Speaker Dr. Melissa Ness introduced by Alex F.  Dr. Ness is the principal of XinXing Academy (the Chinese immersion school) and Eisenhower Elementary School – both in Hopkins.  She grew up in Milwaukee, graduated from UM, and previously worked in Richfield.  She has extensive experience in elementary education.  She has overseen many programs and is currently leading the way for the new Spanish immersion school which will open next year. 

 

Dr. Ness spoke about her personal journey towards leadership in education.  She reminded us that students should have “windows” (seeing others) and “mirrors” (seeing self).  She recalled several seminal events on her road to leadership:  Walking that one block to her elementary school bus stop which was in front of a halfway house, 5^th grade teacher telling her to never be ashamed of her mom, and a fellow student at age 14 who had vision problems and didn’t do well in school.  This culminated in an arrest. 

 

She was asked about the second grade mentoring program our members enjoyed for many years.  Bob H. asked why it was stopped.  She noted studies emphasize the need for children to have trusted adults in their lives.  She will check into resuming the mentoring program

 

She recalled problems with students who have low self esteem and low self confidence.  This is often seen in students of color. 

 

The Chinese immersion program is doing well.  The dual language model is used at Eisenhower.  When the Spanish immersion program begins, students who speak Spanish at home will now also learn how to read in that language.  That doesn’t always happen if Spanish is the primary language at home and students are taught to read only in English. 

 

She chose educational leadership as opposed to staying in the classroom because she felt she could have a broader effect by taking up leadership. 

Her current challenge:  Learning the role of Eisenhower and XinXing principals. 

 

There are 375 students in the Chinese immersion school – grades K-6.  Eighty per cent come from Hopkins and the others from the metro area as the school has open enrollment. She didn’t know anything about the Chinese language before coming to Eisenhower. 

 

Parents of the XinXing school are mostly English speaking.  There are students of color in the program.  There are about 6 Chinese immersion schools in the state of MN.