July 2009
In this issue:
The buzz
MN Meeting focuses on supporting students
New solutions resources on LearnmoreMN
From our guest blogger
New research highlights
The buzz
People in our communities are talking about the education and workforce challenges facing Minnesota and the nation:
- "The people who you will increasingly depend upon in your old age to pay taxes, keep your Social Security solvent, build Minnesota's economy and maintain its quality of life are the least prepared to take on that future. That's why you should pay attention to the latest data showing high, persistent gaps between whites and black and Latino students in Minnesota."
—The economic argument for closing MN's achievement gap, by Paul Tosto, Minnesota Public Radio, on Gather.com - "No matter what measurement approaches we use, Minnesota continues to create unequal K-12 outcomes that follow racial and income lines.”
—"2009 Standardized Test Math Scores: Quality and Equity?" by Carlos Mariani Rosa, Minnesota Minority Education Partnership - "We have lost much over the years, but the only way we are going to move forward is by educating ourselves. Our future leaders need to be able to live in two worlds in order to truly help our people."
—"Red on the outside, white by whose standard?" by Dr. Arne Vainio, News From Indian Country
Read all examples of What others say about the challenges.
MN Meeting focuses on supporting students
The Minneapolis Foundation held the third event of its Minnesota Meeting series on May 27 with "Working Together: Organizing Our Communities to Support Student Success.” Geoffrey Canada of the Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ) shared his experience with this transformative program and explored how Minnesota might integrate lessons learned from the HCZ model. Read about all three events in the Minnesota Meeting series.
New solutions resources on LearnmoreMN
Here is a sampling of new resources to inspire your efforts to improve school success:
- America's Promise Alliance has developed a Dropout prevention guidebook and toolkit to help communities tackle the dropout crisis.
- Maryland educators are promoting Seven Keys to College Readiness — an attempt to spell out for parents what the pathway is for their children to earn a college degree.
- Career coaches at Virginia's Community Colleges are college employees who are based in local high schools to help high school students define their career aspirations.
Check out these and more solutions resources.
From our guest blogger
Each month, the LearnmoreMN blog features a different community member sharing their perspective about school success and the educational challenges we face in Minnesota.
From July blogger Kathleen O'Donnell, writing about the Destination 2010 program:
...one of our greatest successes has been the ability to keep students on our radar who might have otherwise fallen off. We’ve been able to maintain relationships with some students through multiple moves, family upheaval, and time in the juvenile justice system.
Read and comment on her post.
Our bloggers change each month; if you’d like to volunteer for a month as a guest blogger for LearnmoreMN, please e-mail us info@learnmoremn.org.
New research highlights
Keep up with the latest research findings related to Minnesota's education challenges. Here are some recent additions:
- Achievement Gaps: How Black and White Students in Public Schools Perform in Mathematics and Reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress — This new study also provides scores by state.
- The Economic Impact of the Achievement Gap in America’s Schools — This report finds that the underutilization of human potential in the U.S. is costly: "…avoidable shortfalls in academic achievement impose heavy and often tragic consequences, via lower earnings, poorer health, and higher rates of incarceration... .”
- Report on the Impact of the Economy on College Enrollment — This study reflects the responses of students and parents from all 50 states regarding the ways in which the economy is anticipated to affect their fall 2009 enrollment options.
- Promoting Economic Mobility by Increasing Postsecondary Education — "Education, postsecondary education in particular, is one of the most effective tools our nation has for promoting upward mobility. However, we may not have achieved equal opportunity in this regard.”
