In the Minneapolis Public Schools, there has been a constant tension between using information for power and using information as a resource which can be shared and multiplied. Ideas, once discussed aloud by the superintendent or district administrators, were usually seen as edicts. And in a system with archaic telephone technology and limited access to voice or electronic mail, the rumor mill was in its heyday. This was a stark contrast for members of our company, who openly share information. I can't count how many times we were accused of having some secret plan which we were supposedly going to foist on the district.
Today there are still power struggles over information, but to a lesser degree.
In many ways over the past two years, the district has become more public, openly telling the truth about how well our kids are doing and how we're acting as stewards of taxpayer dollars. To fully use this resource, however, we have to build an infrastructure that improves access to the information we already have as well as to that in cyberspace. Bringing the district into the 21st century technologically is a challenge of millions of dollars. But we can no longer expect students to function as well-trained, capable adults if they do not have access to today's technology in our classrooms. The second major challenge for the district is building leadership throughout the organization, not just at the top.