January 2009
In this issue:
Making a difference
Strategies for success
What others are saying
From our guest bloggers
New research
Making a difference
Why do too many African-American kids continue to fail in school? It’s a controversial question, but one that veteran Minneapolis teacher Titilayo Bediako faces head-on. Bediako and her We Win Institute aim to improve the academic performance of African-American students by creating “black excellence.” Two students who wrote the winning essays for the recent Black Excellence Contest won a trip to the Obama inauguration. Read this inspirational story about how one educator is helping kids succeed in school and life.
Strategies for success
Here are three new resources that offer promise for improving school success:
- “Coming to Our Senses: Education and the American Future” from the College Board — this report sounds the alarm about declining high school and college completion rates and lays out a 10-part action agenda.
- “Smart Investments in Minnesota's Students” from Growth & Justice provides a way to think about investing new education dollars for better results.
- “College-Ready Education Plan” describes the new education strategy of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
What others are saying
Minnesotans are speaking out about the education and workforce challenges facing our state. Here are some recent examples:
- Workforce Investment is Critical for Minnesota's Future, a recent article by businessman Tim Morin, was featured by Minnesota 2020. Morin says its time to find new and better ways of creating the education environment we need for the future.
- Tom Gillaspy, the Minnesota State Demographer spoke at a Dec. 15 higher education forum sponsored by the Minnesota Private College Council. View the video clip, Why 2008 is a watershed year.
From our guest bloggers
In his post, Small Minnesota schools have lowest percent needing remediation in public colleges/universities, January guest blogger Joe Nathan cites a state report showing that 38 percent of 2003-2006 high school graduates who entered Minnesota public colleges or universities needed remedial courses in reading, writing or math. Of the 50 high schools with the smallest percentage of their graduates taking remedial courses, 46 of them are quite small. Read his post to find out what characteristics these small schools have in common — and consider adding your comment.
In February, Sarah Thimjon and Tiffany Hasbrouck of Deloitte & Touche LLP will share their experiences co-leading the Deloitte Volunteer Initiative. The two present a six-week career planning workshop series to high school students.
If you’d like to volunteer for a month as a guest blogger for LearnmoreMN, please e-mail us at info@learnmoremn.org.
New research
New reports are added to LearnmoreMN frequently. Here are a few worth checking out:
- Measuring Up 2008 issues state report cards on higher education. Each state receives grades for preparation, participation, affordability and more. Released by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education in Dec. 2008.
- The Forgotten Middle: Ensuring that All Students Are on Target for College and Career Readiness before High School shows that fewer than two in 10 eighth-graders are on target to be ready for college-level work by the time they graduate from high school. Released by ACT in Dec. 2008.
- The Condition of Education 2008 is a congressionally mandated report that provides an annual portrait of education in the U.S. The 2008 report shows some improvement and some persistent challenges. Released by the National Center for Education Statistics in Dec. 2008.
