HENNEPIN COUNTY: MINNEAPOLIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS:

Southeast Alternatives (SEA) consisted of five schools in the West Area, Southeast Cluster, of the Minneapolis Public Schools: Marcy Open School, Marshall-University High School, Southeast Free School, Pratt Continuous Progress School, and Tuttle Contemporary School. The project was administered by Minneapolis Public Schools under a grant from the United States Office of Education.

Primary goals of the Southeast Alternatives [SEA] project were: to provide a choice of educational alternatives for students, parents, and faculty; to provide a K-12 continuum of learning experiences; to encourage and provide opportunities for parents, students, staff, administrators, and faculty to participate in the educational and decision making process through decentralized administration; and to incorporate promising educational practices within the curriculum and develop experimental programs.

The National Institute of Education and the Minneapolis School Board, in a program budget for 1971-1972, state that "the project will test comprehensive change over a five year period combining promising school practices in a mutually reinforcing design. Curriculum, staff training, administration, teaching methods, internal research, and governance in SEA make up the mutually reinforcing parts." There were four alternative program formats for elementary level students: Contemporary, Continuous Progress, Open, and Free. The two formats for secondary students were: Free School and the Marshall-University High School, which offered a traditional curriculum combined with a transitional program and extensions of the Continuous Progress, Contemporary, and Open programs

The project was funded in June 1971 and became operational in September 1971. Federal funds were terminated in 1976, although the Minneapolis school board approved the continuation of a citywide alternative educational system as a result of this project.

Return to top

The collection includes records from each of the five participating schools in the West Area, Southeast Cluster of the Minneapolis Public Schools: Marcy Open School, Marshall-University High School, Pratt Continuous Progress School, Southeast Free School, and Tuttle Contemporary School. Many of the project planning and management documents, reviews, progress reports, and parent and student opinion surveys were written by the project's Internal Evaluation Department. There are also brochures and pamphlets describing the various programs.

Return to top

These documents are organized into the following sections:

Return to top

Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Minneapolis Public Schools. Southeast Alternatives Experimental Schools Project Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession numbers: 989-104; 989-124

Processing Information:

Processed by: Lynn Leitte, September 1999

Catalog ID number: 990017292890104294

Return to top

Return to top

These items are in chronological order.

Return to top

These items are in chronological order. Internal evaluation reports on single school sites are filed with records for that site.

Return to top

The philosophy of Marcy Open School is based on the belief that the teacher-child relationship should be one of mutual respect; that school activities should be an outgrowth of the interests of the children; that both the teacher and the child should learn from exploring and experimenting; that the entire community should be seen as a laboratory for learning; and that educating is providing learning experiences that allow an individual to develop his or her own particular talents and strengths. Children should learn how to read, write, and solve problems without going through a structured and sequential skill-building curriculum. Learning should be as individualized and personalized as possible, but each child should also engage in a variety of flexible groupings in order to learn to work cooperatively, understand personal and physical differences among persons, make group decisions, and improve communications skills. These files are in chronological order.

Return to top

Known also as Marshall-University Middle/Senior High School, the facility is a 6-12th grade school offering ungraded 6th, 7th, and 8th classes, graded 7-12th classes, and 6-12th open school. Students enrolling in the regular, graded classes combine traditional required courses with additional options such as: Urban Arts, Action Learning, and work centered experiences. The open school setting offers experiential learning in an integrated and project oriented manner, through a curriculum personalized by the student. In addition, open school students attend other classes at Marshall-University which complete the Minnesota graduation requirements. These items are in chronological order.

Return to top

The continuous progress school is based on the premise that each child learns best by working at his or her own pace. Instruction is based on a carefully sequenced curriculum in the basic skills of reading, language arts, and mathematics. The children progress through the curriculum without regard to artificial or grade level barriers. No child will spend more than eight or less than six years in the continuous progress program. The program seeks to provide an environment within which persons in the school community (students, parents, and staff) can develop positive feelings about themselves and others; develop and maintain a basic skills program that meets the needs of students; and provide opportunities for students to make choices in other curriculum areas in order to build a background of knowledge particular to their own interests and stage of development. Known also as Pratt-Motley Continuous Progress School, the Pratt facility accommodates primary school children, while the Motley facility serves intermediate school children. These files are in chronological order.

Return to top

“Provisions for a Free School in the initial 1971 proposal represented an attempt to provide an alternative for elementary and secondary students and their parents who had been actively seeking a more humane and creative approach to education. The Southeast Free School bases its learning program on student choice and social involvement. The free school considers that choice making by students is basic to the learning process. . (The program) motivates students to come to school and to learn without the traditional motivations of grades, threat of punishment, or competition. It accepts student interest as a legitimate starting point for all learning. . The program emphasizes building confidence and awareness within students so that they will want to learn the skills necessary to survive in today’s rapidly and radically changing world. . Achieving skills and being able to make choices helps people become free; and being free in this way is what the Free School is about.” The free school includes students from kindergarten through high school. These files are in chronological order.

Return to top

The contemporary school provides an alternative for students, parents, and faculty that emphasizes the acquisition of basic skills in self-contained classrooms organized by grade levels, kindergarten through 6th grade. The atmosphere is much like that found in traditional classrooms, though the newest educational techniques are evident in the materials, learning machines, and methods used incorporating promising practices into the curriculum. The contemporary school does not claim to be experimental; it is committed to providing a proven basic skills educational experience for children, but one that is receptive to change rather than locked into an inflexible pattern.

Return to top

Return to top

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Education -- Curriculum planning.

Education -- Minnesota -- Hennepin County.

Education -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis -- Experimental methods.

Federal aid to education -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Free schools -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Nongraded schools -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Open plan schools -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Public schools -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

School districts -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

School management and organization -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis -- Parent participation.

Student participation in administration -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Teacher participation in administration -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Organizations:

Marcy Open School (Minneapolis, Minn.).

Marshall-University High School (Minneapolis, Minn.)

Minneapolis Public Schools.

Pratt Continuous Progress School (Minneapolis, Minn.).

Southeast Free School (Minneapolis, Minn.).

Tuttle Contemporary School (Minneapolis, Minn.).

United States. Office of Higher Education.

Places:

Minneapolis (Minn.) -- Schools.

Document Types:

Newsletters.

Pamphlets.

Questionnaires.

Functions:

Evaluating.

Planning.

Return to top