| 2007 News |  | Links to media coverage about public education issues.
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Mpls., St. Paul Top List Of Most Literate Cities
12/27/2007 12:00 AM
Heather Brown, WCCO
St. Paul is getting some national attention as a bright spot for reading. According a study from Central Connecticut State University, the city has climbed steadily, jumping to third place this year in a list of America's Most Literate Cities. |
Ruling limits Minn. agency's power on special education
12/24/2007 12:00 AM
Brian Bakst, MPR (Associated Press)
Minneapolis (AP) — In a sharply worded ruling Monday, the state Appeals Court reined in the Minnesota Department of Education's ability to sanction school districts accused of inadequately serving students with behavioral or learning disabilities. |
Democrats Make Bush School Act an Election Issue
12/23/2007 12:00 AM
Sam Dillon, New York Times
WASHINGTON — Teachers cheered Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton when she stepped before them last month at an elementary school in Waterloo, Iowa, and said she would “end” the No Child Left Behind Act because it was “just not working.” |
School officials tally list of concerns to legislators
12/22/2007 12:00 AM
Tom Klein, Timberjay Newspapers (Tower/Soudan, Cook/Orr, Ely)
Representatives from four northern school districts brought their concerns before members of the Iron Range Resources Board on Dec. 13 and left with legislators’ vows to seek relief for them but no guarantees. School districts represented at the session included St. Louis County, Ely, Lake Superior and Cook County. |
Breakfast - not political deception - brings success in school
12/20/2007 12:00 AM
State Senator John Marty, Workday Minnesota Commentary
ROSEVILLE - The Minnesota Legislative Commission on Poverty recently heard disturbing testimony about the school breakfast program: Some schools provide breakfast to students on days when there are standardized tests. After all, it makes good sense to do so. |
More students skip alcohol, meth
12/20/2007 12:00 AM
Megan Boldt and Paul Tosto, Pioneer Press
Also in survey: State kids are smoking less, and more are setting their sights on college |
In support of public schools
12/19/2007 12:00 AM
MPR Midday
Chaska Schools Superintendent David Jennings, former Speaker of the Minnesota House and former acting superintendent of the Minneapolis schools, says public education is more successful than it gets credit for. |
Parents taking school concerns to Capitol
12/19/2007 12:00 AM
Norman Draper, Star Tribune
Around the Twin Cities, parents are banding together to take the cause of their school districts to the Capitol. Often, they’re trying to help secure more funding. With the beginning of the legislative session about two months away, such groups are now holding their first meetings and formulating legislative platforms. |
Cash Flow Is Slow For Moms, Tots
12/19/2007 12:00 AM
John Fitzgerald, Minnesota 2020
Studies show that the earlier children are exposed to reading and math, the better students they will become. And when parents are involved in their children's education, students attain higher reading scores, start school ready for kindergarten and have a better quality of life as adults. |
A Population "Bubble" Aids Some Small Towns. Will it Burst?
12/18/2007 12:00 AM
Kelly Russell, Minnesota 2020
To read or hear popular media, you might think rural Minnesota is a dinosaur on the brink of extinction. Declining and aging populations, dying industries and deteriorating public schools are familiar companion phrases to “rural,” “small town” and “outstate.” |
A conservative scholar's approach to education reform
12/18/2007 12:00 AM
MPR Midday
Mitch Pearlstein, who served in the U.S. Department of Education under presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, says vouchers would increase racial diversity in America's schools. |
In Minneapolis, a Block Transformed
12/16/2007 12:00 AM
Lisa Chamberlain, New York Times
THE Phillips neighborhood, just south of downtown here, was riddled with vacant and run-down properties 15 years ago. It was an area where the drug trade was rampant. |
School Funding Debate: Detail spending
12/15/2007 12:00 AM
Star Tribune Letters to the editor
In response to the debate between Minnesota Business Partnership Executive Director Charlie Weaver and former Sen. Mark Dayton over school funding in Minnesota, there's a lot of great statistics going back and forth between the two, each easily proving their case. But here is a view from a taxpayer who currently has no children in the Minnesota school system. |
Schools Ask Lawmakers For New Ways To Raise Money
12/14/2007 12:00 AM
Maya Nishikawa, WCCO
School leaders in the metro say their students are in trouble unless they find some way to raise more money. Several superintendents told state lawmakers the failures of levies in their districts are having a devastating impact. |
Sorry, Charlie.
12/14/2007 12:00 AM
John Van Hecke, Minnesota 2020 Fellow
Minnesota's business community is deeply concerned with Minnesota's educational quality. Since worker preparedness strongly correlates with education, flat and sliding student performance suggests that Minnesota's future workforce will be unable to staff industry's innovation and fleet-footed growth. |
Suburban skills come to the city
12/13/2007 12:00 AM
John Fitzgerald, Minnesota 2020
Horse racing may be the sport of kings, but debate is the sport of community leaders. |
Weaver's wrong about education funding
12/13/2007 12:00 AM
Star Tribune Letter of the day
Charlie Weaver's claim that Minnesota is "one of the most generous states in the nation when it comes to education" (Opinion Exchange, Dec. 10) is unfortunately wrong. In 2005, Minnesota had the 10th-highest per capita income among the 50 states; yet we ranked only 19th in per pupil expenditures for our elementary and secondary schools. That is why many of our elementary classes have close to 30 children, and why some secondary classes are even larger. |
State predicts $373 million shortfall
11/30/2007 12:00 AM
Star Tribune (Associated Press)
A weakening economy pushed the Minnesota budget into negative terrority again, as state financial forecasters on Friday predicted a $373 million shortfall by mid-2009. |
Businesses, Govt. Look To Get Most Out Of Day-Care
11/28/2007 12:00 AM
WCCO
ST. PAUL (AP) ― Mary Albert wasn't one of those day-care providers who just plopped the kids in front of the television set. Instead, she would ask kindergarten teachers what she should do to prepare kids for school. |
Kids Drowning In Homework: What Parents Can Do
11/27/2007 12:00 AM
Amelia Santaniello and Frank Vascellaro, WCCO
Too much homework doesn't guarantee higher test scores, yet some kids today are spending nearly twice as much time on assignments as their parents did. |
State lawmakers examine education funding system
11/27/2007 12:00 AM
Tim Pugmire, Minnesota Public Radio
St. Paul, Minn. — State lawmakers are still analyzing this month's school levy votes and the need for changes in the education finance system. The Senate education Finance Committee meets Tuesday to discuss the role of local levies in education funding system. |
Hard Look At Homework: How Much Is Too Much?
11/26/2007 12:00 AM
Amelia Santaniello and Frank Vascellaro, WCCO
When children bring home a load of fresh homework every evening, their parents also see their free time usurped in their children's pursuit of knowledge. |
Failed Levies Mean More Budget Cuts
11/23/2007 12:00 AM
WCCO
BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (AP) ― School districts that saw voters reject levy requests earlier this month are starting to formulate cuts both large and small. |
Abolish school levy referendums in Minnesota
11/22/2007 12:00 AM
Guest Column, Albert Lea Tribune
There was a time when school operating levy referendums paid for extras. Things like new computers, shorter bus routes for kids or an extra elective. They were built into the school financing system to allow school officials to go before voters to ask them to pay for educational extras that didn’t necessarily fall under the state’s constitutional responsibility to provide “a fair and uniform system of public education” for every child in Minnesota. Those days are long gone. |
| | | | | | In This Section | |
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| | From Parents United | Why Levies?
(Power Point)
08/15/2007
From “Let’s Talk Strategy” - A levy workshop for parent “Vote Yes” groups.
New Funding Formula
11/30/2006
P.S. Minnesota Releases New Education Funding Formula
Myth v. Reality
10/24/2006
Parents United responds to disinformation sent to candidates for state offices by the Coalition of Minnesota Businesses.
Getting Engaged
10/2/2006
Interview with Mary Cecconi and Kate Towle, Minnesota Parent magazine. |
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