About Us (With Footnotes)
Learnmore is an initiative to promote discussion and identify new solutions to ensure that more Minnesota children succeed in school and pursue higher education — for their sakes and our state's future.
Minnesota employers will soon need more new college-educated hires than the state will produce1; in market terms, demand will outstrip supply. While various trends are involved, one fact is particularly stark: too many of our children fail to complete high school2, let alone pursue post-high-school education options3. These trends are especially challenging among students from low-income families, new immigrant groups and some communities of color4.
Picture a classroom full of eager, active kindergarteners. All of them need a good education. When they grow up, completing high school and earning advanced degrees will help them adapt in the global knowledge economy and be more informed citizens5. More than ever before, education is the key that opens opportunity.
But future academic success isn’t just good for these children and their families — it is good for all of us. We all need the state's future workforce to be as prepared as possible. With our rapidly changing demographics6and increasing competition7, the continued vitality of Minnesota’s economy is at stake8.
Learnmore is the result of an informal alliance of citizens representing business, education, service groups and others, all of whom are concerned about our state’s future. The Minnesota Private College Council, an association of liberal arts colleges, has been a catalyst in this effort. Others have stepped forward as early partners and supporters.
Everyone can be part of the solution. Building awareness of these issues and identifying new ways to help more children succeed in school — and life — is vital to us all.
1 Projections of High School Graduates: Implications for Baccalaureate Degree Production and Workforce Growth PDF 160 KB, (2004), Minnesota Private College Research Foundation.
"The Age Divide: Generations in the Workplace," (April 2006), Minnesota Economic Trends, Rachel Hillman.
2 Jay P. Greene and Marcus A. Winters, Public High School Graduation and College-Readiness Rates: 1991-2002 (2005), Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.
3 "Sixty-Four Percent of Minnesota High School Graduates Choose College," Insight (March 2006), Minnesota Office of Higher Education.
“Minnesota losing ground in college participation of students from low-income families," (February 2006), News from Minnesota Private Colleges.
4 2006 State of Students of Color. Minnesota Minority Education Partnership, Inc.
Measuring Up (2004, 2006). National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.
5 The Investment Payoff: A 50-State Analysis of the Public and Private Benefits of Higher Education (2005), Institute for Higher Education Policy.
Education Pays Update 2007 PDF 557 KB, (2007), College Board .
6 "Minnesota’s population continues to become more diverse." Media release (May 1, 2006), Minnesota State Demographic Center.
Projected Minnesota Population Change by Age and Race/Ethnicity, 2000 to 2020 (2006), National Center for Higher Education Management Systems.
7 Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future (2006), The National Academies.
8 Mind the Gap: Reducing Disparities to Improve Regional Competitiveness in the Twin Cities PDF, (2005), The Brooking Institution Metropolitan Policy Program.“Education and America in the 21st Century,” PDF 126 KB, (November 2005), Presentation to AAUW, Steven Rosenstone.
