Raising the profile on Native American
student issues and accountability are the top priorities for Ira
Jourdain in his bid for the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of
Education.
The Red Lake citizen and father of
four – two of whom are enrolled in the city’s school system –
sees equity, its allocation and application to minority students as a
primary means to bridge the achievement gap. “The way the formula
works is equity and equality: everybody gets the same amounts, no
matter what. But that’s just not conducive to our kids, especially
our Native kids and African American kids, who go to what they call
the low-performing schools. These are schools that obviously need
more funding, need more resources. And then that’s where equity comes
into place, to me it’s reallocating our resources and putting those
resources into schools that need them the most.”
Though any primary campaign can
produce candidates who speak in broad generalities, Jourdain links
together problems and solutions for the Native community, which has
continually under-achieved when compared to others. “A lot of our
kids go to low-performing schools that affect their housing, that
affect employment. There’s a multitude of factors that affect our
kids’ performances in the schools and it all boils down to plain, old
equity,” he said.
Jourdain cites specifics issues and
needs that impact student performance such as mental health,
behavioral services and social workers. “There’s this tremendous
need – I’ve heard this from across the district – for school
psychologists to work with our kids on mental and behavioral
disorders.”
In addition, Jourdain said that other
factors stymying achievement may not always be apparent to school
board directors not directly involved with the problems. According to
a recent report by the Indian Education Department, Native American
students have shown an increase in and remain at the top for
homelessness. “We need stronger housing support services. My
daughter at Tatanka Academy has had three or four students in her
classroom that have moved constantly, throughout the school year,
across the district. I was at this recent hearing and the percentage
of Native American kids in our district who move constantly is 19
percent who are either homeless or constantly moving residences
during the school year.”
However personal his experience is,
this first-time candidate for school board was drawn into the process
after the death of Hussein Samatar, the first Somali American to be
elected to the board, in August of last year. While the board combed
through candidates for Samatar’s appointment – which, ultimately
went to Mohamud Noor – Jourdain gleened perspective and gained some
traction through the selection process.
“And so it kind of got the ball
rolling after that and so my overall interest increased and people
after that came forward this past winter and said, ‘we liked what you
had to say, how you presented yourself and we’re curious to know if
you’d ever consider actually running for a full term on the school
board.’ I said I’d think about it and … so I figured now would be
the time to try,” he said.
In addition to admirers, Jourdain took
what he believed to be a cue from the Native community on his
candidacy. “I called around, just to gauge interest, to some other
Native parents and Native teachers in the district and said I was
looking at running for an actual seat on the school board for a term
and wanted to know what [they] thought about it … and it was
overwhelmingly positive.”
Jourdain
has also been listening to what others in his constituency consider
important. “I know that there are some things across the board that
have not been done for Native students because there’s just not a
Native voice on the school board. I sat down with someone from Indian
Education and they shared with me their concerns and what it would
mean if I was elected onto the school board, which would be more
visibility and more accountability in regards to what a lot of Native
parents feel are being ignored by the district: their concerns and
what they would like to see in how the district handles our kids.”
Part of his candidacy also hinges on
taking on what he calls the education industry, in terms of producing
comprehensively-trained education professionals, “in classroom
tutoring and in the classrooms’ teacher’s aide. I think that’s a
glowing need when we have overflowing classrooms in our schools –
especially in our low-performing schools – with inexperienced
teachers that need the mentoring, who come right out of the gate and
they’re thrown right into the fire.”
As he’s identified the issues that
made his candidacy relevant for both the Native community and the
city at-large, Jourdain knows he has an uphill battle, particularly
after the April 26 Minneapolis DFL Caucus and Convention where
newcomer Iris Altimirano received the party’s endorsement. However,
he remains undaunted.
“I think when you’re an under-funded
candidate, you really need to go all out and show people that you’re
dedicated. I’ve got only five or six volunteers, but they work all
day and so do I and it shows. A lot of people that I’ve door-knocked
said they really appreciate that,” Jourdain said. “The other
candidates will have money but what they don’t have is drive and
determination and what we have is a great community who will rally
the troops. I know I’ll do well, it’s just a matter of getting our
supporters motivated.”
For Your Information
Primary Election: Tuesday, Aug. 12
Important Dates
Absentee ballots available for Primary
Election: Friday, June 27
Primary pre-registration deadline
(voters can also register on Election Day): Tuesday, July 22
To check voter registration status or
more information on the primary election, visit www.MNVotes.org.
