Education

Education coverage includes what's working, what's not working, how our kids are doing, how our college students are paying for their educations, the achievement gaps, teachers, students, parents, district schools, charter schools, private schools — and your contributions and opinions are welcome. 

Our weekly Education Newsletter highlights articles, blog posts, events, and links. For example, look for lots of links to thoughtful discussions of education issues from Beth Hawkins at MinnPost and Diane Ravitch at Education Week.

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Click here to see current and archived issues. 

Race and stupidity

By Mary Turck, News Day

Most-read and most-commented articles this week focused on race, schools and politics. (Where's the stupidity? Wait for it ...)

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Dean Eric Schwartz, nominated to Commission on International Religious Freedom, heads Humphrey with humility

By Alma Pronove, The Minnesota Daily

University Dean of Humphrey School of Public Affairs Eric Schwartz on Wednesday, April 24, 2013, in his office. Schwartz was recently nominated to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, which monitors different circumstances overseas where religious freedom is endangered. (Photo by Jaak Jensen)

On a shelf in a large office overlooking the University of Minnesota West Bank sits a framed photograph of two men.

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Another principal on leave in Minneapolis: New focus of racial tensions at Green Central Park school

By Sheila Regan, TC Daily Planet

Principal Catalina Salas, left, and Area C Associate Superintendent Theresa Battle, right, are at the center of the Green Central Park Elementary controversy. 

Principal Catalina Salas, of Richard R.

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House passes omnibus K-12 education budget

By Sarah Lemagie, Session Weekly/Session Daily

Rep. Paul Marquart talks with House Majority Leader Erin Murphy during debate on the omnibus education finance bill April 23. (Photo by Paul Battaglia)

The House has passed a funding plan for Minnesota schools that features full state funding for voluntary all-day kindergarten.

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Higher education budget bills focus on making college affordable

By Caitlin Biegler, Minnesota Budget Bites

By 2018, Minnesota’s employers are expected to require one of the most highly educated workforces in the nation, with 70 percent of jobs needing some education beyond high school. The House and Senate help prepare us to meet those needs by investing in higher education in their omnibus higher education bills.

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Minnesota Budget Bites

Take the useful, leave the rest

By Emily Wade, Macalester Orange

On the first day of my philosophy class at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, Geshe Kelsang Wangmo-la begun her presentation of the Buddha’s life with an assurance that despite her maroon monastic robes and closely shaven head, she was not there to convert anyone. Instead, Geshe-la instructed us to listen over the coming months with an open mind. “Take the bits you find useful,” she said, “and just leave the rest.”

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Macalester Orange

University of Minnesota creates new program to allay sequester cuts

By Rebecca Harrington, The Minnesota Daily

The dust has settled after sweeping budget cuts known as the sequester went into effect last month, and federal agencies have responded with how they’re going to implement them.

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Higher Ground Academy in St. Paul: Succeeding at math and reading, tackling science and art

By Sheila Regan, TC Daily Planet

Photo from Higher Ground video on YouTube 

Here's an unusual high school graduation requirement: students must be accepted into college before they are allowed to graduate. That's the rule at St. Paul's Higher Ground Academy, according to Executive Director Bill Wilson.

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Jody Hauer: Review of special education reveals difficult cost-control issues

By Staff, Civic Caucus

Summary: As of 2011, nearly 112,000 students in Minnesota were receiving special education, 13.6 percent of all students in grades K-12, according to Jody Hauer, principal evaluator for the Office of the Legislative Auditor. Hauer, project manager for the Auditor's March 2013 evaluation of special education, points out that special education revenues in 2011 amounted to $1.8 billion. She discusses the four main lines of inquiry of the evaluation: funding; state and federal legal requirements for special education; legal compliance monitoring and enforcement; and characteristics of the students receiving special education. She reports that the per student costs for providing services to children in 13 different disability categories vary widely by category, from $2,583 to $47,252. Hauer also points out the rise in special education costs and the impact of that increase on local school districts. She also discusses major disincentives for school districts to implement cost-control measures for special education and recommends ways of adding cost-control incentives.

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Racial mockery at Hopkins High sparks outrage; Black student handcuffed

By Harry Colbert, Jr., Insight News

Nekima Levy-Pounds

It seems like a case of when keeping it wrong goes real.

What started as a celebration of the Hopkins High School's cross country ski team qualifying for the state tournament culminated is outrage, signs in protest and the suspension and criminal charges of two African-American students who decried what they felt was racial mockery. And, according to supporters of the African-American students, no disciplinary action was taken against the white students who openly mocked African-Americans.

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