Prepared and paid for by Jenny Arneson for School Board, 3005 Ulysses St NE, Minneapolis, MN 55418

Led fundraising efforts at Waite Park, a school in which 70% of the students receive free or reduced lunch. Most recently, raised $11,000 in one month through business partnerships and classroom coin drives.

Advocated for equity for the Eastside schools during the Changing School Options process, including initiating community discussions about Sheridan.

Increased parent communication at Waite Park by creating parent directories and expanding PTA e-mail list to include half of Waite Park families.

Provided equitable access to school resources by arranging translation services, phone trees and ride shares for families who speak English as a second language.

Successfully engaged Spanish-speaking parents with Waite Park PTA. Created popular parent forum for parents with Spanish as their first language.

Initiated PEN action plan to strengthen athletic pathways between parks and schools on the Eastside.

Linked community churches, organizations and Edison High School to Waite Park events and forged partnerships between the schools.

Coordinated and expanded PEN School Showcase to successfully highlight our neighborhood schools to the public.

Conceptualized, initiated and coordinated joint NE school entry in the NE parade.

Coordinated community support NE for the most recent school referendum.
For the past 12 years, Jenny has been a strong leader in our community. She has fought for equity across the schools, been a conduit for community input at the school board and district level and worked tirelessly for parent, teacher and community engagement and collaboration.

A fourth generation Northeaster, Jenny has a strong commitment to Eastside neighborhoods and schools. Jenny graduated from Edison Senior High School in 1993. After graduating from St. Olaf with a Bachelor Degree in Social Work, Jenny went on to earn her Masters Degree in Social Work from the University of Minnesota. Today, she lives in the Audubon Neighborhood with her husband, Patrick. Her twin sons, Brandon and Connor are in forth grade and her youngest son, Cullen, is in kindergarten at Waite Park Community School.

Jenny has worked in Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) leading social skills groups for children throughout the district. She also spent time working with the adolescent parent unit, helping pregnant or parenting teens complete their education through Minneapolis public contract-alternative schools and increasing parent engagement among at-risk families. Prior to working in MPS, Jenny was a social worker and community organizer on the Northside of Minneapolis. One of her roles included multi-agency collaborations designed to strengthen the surrounding community, such as the Hawthorne Huddle.

Jenny's passion lies in fighting for strong urban schools. She has led the Waite Park Community School PTA since her children began attending the school and has been an active member of Public Education Northeast (PEN) for just as long. Jenny has a record of tirelessly advocating for academic equity among all Minneapolis schools and holding district officials accountable for promises made to our community. To this end, she has led fundraising sub-committees, coordinated new initiatives, linked disparate community groups and thereby increased parent and community engagement with Minneapolis Public Schools.