What Others Say About the Challenges
Journalists, educators, economists and others are part of a growing chorus calling on us to take note of the education and workforce challenges facing Minnesota and the nation. Read about what they are saying below:
Minnesota Minority Education Partnership leadership comments on president's college goals, August 2010
"It's time for Minnesota to be clear to the public about who graduates from high school, who enters college and who completes college. ...Without disaggregated data on each racial, cultural community, we will not be able to benchmark our progress nor identify the most effective strategies needed in order to meet the president’s goal."Closing graduation gap for minority students: Putting a price tag on a high school diploma, MinnPost, July 29, 2010
Quote from Bob Wise of the Alliance for Excellent Education: "According to our report, if the nation's education system does not start serving students of color better today, all Americans will feel the difference in their wallets" in coming years."Counting on Summer Math Programs, John Fitzgerald of MN2020, July 29
"In order for Minnesota to continue growing as an economically vibrant state, we must invest in math and science education and provide opportunities for children to develop critical skills in these areas."I want to go to college! — a video by Dane Smith and Angie Eilers, Growth and Justice
"We know that nothing counts more than smart investment in education from birth all through life and especially for a ready workforce of young adults."Minnesota is 2nd in need for well-educated workforce by 2018, new report says, Sharon Schmickel, MinnPost, June 30, 2010
"While a generation of educated Minnesota workers is poised to retire during the next decade, the young people rising to replace them include greater proportions than the state has seen in many decades of recent immigrants and minorities. And students in those groups drop out of high school at alarming rates."It's Time to Tackle Minnesota's Achievement Gap, John Fitzgerald of MN2020, April 27, 2010
"The achievement gap is not new and Minnesota's reaction to fixing it has never been more than tepid. Let's assume that the answer for that response isn't racial in nature. That means the lack of response is due to financial considerations. In other words, our leaders tell us the solutions to the achievement gap cost too much money. This cannot continue."Segregated...Again, Minnesota Magazine interview with Myron Orfield, professor of law at the University of Minnesota, Spring 2010
“But it’s absolutely the wrong solution to hunker down within neighborhood boundaries. The idea that we can close the achievement gap without desegregating is simply wrong. The statistics are catastrophically bad.”2020 Foresight, Twin Cities Business interview with Tom Gillaspy, Jan. 2010
"In the early ’50s, we were a below-average income state, a below-average education state. What we did as a state was push on education and we developed a world-class, world-renowned work force. We also created a place that people like to come to, even though it’s cold and out of the way. We were a state that worked. ...we’re not making the strides that we used to. But the good news is that, as a state, we know how to do this."Lori Sturdevant: Let's peer into the demographic crystal ball, Star Tribune editorial, Jan. 2, 2010
"The biggest challenge for Minnesota's future lies in the willingness of tax-averse, aging, health-minded voters and their elected officials to keep investing in education. 'Investment in the future has to be at the absolute core' of what a society considers essential if that society is going to prosper, Tom Gillaspy said."A goal worth studying, Dane Smith, Growth & Justice, Jan. 2010
"Let’s set an end-of-decade, breathtakingly bold goal of a 50 percent increase in the percentage of our young adults who have some sort of higher-education credential on their resumes."Obama: dropping out of high school no longer an option, a video by ThreeSixty teen journalism program participants
ThreeSixty interviewed area teens and educators about their reactions to President Obama’s challenge to students to get serious about high school.
<<"Major demographic shifts are occurring in this state and country that threaten our economic prosperity.>>
—Mayor R.T. Rybak
