Minnesota Governor Visits Students in Brooklyn Park
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz made a surprise visit to a group of high school students in Brooklyn Park on Monday.
The students were from the Northwest Suburban Integration School District (NWSISD), which creates opportunities for racial minorities to attend schools outside of their home districts. Approximately 450 high school students attended an NWSISD leadership conference held at Minneapolis Marriott Northwest hotel.
“Your generation is the most optimistic and the most inclusive of any generation we’ve ever had in Minnesota,” Walz told the students. “Those things bode well for the future.”
The Monday event brought together a diverse group of students from two NSWISD programs: Advancement Via Individual Determination, which focuses on college and career readiness, and Educators Rising, which works to promote interest in the field of education.
“It shows we’re important,” said Shauna Lo, a junior at Osseo High School. “[We’re] fortunate to be a part of this program.”
Student Shauna Lo spoke with CCX News about the NWSISD event.
NWSISD was created in 2001 in response to the state’s desegregation rule. At that time, the Brooklyn Center and Osseo school districts were identified as “racially isolated.” State law defines a racially isolated school district as “a district where the district-wide enrollment of protected students exceeds the enrollment of protected students of an adjoining district by more than 20 percentage points.” If a district or school is identified as racially isolated, the district must work with neighboring districts to create a voluntary desegregation plan.
The school district is a collaboration among seven districts, primarily in the northwest metro, including Anoka-Hennepin, Brooklyn Center, Buffalo-Hanover-Monstrose, ISD728 (Elk River, Otsego, Rogers and Zimmerman), Fridley, Osseo and Rockford school districts.
