Nonprofit Leader: Mary Pat Cumming, Principal, FAIR School Downtown

Article by Becky Fillinger

Mary Pat CummingThe FAIR School Downtown integrates fine arts into all areas of the curriculum. We spoke to Principal Mary Pat Cumming about the genesis of the high school, innovative partnerships and projects and how you may participate in their programs and funding.

Q:  Please tell us the history of the FAIR school.

A:  The FAIR (Fine Arts Interdisciplinary Resource) School Downtown was created as a result of the 1995 lawsuit filed by the NAACP against the Minneapolis Public Schools and the Minnesota Department of Education. The Minnesota State Legislature created the FAIR schools as a “voluntary integration district between Minneapolis and 10 West suburban suburbs.” The West Metro Education Program (WMEP) School District was in operation for 15 years and had an enrollment of 50% students from Minneapolis and the remaining 50% would come from the suburban districts. This remained the case until 2015 when WMEP member districts determined that they could manage integration and equity work using the jointly held funding and disbanded. Due to its location in the heart of downtown Minneapolis, FAIR became part of Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS). In 2021, through the Comprehensive District Design, MPS built upon FAIR's success to create a new comprehensive arts magnet high school: The FAIR School for Arts. FAIR is still a voluntary integration program with enrolling students who come from over 30 school programs and multiple school district including Minneapolis and the western suburbs.

The FAIR School Downtown is located at 10 S 10th StreetQ:  On a basic level, what is fine arts integration in the classroom?  

A:  We are very careful with the language we use in describing the artistic process and the use of "fine arts." We believe strongly that students create their own artistic identity in the medium that they enjoy and find passion with. The term 'fine arts' is often focused on white-Eurocentric areas of music, dance, theater and visual art. Areas of art that might include digital music, skateboard art or graffiti art are not as mainstreamed in the overall artistic world, but are emerging for students in ways that allow them to show their artistic identity.

In our classrooms, arts integration is seamlessly woven into the daily assignments and activities that students are engaged in. This could look like a tessellation assignment in the patterns of math to creating an art work that demonstrates the coding of DNA. Writing assignments can take on the form of poetry, spoken word or short stories - all that are valid forms of academic and artistic expression.

Q:  How is the integration implemented - by your staff, or do you have partnerships with outside organizations? 

A:  Our teaching staff are amazing - super talented and creative. They are constantly thinking of ways to actively engage students in their learning through Art Integration (AI) and use student voice and choice in ways to show their learning. We use a blend of our teaching staff and outside resident artists who may come in for a focused project or that we send students out into the downtown community for an experience. One example is the "It's the People" Banner project with the Hennepin Theater Trust (HTT), one of our many downtown partners. Students are currently working with a teaching artist from Minneapolis College and HTT to learn about public art, photography and the production of large scale photo banners that are located in the Downtown community, including on the side of our building. After participating in the project, students assist with the selection of the large-scale banners that will be displayed. This is a perfect example of the melding of our school with partners in the community to support students, promote art and public education.  

Q:  Do you find that arts integration increases staff satisfaction with their careers as educators? 

A:  I'd like to pose this question to my staff! We do know that students who choose to come to FAIR do so in part as they can express their knowledge using artistic means and that draws them here from over 30 different middle schools in Minneapolis and the western Twin Cities.

All 9th grade students participate in Dance as part of their physical education credit and FAIR Freshman Experience where all students participate in Dance, Visual Arts, Theater, Electronic Music, Media Arts. This photo is from the Dance Showcase Performance - many students have never danced or performed in front of an audience before.

Students in a banner workshop.

Skateboard art

Q:  What kind of arts are integrated – music, painting, drama, dance, etc.? 

A:  All forms of art are integrated in core curriculum classes and core curriculum classes are an integral part of our arts courses. History, literature, math and science can all be found as components of our arts courses. An example would be the chemical reactions that are found in the process of glazes on ceramic pieces. That process is taught and examined as students complete that stage of the process in ceramics creation. As indicated above - we think beyond the traditional arts courses and allow staff to develop projects and ideas that support their curriculum. 

Q:  Are there national or state standards the school must adhere to for each of the art forms? 

A:  As the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) High School Arts Magnet, we are required to follow all MN State Standards in core and arts classes.  

Q:  How is the school funded? 

A:  As a MPS School, we are a publicly funded through the Minnesota Department of Education guidelines and finance processes. We are actively looking for supporters and funders that can provide special projects and experiences for our students. Anyone interested in discussing ways to form reciprocal partnerships and working toward the common good for students and the downtown community may contact me - Principal, Mary Pat Cumming at marypat.cumming@mpls.k12.mn.us.

Q:  Please tell us some success stories of the arts integration at the FAIR school.  

A:  We currently have many stories to share - just a few from this year:

• "It's the People" Banner project (above) with Hennepin Theater Trust and Minneapolis College.
• Skateboard Art Exhibition at Chambers Hotel - Artist Mark Rivard
• 9th Grade Experience - All 9th grade students participate in all areas of arts during the freshmen year with quarterly showcase performances that include digital music, dance, performance theater, visual arts.
• School Art Galleries - Integrated art projects are hung throughout the building displaying the connections between core courses and artistic identity in curriculum mastery.

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