Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Broadway at Longfellow offers teen mothers chance to graduate

Longfellow School reopened fall 2011 after a year closure


by Tesha M. Christensen

Lourdes Meza-Molina wanted a chance to graduate from high school, even if she is a teen mom.
The 19-year-old mother of two is one of over 100 students enrolled at Broadway at Longfellow School, 3017 East 31st St., an alternative learning program for pregnant and parenting mothers.
They all face challenges, but the benefit of Broadway is that they can face them together.
Broadway gives Carol Smith, 17, a needed support network she doesn’t think she’d find in another school. “We can all relate to each other,” Smith observed. The moms with older kids give advice to those who are pregnant and have recently given birth. They share stories about their kids. Each faces the same sort of challenges: childcare, baby daddy issues, balancing work and school, keeping a roof over their heads, and feeding their families.
Kiara Bryant-Campbell, 17, stayed at her high school when she found out she was pregnant, but “it didn’t work out.” She felt ostracized by fellow students, and discovered she didn’t have as much in common with them as she did before. At Broadway, “you don’t feel like the odd one out,” she said.
Keeping up with old friends isn’t easy when you’re a teenage mom. When she can’t go out because she doesn’t have a babysitter, some friends get angry, Bryant-Campbell observed. “They don’t understand how it is,” she said. “I’ve got a kid. They need to come up with things we both can do with my kid. A lot of people don’t understand that.”
Smith also tried to stay at her high school after learning she was pregnant, but it was hard to focus on studying when she was suffering from morning sickness and had to run out of class. She likes it that the teachers at Broadway don’t play the “sympathy card,” but instead expect the same of everyone.
“We want people to motivate us, not say, ‘You’ve got a baby so it’s okay if you don’t do your work,” agreed Bryant-Campbell.
Fa Vang, 18, pointed out that at Broadway, there isn’t the same focus on attendance you find at typical high schools, because staff understand when students can’t make it because either they or their child is sick. The mother of three-year-old twins appreciates both the independence and the camaraderie offered at Broadway. 
“We’re all girls and we’re all in the same situation,” Vang said.
Classes at Broadway are offered as either seated classes or as blended-online classes, and they are completed at one’s own pace. Students work in a day-long advisory in the subjects they need to complete to graduate and prepare for college. They choose how they will accomplish their goals –with support of teachers and instructional support staff, through Project-Based Learning (PBL), small group projects and seminars.
The students at Broadway feel supported by the staff and teachers, both in their academics and personal lives. “If we’re feeling down about something, they give us advice,” noted Vang.
“Even though they are here to do a job, they have a way of making you feel comfortable,” Smith added.
The benefits go beyond the classroom. Students are eligible for childcare located within the building, and on Thursdays both staff members and students gather there to interact with the kids. They also get in-home visits from the school nurse, who not only does well-baby visits, but talks about post-partum depression and ways to get a dad more involved. Students can access free parenting supplies, such as cribs, clothes, car seats, and more.
Having childcare located in the same building as her classes was a big draw to Yessica Meza-Molina, 20. She likes being able to check in on her one-year-old child during her lunch break.
Last year, when Broadway was housed at North High School, only half of the children in daycare were located within the same facility. Although they were accessible via a 10-minute bus ride, it wasn’t the same, according to program director Diane Glawe. It’s been nice for both students and staff to have a home of their own this year, rather than sharing space with another school. The other programs housed at the Longfellow building support the Broadway program. Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) classes and Special Education ECFE classes are offered there.
There is a health clinic, and in a portable unit out back, Hennepin County staff members meet with students to discuss childcare assistance, welfare needs, medical assistance and various other programs students can tap into.
Moving into south Minneapolis in the fall of 2011 from its long-time home in north Minneapolis hasn’t hurt the program, Glawe stated, despite fears it would. North-side students are still attending, in part because of the curb-to-curb service offered. Any student within the city of Minneapolis can take a bus to the school, and there are car seats already strapped inside to make it easier for the young moms and their children.
Many of the students now enrolled in the Broadway program had dropped out of school previously. “It’s a way of bringing them back to the fold,” explained Glawe.
Like most of the students at Broadway, Smith’s dreams and priorities have changed since she became a mom. Instead of living on campus at the University of Minnesota while she earns a nursing degree, Smith will go to a school that is more flexible, such as the Minneapolis Community and Technical School. “It will allow me to get my work done and at the end of the day go home to my daughter,” she explained.
Things also changed for Bryant-Campbell. Because she knows that she’ll need her family around to help care for her son, she has shelved her dreams of attending college down south. “It’s not just me, but me and my son,” she stated. “I am more focused on my son than me.”
Obtaining her high school degree didn’t used to be important to L. Meza-Molina. But now she wants to be a good example for her children. She wants to be able to tell them: “If I achieved that, you can too.”
Her sister, Y. Meza-Molina agreed. “You want to be a better person,” she said. “You want to be educated for your children. You want to give them everything you don’t have.”
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SIDEBAR

LONGFELLOW SCHOOL

Longfellow Community School, located at the corner of 31st Ave. and 31st St. was built in 1918. It was closed in 2010.

Broadway at Longfellow School moved into the vacant Longfellow Elementary School building in the fall of 2011. The program caters to over 100 teenage mothers up to age 21 from across Minneapolis. While the program itself isn’t new, the move from North High School (where it had been located since the district opted to develop its headquarters at Broadway High School, 1250 West Broadway Avenue) to Longfellow enabled the program to have a home of its own, rather than share space with another high school.

Learn more about the program at: http://broadway.mpls.k12.mn.us or call 612-668-4700.

This story was printed in the March 2012 edition of the Longfellow/Nokomis Messenger.

Cedar Towing may lose its license

Company waiting for issue to be resolved before moving into Longfellow





by Tesha M. Christensen

Cedar Towing intended to move into the Longfellow neighborhood last fall, but is still waiting for the city’s approval. Because its license to operate hasn’t been renewed, city staff won’t sign off on the necessary paperwork for the move from 359 Hoover Street in the University neighborhood to 3527 Dight Ave. S. in the Longfellow neighborhood.
When Cedar Towing sought to renew its operating license in September 2011, the city initiated an investigation into their business practices.
Although the attorney’s office declined to press criminal charges in December, Minneapolis has announced its intention to deny the company’s license to operate because of numerous code violations, including overcharging customers and allowing its own employee to authorize tows from private property. It has allowed the company to operate since September until these issues are resolved.
Cedar Towing is the city’s largest of five towing companies. In 2008, Cedar Towing agreed to pay $1,341 in fines for various violations, some of the same ones the company is accused of repeating in 2011.
CEDAR TOWING’S OPTIONS
A letter written to Cedar Towing President Julie Rodriquez by Dana Banwer of Minneapolis’ licensing and environmental services division on Jan. 26, 2012 laid out three options for the company. One, surrender its business license. Two, acknowledge the violations did occur and allow the Minneapolis City Council to determine if any adverse license action should be taken such as the revocation or denial of Cedar’s business license, suspensions, administrative fines or additional business license operating conditions. Or three, opt to have the case be presented to an administrative law judge.
 “The city believes that we have the evidence to back up what we said in the letter to them,” noted Minneapolis Licenses Division Manager Grant Wilson. “We are not making stuff up. We believe these things are true or we would not have taken this road.”
Based on evidence gathered during a search warrant, the city believes Cedar Towing overcharged customers by $88,424.50 between Jan. 1, 2011 and Oct. 18, 2011. “We suspect this has been going on for a number of years,” Wilson stated.
The current towing fee set by the city’s ordinance is $212. The storage fee is $28 a day. Cedar Towing has been charging the storage fee on the first day a vehicle is towed, rather than beginning on the second day as stated in the city ordinance. Rasmus argued, “There is no language in the service fee section of the Ordinance (section 349.270) that suggests in any way that storage fees may not be charged on the first day of a tow, or that a licensee must wait until after midnight of the day a vehicle is towed to charge storage fees,” argued Rasmus.
Representatives from the city and Cedar Towing met on Thursday, Feb. 9. Cedar Towing asked for one week to decide which option to pursue (go before the city council or an administrative law judge). They were given a deadline of Feb. 17, according to Wilson.
“We’re working with the city to resolve these issues and we’re hopeful,” stated Cedar Towing’s attorney Dan Rasmus.
RELOCATION INTO LONGFELLOW
Cedar Towing’s business operations include service tows, motor club towing/services, impound towing, jump starts, lock-outs, winching, tire changes and gas fills. Cedar Towing also provides snow plowing services, lot sweeping and a striping service. The business holds an Auto Lien Auction most Tuesdays at 11 a.m.
The announcement last fall that Cedar Towing intended to move into the Longfellow neighborhood was met with some trepidation as neighbors expressed concerns about whether the impound lot would generate crime, lower property values and increase noise and traffic. Others were pleased that the building that once housed John’s Welding Service would be used again, and that outside art on the property would be preserved.
To move into the vacant property, Cedar Towing asked the city to remove the pedestrian-oriented overlay on the property, which prohibited a towing company. It also asked for a conditional use permit and a variance of the off-street parking requirement. The city’s planning division recommended that the city deny Cedar Towing’s request as it does not match the city’s comprehensive plan. However, Planning Commission members approved it at the Aug. 29, 2011 meeting and it was subsequently approved by the City Council at its Sept. 2 meeting. Before moving into the Dight Ave. location, Cedar Towing was required to comply with various landscaping and site conditions, including the remodel of the building to create a front entrance off Dight Ave.

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SIDEBAR



VIOLATIONS AND RESPONSES
The following are a list of violations alleged by the city, followed Cedar Towing’s response provided to the city via a letter written by attorney Dan Rasmus.
1) Charging towing service fees in excess of those allowed by the city’s ordinances.
Cedar’s attorney Dan Rasmus pointed out that the service fee provision in the ordinance places a cap of service fees but it does not state that storage fees can’t be charged. “There is no language in the service fee section of the Ordinance (section 349.270) that suggests in any way that storage fees may not be charged on the first day of a tow, or that a licensee must wait until after midnight of the day a vehicle is towed to charge storage fees,” argued Rasmus.
2) Failure to accept credit cards as a form of payment on all days of the week.
Ramsus pointed out that Cedar Towing was having trouble with its credit card providers during a “small number of weekends” which made it unable to accept credit card payments. However, the situation has been resolved.
3) Conducting private impound towing services from private parking lots where there are no entrance warning signs posted.
According to Rasmus, this allegation involves a lot Cedar Towing shared responsibility over with another company. Because Cedar Towing didn’t own the lot, it couldn’t post a sign. “There was no intentional violation of the ordinance when vehicles were towed by Cedar Towing,” Rasmus stated.
4) Conducting private impound towing services without proper authorization.
“Cedar Towing strives to prevent tows from lots where signs are not posted or where alleged non-compliant signs are in place,” stated Rasmus. “Any alleged violations of this provision were unintentional.”
5) Conducting private impound towing services without completing a tow order form as required. (This violation is a repeat from August 2007.)
This allegation involves a disagreement between the city and Cedar Towing about what information should be released to vehicle owners, according to Rasmus. Cedar Towing expressed concerns about releasing the contact information of lot owners to vehicle owners, fearing that such information would be used by vehicle owners to retaliate against the lot owners. Rasmus stated that a new form was developed to protect lot owners from harm, and to his knowledge, “all parties are satisfied with the current use of this form.” 
6) Providing remuneration to parking lot operators in the form of parking lot security patrol services.
It can be unsafe for property lot owners to deal with individuals whose vehicles are about to be towed, stated Rasmus. “The work is better left to trained tow operators.”
7) Failure to immediately transport private impounded vehicles to a licensed storage facility. (This violation is a repeat from August 2007.)
“There were unique circumstances surrounding the alleged practice that led to a citation,” stated Rasmus. He added that this issue was already addressed and resolved by a Consent Degree in December 2010.

This story was printed in the March 2012 edition of the Longfellow/Nokomis Messenger.

Give input on Keewaydin park plan March 6

Parks department working to relocate pool and playground




by Tesha M. Christensen

Check out the new design for the Keewaydin Park on Tuesday, March 6, 2012 at 7 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Keewaydin Park Recreation Center, 3030 E. 53rd St.
Since gathering input from community residents during a meeting Jan. 21, Minneapolis Parks and Recreation staff has been working on a new master plan for the park. The expansion of Lake Nokomis Community School’s Keewaydin  Campus has prompted this redesign, as the existing playground and wading pool are on school-owned land and will need to be relocated. The park board supported building to the south in order to preserve the athletic fields on the east.
“I greatly appreciate that over 35 members of the Keewaydin community came out for the Keewaydin Park workshop,” said Fifth District Commissioner Carol Kummer. “This level of participation shows how much people care about this park.”
WHAT DO COMMUNITY RESIDENTS WANT?
Some common themes expressed during the Jan. 21 meeting were replacing the play equipment and water features; aligning the fields to better serve youth softball, baseball and soccer; and saving the trees and as much green space as possible, stated Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board Manager of Public Engagement and Citywide Planning Jennifer Ringold.
“We were impressed with the level of similarity in the features desired by the participants,” stated Ringold.
Some wanted a new tennis court. The former ones were removed in 2007 because they were in poor condition, not because they weren’t getting used. It will cost between $50,000 - $75,000 to install a single tennis court.
While some of the existing items can be moved to another spot at the park, others, such as the main play structure, much of the equipment in the Pre-K container, the seesaw, and the spring animals can’t. They are nearing the end of their life expectancy, explained Ringold. A playground generally lasts about 20 years. “The larger play structure, although faded, and Galaxy Spica spinners for the older children are in good condition and can be moved. It is probably more economical to replace the swings.  However, the safety zone for swings are big consumers of space; we might not have room to replace these,” she added.
Additionally, the park board won’t reuse any equipment that doesn’t meet existing safety and handicap-accessible standards.
The estimated cost for a new wading pool/splash pad is $500,000, and a new playground will cost about $300,000.
The athletic fields have drainage issues and could also use renovation, which would cost about $200,000, according to Ringold.
The fields are used most heavily for soccer; last year there were eight teams with 91 participants. They are also used for baseball and softball. Over the last three years, soccer and baseball enrollment has stayed steady. The number of softball teams dropped from four teams to two teams in 2011. However, all four existing field are in poor condition, damaged by heavy use and ice sheets. They are no longer flooded for ice skating in the winter.
Jay Larson, a member of the school steering committee, attended the park meeting in January. He said it was reassuring for him to hear that the pool would likely have been replaced by the park board within the next few years, and that the playground equipment was nearing the end of its life expectancy.
“After this meeting, and as a Keewaydin resident who lives only a couple of blocks from the park, I feel much better about the school and park’s decision to partner and move forward with the demolition and rebuild of Keewaydin’s playground and pool,” Larson stated.
“I will admit, being a parent of three young children who use Keewaydin park almost daily during the warmer months and having to possibly live without a park for a summer or two will be rough.  However, we will simply walk a few more blocks away and be able to utilize other nearby parks with playground equipment and wading pool (such as Hiawatha or Nokomis).”
WHERE WILL THE MONEY COME FROM?
The parks department has not yet identified where the money to move and/or purchase new playground equipment and a pool will come from. According to Ringold, the parks department has budgeted $500,000 total to split between the service area of Morris, McRea, and Pearl in 2013. “We expect some of this funding will help with improvements for Keewaydin,” Ringold stated. “We will also be working with other possible funders and looking for grants after the master planning is complete.”
Will Keewaydin School allocate some of its $16 million construction budget for the playground? Until the steering committee finalizes the design and receives estimates, the school doesn’t know what its budget will cover, according to Larson. “The current playground and pool just south of the school is a priority for the committee and much discussion is happening in/around what to do,” he remarked.
Keewaydin School has not yet identified when the playground will be removed to accommodate the construction project. Construction is slated to begin as soon as classes let out in June.
Larson observed that at this time, “We do not know how the construction timeline will lay out and how this will effect recess time for the students at Keewaydin.  However, it is most likely that students will be re-directed to another location for recess during construction.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
At the March 6 meeting, attendees will review the concepts developed based on the Jan. 21 meeting and identify the community’s preferred plan. This preferred plan will become the master plan that is presented to the Board of Commissioners for approval. Park staff anticipate bringing the master plan to the Board of Commissioners in April.
For further information, visit the park project page on the MPRB website: http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=1320.

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SIDEBARS

COMMENTS FROM RESIDENTS
Thirty-five residents attended a planning session about the park on Jan. 21. Here are some of their comments:
• This is a young child playground.
• Basketball is available at the great new school. Place court on school property.
• Keep the rec center separate from the school; it is in good condition and serves its purpose well. The space is adequate for young kids.
• Preserve the sledding hills on the east side: they are used a ton and they are the only sledding hills near this neighborhood.
• Preserve the green space. Keep as many trees as possible.
• Maintain the diversity of activities in the park for children from Pre-K to grades K-8.
• Keep all play areas close together and seating/picnic areas close to the play structures.
• Create parking sufficient for evening activities. Consider street parking impact on neighborhood).

HISTORY OF KEEWAYDIN PARK

1927 - City and school district agree to cooperate on the purchase and use of a new school and playground, which would generate a “substantial saving” to the city.

1929 - Playing fields, skating and hockey rinks in use.

1932 - Four tennis courts and concrete wading pool finished. The playground was located where it currently is, while the pool was where the Rec Center is today. There were four tennis courts in the southeast corner.

1972 - Recreation center opened. Four tennis courts reduced to two. Parking lot, playgrounds, hard surface court, and wading pool are in current locations.

2000 - The school board contributed
$30,000, the Nokomis East Neighborhood Association contributed $70,000 and the MPRB contributed $200,000 to replace the playground, improve the wading pool and resurface the basketball area.

2007 - Tennis courts removed due to poor condition. The use of the athletic fields for skating has been discontinued.

Information courtesy of Deborah Bartels of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.


This story was printed in the March 2012 edition of the Longfellow/Nokomis Messenger.