From Laney with Love

October 22, 2016

The other night, while walking my dog, I ran into a neighbor who was coming home from work. We exchanged kid-related small talk before she said, “So, how’s your blog coming along?”

Er, slowly. This year, I have the good fortune to be engaged in a long-term writing project at north Minneapolis’s Lucy Laney elementary school. It’s been a dream come true for me, so far, but it means I can’t spin this blog out as frequently as I’d like to (guest posts gladly accepted!). My school year-long project at Laney will culminate in a longer piece of writing, so stay tuned.

There is a lot to absorb at Laney, a school where almost every kid lives in poverty, according to federal standards, and close to twenty percent are homeless or highly mobile. The school year started with gunshots along Penn Avenue, almost directly across the street from the school’s front door. In July, a two-year old was killed by gunfire near the intersection of Penn and Lowry Avenues, a few blocks from Laney.

These statistics and close encounters with gun violence are real, but they are not the whole story.

laney-run-1
Gearing up for the Laney Fun Run

On Wednesday, October 19, the school held its first-ever “Laney Family Fun Run.” It was a short jog, really–just a 3K around the neighborhood. But, for Laney Assistant Principal, Lisa Pawelak, it was a chance for the school community to walk together, “into the light.”

Pawelak lives in the neighborhood and knows the sound of gunshots very well. They often wake her up at night, she told the Laney staff and families gathered for the event. And so she wanted to do something that got the school outside, to “take back some of the outdoor space” that can seem forever lost.

laney-run-2
Ready to run

The joy was palpable. A small crowd moved together out of the school and down a long sidewalk to where the buses usually pick up and drop off kids. Some people were in their running best, while the kids jockeyed for position at the starting line. The air was cold, crisp, but still bathed in the golden glow of fall, under a brilliant blue sky. 

Just before the starting countdown, a neighborhood guy named “Big Mike” pulled to the front of the line in his pick up truck, pulling a neon sign lit up with messages about Laney love and Northside pride, Big Mike’s job was to provide cover at the front, while a bunch of cherry-lit squad cars were scattered around, ready to roll behind the end of the line.

We’re going to walk into the neighborhood, not out of it, Pawelak promised, “bringing light” along the way.

laney-at-wirth-1
Maps, paths, leaves

This echoes a light-filled side of Laney I am getting to know well. On Friday, October 14, the third grade classes I have been paired with (as an independent writer) spent the day at nearby Theodore Wirth park, on an “Outdoor Adventure Day” with the  Loppet Foundation. I arrived after the kids, and sprinted to catch up with a group setting out on an orienteering walk through the woods and wetlands. 

One boy’s spontaneous burst of joy and wonder has been ringing in my ear’s ever since: “Whoa! What if the whole world was made of water?!” 

Later, I joined a different bunch of kids, where I was quickly bombarded with hugs from my new, pint-sized friends. 

laney-at-wirth-2
Learning about leaves
journaling-at-wirth
Journaling at Wirth
wirth-journal
Drawing plants

Before the Fun Run began, at a required “State of the School” talk, Laney principal Mauri Melander walked a group of parents, staff and students through Laney’s data report. The school’s attendance looks good, and its discipline rates are improving, but test scores continue to hover at the low end of somebody’s bell curve. This prompted a conversation among the staff and parents about how to “show how smart our children are,” despite the school’s struggle to climb higher on the test score ladder.

From the back of the multi-purpose room, a dad spoke up: “How do we change the narrative? How do we show the thriving that is going on here, despite the metrics?”

One Fun Run and Outdoor Adventure day at a time, perhaps.

“Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.” — Margaret Mead

No grant, no guru, no outside funding source. My work is entirely funded by my very kind and generous readers. Thank you to those who have already donated!

[Exq_ppd_form]

One thought on “From Laney with Love

  1. Keep writing as you can. It enlightens all about Minneapolis children and our schools – especially those who don’t have children enrolled in MPS. Love to hear that you’re at Lucy Laney elementary school. Experience Corps has some committed literacy tutors there too.

Comments are closed.