
citizens of Red Wing realized that their coffee dollars were going to
the middle east?

The urban legends investigation site, Snopes.com, confirms the claim
that “An Islamic bank is the majority owner of the Caribou Coffee
chain.” You can see their report here
(Be sure when you read the report that you read the whole report as
the claim shown at the top of the page is outdated.)

The corporate information publisher, Hoovers, a Dun and Bradstreet
company, reports that “Bahrain-based investment group Arcapita owns
60% of Caribou Coffee.” Here’s that report!

Your oil money at work!

Cariboo is publically traded on the NASDAQ. That means your pension
funds and 401Ks are putting up the money that is used by Cariboo to
compete with local merchants who have to put up their own money, take
out a second mortgage or take out a bank loan in order to finance
their business. They essentially have a loan from just about everyone
that they never have to pay back and that they never have to pay
interest on.

Is it any wonder that local businesses find it hard to
compete?

Here’s the NASDAQ Caribou poop

Here’s a report showing the top 5 owners of Caribou

Here’s their filings. 10-Q? 10-4!

Carpe CARP

There’s a new Caribou Coffee in town, just opened this week in the old depot downtown, and they’ve been tossing out Red Wing’s “little paper that does” and one thing we all know about the CARP is you can’t throw it back!

Here’s the missive that appeared at CARP HQ:

—– Original Message —–

From: 1186 RED WING

To: glsmit@nelson-tel.net

Sent: Monday, May 29, 2006 7:00 AM

Subject: carp

Hi, we thank you or your carriers for dropping off your newspaper at our Caribou Red Wing store, however, we only can have Corporate approved publications at our store. Please pass this information along to who ever is dropping off the Carp at our store.

Thank you for your understanding.

Valerie Brigham, Manager
#1186 Caribou Coffee
Red Wing, Mn 55066
651-764-2561

… sigh… It’s presumptive and dismissive — no information was provided about the parameters of their policy, no contact information for the corporate decision-maker. Now, that’s not very good PR for the new biz in town, eh? Here we all are, trying to save the Caribou in ANWR, and they demonstrate no gratitude whatsoever when they come to our home? I have a few ideas… oh-oh… who’s their corporate counsel???

The Northfield School Board has voted to revoke its sponsorship of Village School.

Here it is at Northfield.org

In the Northfield News:

Charter school will be closed
School board pulls its sponsorship

Adam Johnson, Staff Writer

NORTHFIELD — The Northfield School Board on Monday voted 5-to-2 to not renew its charter contract with the Village School of Northfield.

The decision came after more than an hour of discussion and several months during which the board was presented with multiple studies, site visitation reports and other data that had included concerns about academic accountability and safety at the K-12 public school that had been in operation since 1997 and is Northfield’s first charter school.

The decision must be formally approved by the Minnesota Department of Education, but once the district terminates a charter agreement, that charter school cannot seek another sponsor.

“This is not about not supporting choice, but choice is not good in and of itself,” board Chairwoman Kari Nelson said.

Several board members praised the care and dedication Village School staff members have shown for the approximately 40 students attending the school, but cited a disconnect between the school’s “free and democratic” mission and the accountability requirements set in state and federal law, as well as in the school’s charter agreement.

“Some of the changes we’re asking (the Village School) to make would be a real challenge given the school’s philosophy,” board member Mike Berthelsen said.

Board members also stated concerns over inadequate discipline and the lack of “a set of rigorous expectations set out for every student.”

Village School Director Olivia Frey could not be reached for comment at time of publication, and several Village School students and staff members at the meeting declined to comment on the decision. However, the atmosphere in the high school media center was anything but calm when the decision was made, with several audience members breaking down in tears and jeering the school board.

Prior to the vote for non-renewal, board member Wendy Smith had motioned that the district extend the Village School’s charter agreement for one year with the condition that it seek a new sponsor beyond next year.

“I don’t think Northfield is the appropriate sponsor for this school …,” Smith said, citing the apparent incompatibility between the school’s mission and the expectations of the district. “But we need to encourage and enable them to find a new sponsor.”

Smith said she recognized a need for some reforms within the Village School and that it is not an environment for all students, but pointed out that school officials have announced their intention to begin embedding state standards and implement some computerized testing starting in the fall. She also emphatically asserted that the school has been a benefit to many children.

“For some of these students, they stay and they find a home and they find success,” Smith said.

Board member Paul Hager echoed some of Smith’s statements, and suggested improving communication between the district and its charter schools to avoid a repeat of this situation. Smith and Hager cast the dissenting votes in the final decision to effectively close the school.

Superintendent Chris Richardson, who had recommended the non-renewal, said he was worried about creating a double standard if the district’s expectations for accountability don’t apply equally to all three charter schools in the Northfield area.

“If they’re going to take public dollars they have to be in the same mode as everybody else in terms of accountability of student achievement,” Richardson said.

After opening in 1997, the Village School’s contract was renewed for one year in 2000, and again for two years in 2001. It received a three-year contract renewal in 2003, though Richardson called the basis for the latest renewal a “short review with limited documentation.”

This year, the board drew from site visitations from the Department of Education and the Minnesota Sponsors Assistance Network; letters of concern from the Northfield Police Department; a report detailing potential safety issues by the Fire Marshall’s office; audits and self-analyses from the Village School; and a public hearing May 18, at which more than 60 people attended and more than 30 students, staff and family members spoke out in defense of the school.

Today is the last day of the school year for the Village School, and its graduation ceremony will take place 2 p.m. Saturday in the school’s gymnasium.

— Adam Johnson can be reached at 645-1113 or ajohnson@northfieldnews.com.

From the Village School site

And in the STrib:

Northfield vote will close Village School

The Northfield School Board voted 5-2 Tuesday to withdraw its sponsorship of the Village School, the district’s first charter school.

Emily Johns, Star Tribune

NORTHFIELD, MINN. — Students at Northfield’s first charter school need to start looking for a new school for next year.

The Northfield School Board voted 5-2 Tuesday to withdraw its sponsorship of the nine-year-old Village School of Northfield, a move that will essentially close the school. Board members cited academic performance, student safety and compliance with state education standards as reason for concern.

“I believe this is not the right program for a public school in this place and time and for our district,” said board member Mike Berthelsen, who voted to withdraw the school’s sponsorship. “Though (the school) can work and has worked for some students, we have an obligation to look out for all the students attending.”

The Village School is a democratic, project-based charter school that receives about $500,000 annually in state funding. Students at the school choose when and what they want to learn, and they base their learning around projects such as growing tomatoes or building a boat.

School officials pride themselves on providing a home for at-risk students who struggle in a more traditional school environment. According to the Minnesota Department of Education, 32 percent of the students qualify as special education students and 55 percent are eligible for free and reduced-price lunch, meaning they come from low-income families.

“We are looking at a unique population of students at the school,” said board member Wendy Smith, who voted against withdrawing the Village School’s sponsorship. Smith started crying while saying the board should give the Village School a year to find another sponsor. “I think it’s important to give this school a chance.”

District concerns

District officials told the school in March that its sponsorship might not be renewed because of district concerns over student safety and academic performance. The school has not met the state’s definition of adequate progress for the last two years and it has only a 59 percent graduation rate.

In January, Northfield Police Chief Gary Smith sent Superintendent Chris Richardson a letter citing concerns about student safety and behavior. He said police officers have found students selling marijuana downtown during school hours, trespassing at the nearby AmericInn pool and fishing, claiming it was a math assignment.

Charter schools started opening in Minnesota in 1991, and there are now 125 in the state, according to Morgan Brown, director of the school choice division at the state Department of Education. The Village School is only the eighth of these schools to lose its sponsor and be closed.

Charter schools are publicly funded, and sponsors can be school districts, colleges or universities, nonprofit organizations or foundations. If a school district withdraws its sponsorship, it is unlikely that the school could find another sponsor, Brown said.

Plans for next year

Village School parent Marcia Frazier said she was surprised by the decision, and said board members who voted for withdrawing the school’s sponsorship don’t care about her children.

“This district personally failed six of my seven kids,” Frazier said, while daughter Felicia stood by. Felicia Frazier said she refused to go back to the Northfield School District, and would rather be home-schooled by her mother.

Half of the Village School’s 40 students live within the Northfield School District’s boundaries. Richardson said some families have already contacted the Northfield Area Learning Center, a district school for at-risk high school students. Younger students could consider home schooling, or applying to the district’s two other charter schools for admission if they’re not interested in returning to the Northfield School District.

Village School student Chris Lindberg said he thought the school board did the wrong thing.

“I think they’re kind of ignorant. You can’t really know what the school is like if you just visit it a couple times,” said Lindberg, 18. He has been a student at the Village School for five years, and said he would consider going to a different charter school next year.

“It’s a type of group community that they don’t understand,” he said. “I think it was a horrible decision.”

Emily Johns â?¢ 612-673-7460