Longfellow School has become a high school for mothers

BY ELAINE KLAASSEN

Longfellow School is a beautiful, old-fashioned, square brick school building with a new purpose. Located at 31st and 31st, it now houses a fantastic educational program that serves 100 young mothers and mothers-to-be. Part of the Minneapolis Public Schools, the program in previous years was at Broadway High School and North High School.

Raising children isn’t easy for anyone. And if you are between 13 and 21, as are the students at this school, it is inordinately challenging. It takes commitment and determination beyond what is normally required—for instance, taking the city bus every day with your infant baby from St. Louis Park to the Longfellow neighborhood, as one young mother did. It’s hard enough to get yourself and a small person ready every day to catch the school bus at your doorstep. More demanding is that students living outside the Minneapolis city limits get their own transportation or use provided tokens to take city buses. Gargantuan efforts, just on a logistical level, not to mention psychological!

Fortunately, these young women have good support networks, although often not traditional, according to the school’s family and community liaison, Lutunji Abram. For example, one girl’s main family support is her boyfriend and his dad; others rely on grandparents or guardians, aunts or uncles. Many of them don’t have parents to help them, but they all have someone. The school provides the rest.

Dedicated teachers conduct classes in the usual, and not so usual, subjects. Dr. Peña is applying for a grant to create an ecosystem in the unused patio. “It’s a natural canyon,” he says. He loves getting students interested in science who don’t think they like it. Dr. Gibson created a popular unit on budgeting called, “If I Had a Million Dollars.” Jim Dagget is the GED teacher and Theodore Fabel, in a traditional classroom setting, teaches language arts. About 30% of the students take ELL (English Language Learners) classes, with Sarah Sehnert, because English is not their first language.

Some of the support provided by the school is unique. When it comes time for parent/teacher conferences, the students and their support people don’t go to the school, the teachers go to them—either to their homes or to a designated coffee shop or maybe McDonald’s.

When pregnant students give birth, tutors go to their homes during the first six weeks, keeping them up to date, until they can come back to school.

The nursery, in one wing of the building, is staffed with numerous trained caregivers who watch over the infants, toddlers and preschoolers. It is comforting for the mothers to know their children are close. Of course they see them at lunch. On Thursdays, caregivers, teachers, other staff and mothers spend an hour with the little ones, playing and interacting.

Caseworkers and psychologists are on hand and counseling and job assistance are easily available. Working with organizations in the community such as CLUES (Comunidades Latinas Unidas en Servicio), African American Family Services, EMERGE (a jobs and housing resource service), Division of Indian Work, Summit Academy OIC and the Family Enhancement Center helps the young women to develop self-confidence. And the principal, Jean Neuman, is one of those individuals who give people faith in themselves, according to my daughter, who had Ms Neuman for her principal when she was in the early grades many years ago. Because the young women are up against a growing prejudice, especially with teen pregnancy statistics on the rise, they need extra encouragement and appreciation for going to school and doing all they can to become good, strong “warrior” mothers—the most important job in the world.

This program at the Longfellow school is currently calling itself Broadway at Longfellow, but is looking for a new name. If you have suggestions or would like to get engaged in the discussion on what to name this program, please call the school office at 612-668-4700. Feel free to give them your ideas, or you could support them by volunteering your time for a roundtable discussion.