Mike McFadden: Life After the Campaign

As seen in the St. Paul Pioneer Press 11/8/15

I’m no political pundit. But when my path crossed with Mike McFadden’s recently, I asked the Sunfish Lake businessman what he’d been doing since he lost his bid to unseat U.S. Sen. Al Franken a year ago. Often, candidates capture the public interest briefly then disappear. It seemed that McFadden was in that category.

McFadden had never run for political office when he decided to challenge the incumbent senator. The father of six had earned a law degree, run a successful business, and coached youth sports. But he was troubled by the proclivity of politicians in both parties to make a career of serving in elected office. He advocates a “learn, earn, and serve model.” He’d like to see more candidates take a break from the private sector, serve a limited number of terms, and then retire from elected office.

So he threw his hat into the ring, assembled a staff, and hit the road. For 14 months he traveled around the state in his white pickup truck, meeting with Minnesotans in all 87 counties. Among other topics, he spoke of his passion for providing educational options to all students.

Education was not a new interest, though. The University of St. Thomas graduate had served on the board of directors of Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Minneapolis for years. The school’s unique approach had piqued my interest and was the subject of a column I wrote in 2013.

Nearly all students at the private Jesuit high school are of color and qualify for free or reduced lunch. They fund their spots in the student body of more than 360 by participating in a corporate work-study program.

Through partnerships with local employers, students work five days per month and put their earnings towards their tuition. The work experience and connections open their eyes to opportunities that may otherwise have eluded them.

McFadden reports with pride that every student in Cristo Rey’s class of 2015 graduated and was accepted to college or the military. Nearly eight of 10 enrolled in two- or four-year colleges. He’d like to see those outcomes for all students.

As a young boy McFadden spent summers on his grandparents’ dairy farm. He likes to say that no one works harder than dairy farmers. Traversing his adopted state last year, he said, he felt a connection with the farmers he met. But when he spoke about the education achievement gap, it didn’t matter how people earned their living or cast their ballots on Election Day. Many shared his passion for education.

Many also shared his dismay about the statistics. “Minnesota has the lowest graduation rate in the country for Latino students and the second lowest for African American students. That’s not acceptable,” McFadden insists.

On that point he found much agreement during the campaign (Myself included. I supported his candidacy.). “Minnesotans believe that education is important. We spend a lot of money on it,” he said. How it is spent is a concern for the businessman, who says, “Of the roughly $21,000 spent per pupil in Minneapolis, more than 64 percent goes to non-student expenses.”

Now back in the private sector, McFadden stays busy with family, business ventures, Cristo Rey, state politics — and another school board commitment. The latter came about purely by chance as a result of meeting “two phenomenal women” on the campaign trail.

One of his campaign stops was at Global Academy in Columbia Heights. Using the international baccalaureate curriculum, Global Academy educates first-generation immigrants in kindergarten through eighth grade. A waiting list of hundreds speaks to its success, McFadden says.

During the campus visit McFadden met Becky Magnuson and Lauren Ryan. The two women were in the process of launching a new charter school in St. Paul’s Midway area using the same curriculum as Global Academy with a similar student body. Helen Fisk, Global Academy’s director, was mentoring them on the multi-faceted process of establishing and operating a charter school.

Intrigued by their energy, commitment and plans, McFadden reached out to them immediately after the election and expressed interest in helping them with Tesfa International School (“Tesfa” means “hope” in Amharic, a language spoken in Ethiopia). As a board member he is excited about the future of the school, which opened its doors to 150 kindergarten through sixth-graders three months ago. “It’s really been interesting and informative to see a charter school start from the very beginning,” he said.

Charter schools like Tesfa receive federal and state dollars, but no local funds. Smaller budgets drive priorities and decisions. McFadden brings a businessman’s experience to a board composed of educators. The principal and board are empowered to hire faculty and staff who share the school’s mission. Moreover, they can develop a culture of high expectations. “We don’t lower expectations because of the backgrounds these kids come from,” he says.

A believer in markets, McFadden thinks there should be a more-free market for education. “Unfortunately in many neighborhoods there aren’t many options other than the traditional public school down the street. We can be doing so much better than we are now,” he says.

He is encouraged by schools like Cristo Rey, Global Academy and Tesfa. “A number of charter and faith-based schools are doing a fantastic job of educating children from economically disadvantaged areas. I’d like to see multiple schools doing things different ways,” he said. “Let’s measure them and fund the ones that are successful.” Spoken like a businessman and a politician.