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July 2010 - Investigating the Links to Improved Student Learning
State- and district-level policy makers need to engage more strategically in determining how states can provide support, not just pressure, for implementation of locally defined priorities for improvement within the framework of state standards and accountability policies, University of Minnesota (MPR article).

July 2010 - Organizer Roundtable: The Ecology of Organizing
If we look at the field of organizing as an interdependent web of relationships, how can we more intentionally strengthen our relationships to sustain our work?, Alliance for Metropolitan Stability.

July 2010 - A Smart Investment Agenda for Minnesota’s Next Decade
A comprehensive and succinct framework for voters and candidates for expanding prosperity and fairness in our state, Growth & Justice.


Star Tribune

Math scores improved slightly in 2010 with 66 percent of students showing proficiency in math, while reading scores remained flat with 72 percent testing proficient. The scores reflect results among roughly 418,000 students in Minnesota's public and charter schools. In August, state education officials are expected to disclose how schools are doing under the federal No Child Left Behind law. Last year, nearly half of the state's public and charter schools were on the list of underperforming schools.

July 1, 2010 - Math Scores Improve Across the Board as State Releases MCA Test Results
Minnesota students in grades three through eight and grade eleven improved their scores in math this spring as over 426,000 students took the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCA) in math and reading. While reading scores stayed relatively constant for most grades, the eleventh grade results continued their upward trend for the second year in a row, Minnesota Department of Education.     Read the press release    View test results     Watch the video

June 30, 2010 - Minnesota is 2nd in need for well-educated workforce by 2018, new report says
A new national report offers this impressive prediction: Minnesota faces stand-out demand for workers with education beyond high school.  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, MinnPost.

Worth Watching: Education innovation in the slums

Charles Leadbeater went looking for radical new forms of education -- and found them in the slums of Rio and Kibera, where some of the world's poorest kids are finding transformative new ways to learn. And this informal, disruptive new kind of school, he says, is what all schools need to become. (18:58)

June 22, 2010 - Standing-room only crowd learns of proposed education solutions from gubernatorial candidates
Cosponsored by Parents United, Growth & Justice, Minnesota Minority Education Partnership, Minnesota Rural Education Association, and Ready4K.More

June 17, 2010 - 1,500 Metro Area Educators to Lose Jobs
It's getting bad for Minnesota school children and those who educate them; total personnel cuts in the Twin Cities metro area alone may top 1,500. The underfunding of education - an inflation-adjusted drop of 14 percent since 2003 - is a chronic statewide problem, Minnesota 2020.

June 20, 2010 - To end racial disparity, take the first step
A recent national study showing that blacks in our area are three times more likely to be unemployed than whites... We must now fan this spark to bring about the flames of change. Talk alone will not do it, Star Tribune.

Candidate Forum Mini-grants
Now accepting candidate event mini-grant applications!
Don’t miss a perfect opportunity to educate and engage your community and increase your organization’s visibility! In an effort to inspire nonprofits to get involved with voter education, the Minnesota Participation Project is offering mini-grants to help cover the costs of hosting a candidate event. Up to $200 per candidate event is available to your organization, plus how-to training and moderator training—all you need to do is apply!


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Upcoming Events
Follow the Dollars: A Guided Tour Through the State Budget Process
8/3/2010 9:00 AM
Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Conference Room, 2314 University Avenue, Suite 20, St. Paul

Minnesota PTA Annual Convention and Leadership Training
8/7/2010 8:00 AM
TIES Conference Center, 1667 Snelling Ave N, St. Paul

Follow the Dollars: A Guided Tour Through the State Budget Process
10/28/2010 9:00 AM
Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Conference Room, 2314 University Avenue, Suite 20, St. Paul

Follow the Federal Dollars: A Guided Tour Through the Federal Budget Process
10/28/2010 1:00 PM
Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Conference Room, 2314 University Avenue, Suite 20, St. Paul

News Archive
State science scores show improvement
7/27/2010 12:00 AM
Jodie Tweed, Brainerd Dispatch
About half of Minnesota students didn't achieve proficiency on their MCA-II science tests this spring, but overall science results are continuing to improve during the third year of testing.

Students scoring higher on standardized science test
7/27/2010 12:00 AM
Tom Weber, Minnesota Public Radio
St. Paul, Minn. — Minnesota students continued to score higher on the state's standardized science test this year.

Minnesota students fall short in science
7/27/2010 12:00 AM
Mila Koumpilova, Fargo-Moorhead INFORUM
Minnesota students im­proved on a state test gauging their science smarts. But in the test’s third year, more than 50 percent of test takers continued to fall short of proficiency.

Duluth eighth-grade test scores show gap in science skills
7/27/2010 12:00 AM
Jana Hollingsworth, Duluth News Tribune
Duluth high school and fifth-grade students scored close to the state average on a Minnesota-wide test of science knowledge, but eighth-graders fell considerably below.

Minnesota science scores inch ahead
7/27/2010 12:00 AM
Norman Draper and Allie Shah, Star Tribune
Despite a second year of gains, half of students continued to struggle in science, state tests show.

3 DFL candidates with 3 school funding ideas
7/26/2010 12:00 AM
Don Davis, Forum Communications (Duluth News Tribune)
MINNEAPOLIS — Improving education demands more money, Minnesota’s top three Democratic governor candidates say — a tough challenge when the next state budget could face a $6 billion deficit.

Don't go too far with ads in schools
7/25/2010 12:00 AM
Star Tribune Editorial
A local district's choice to consider website ads raises questions.

In This Section
  • Parents United Updates
  • At the Capitol
  • For Immediate Release
  • Upcoming Events
  • Election 2010
  • Key Reports

  • Parents United Updates
    July 1, 2010
    Minnesota without RTTT, Summer Primary

    June 23, 2010
    Gubernatorial candidate forum resources

    For Immediate Release


    Failure to address climate change harms vulnerable populations
    7/27/2010 10:37:52 AM
    Last Thursday, U. S. Senate Majority leader Harry Reid announced that he did not have the 60 votes necessary to pass major climate change legislation. This was very disappointing news for those working to pass comprehensive, equitable legislation to address climate change. It is expected that Congress will instead push through a series of smaller bills focused on [...]

    Congress should reject hard caps on discretionary spending
    7/26/2010 2:51:39 PM
    Hard caps on nondefense domestic discretionary spending will not significantly reduce long-term deficits. That’s because the biggest factors contributing to long-term deficits are primarily the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts and the costs associated with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – not domestic discretionary programs. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Just [...]