May 2010
In this issue:
The buzz
From our guest bloggers
Keep up with the headlines
New research highlights
Vanishing Graduates airs in June
LearnmoreMN opportunities
The buzz
People are talking about the education and workforce challenges facing Minnesota and the nation:
- "The achievement gap is not new and Minnesota's reaction to fixing it has never been more than tepid. …our leaders tell us the solutions to the achievement gap cost too much money. This cannot continue."
— John Fitzgerald, education policy fellow at MN2020 - “The idea that we can close the achievement gap without desegregating is simply wrong. The statistics are catastrophically bad.”
— Myron Orfield, professor of law at the University of Minnesota.
Browse these and other examples of What others say about the challenges.
From our guest bloggers
Each month, the LearnmoreMN blog features a different community member sharing their perspective about school success and the educational challenges we face in Minnesota.
May blogger Laura Gilbert focuses on the need for more adult learners to enroll in college. "To remain competitive, the U.S. must produce 15.5 million more degrees than current trends are likely to produce between now and 2025 — or one million additional degrees annually for the next 15 years. Traditional-aged students may complete 1.3 million degrees during that time period. That still leaves us 14.2 million degrees short. The solution? Re-engage our adult learners." Read her post and consider joining the conversation by adding your comment.
The Minnesota Business Partnership will be our June guest blogger, followed by Joe Graba from Education|Evolving in July.
Keep up with the headlines
A selection of the top education stories from national and local media outlets are added to LearnmoreMN each weekday. Subscribe to the RSS feed for the top three stories of the day along with other new LearnmoreMN content. Or, view all stories for the week on the Newsroom headlines. (The previous week’s stories are on the archive page.)
New research highlights
The Educational Attainment page was recently updated. New reports and studies include:
- Educational Attainment in the United States: 2009, U.S. Census Bureau
Among the findings: The number of U.S. residents with bachelor’s degrees or more climbed 34% between 1999 and 2009. - Educational Attainment by Degree-level and Age-Group, National Center for Higher Education Management Systems
View interactive graphs and maps showing how states rank on different measures of educational attainment. - A Stronger Nation Through Higher Education, Lumina Education Foundation
This report explains Lumina's goal to have 60% of Americans hold two- or four-year college degrees by 2025. It includes current standing by state. - In addition, the Minnesota Private College Council’s newsletter recently explored the question of what new national goals for college attainment mean for our state.
Vanishing Graduates airs in June
The thought-provoking and inspiring documentary, Vanishing Graduates & Minnesota's Future, examines why a shrinking number of Minnesota students will be graduating from college — and what these vanishing graduates means for Minnesota’s economy. The program will air on the Digital MN Channel — seen statewide on all six Minnesota public television stations — on Friday, June 4 and on Saturday, June 5 at 1 a.m., 7 a.m. and 1 p.m.
LearnmoreMN opportunities
Does your organization work to help more Minnesota children succeed in school? If so, consider how you might use LearnmoreMN’s presentations, facts and news headlines to supplement your efforts — or send us a note about what you might contribute to enhance the LearnmoreMN resource.
