Bring on the Education Spring: Lessons from Austin
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Are we on the verge of the “Education Spring”?
Austin-bound: Network for Public Education conference
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I’m heading to Austin, Texas, this weekend, and not for the weather, although the warmer temps will certainly be welcome. Continue Reading
In Minneapolis, ‘Shifting,’ Saturday School and Spring Break Academy target test scores
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Over the past year, Minneapolis Public Schools have announced a series of new initiatives. This article is the first in a short series describing some of these initiatives, and looking at how they relate to MCA test preparation, and what teachers, parents and the district have to say about the initiatives and the tests.
What color is your parachute? “Yellow” students targeted for extra help in Minneapolis Spring Break Academy
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As part of its recently announced short-term intervention strategies, the district will offer a special Spring Break Academy. Host schools for these academies will be selected from among the thirteen sites that have been chosen as “lab schools” for the short-term intervention plan.Spring Break Academy is not for everyone. Students who are allowed / invited / urged to attend are those who are color-coded as “yellow” according to their test scores. Students are color-coded as red (failing), yellow (“on the bubble” or close to proficiency), green (proficient), or blue (exceeding expectations), according to a teacher familiar with the system.A district memo describing the Spring Break Academy confirms this account, with a question and answer in the FAQ section:”Can we invite hard-working red zone students who would really benefit or is this a district-generated list? (Can the list be added to?)The focus will start on the students scoring in the yellow and then move into the students scoring in the red. Continue Reading
Protest enlivens MN Chamber of Commerce Education Summit
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What was the most impressive thing I saw at the MN Chamber of Commerce’s Edu Continue Reading
Who’s Who: A reader’s guide to the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce’s Education Summit
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Flunking, failing, and worst—these words crop up immediately in the official announcement for the February 6 Minnesota Chamber of Commerce’s Education Summit. In fact, the Chamber asserts that “too many of our students” are failing and thus our schools are in dire need of reform. Continue Reading
OUR STORIES | Cara Kemnitz protests Chamber of Commerce Education Summit
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For Cara Kemnitz, the phrase “Achievement Gap” is “nothing more than politically-sanitized rhetoric to hide the real problem at hand: OPPRESSION.” That’s part of the reason she’s planning to protest the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce Education Summit on Thursday, February 6. Sarah Lahm interviewed Kemnitz via email to get her perspective on the conference, which is presented in full in the Q&A below. Lahm (who wears many hats, including those of a writer and blogger at TC Daily Planet and a blogger at MN 2020, will be attending the summit. She has also written a blog post, The curious case of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce’s upcoming Education Summit, asking, raising questions about the conference, including why the sponsors originally listed on the program had their names removed. For the Chamber of Commerce viewpoint on the conference, go to the MPR segment here. Cara Kemnitz on the Chamber of Commerce Education SummitMy name is Cara Kemnitz. Continue Reading
The curious case of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce’s upcoming Education Summit
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Who is sponsoring the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce’s upcoming Education Summit, and why are their nam Continue Reading
Montessori, Open School teachers question Minneapolis Focused Instruction
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Is Focused Instruction “simply good teaching and learning,” as the Minneapolis Public Schools’ website asserts, or is it a problematic mandate, especially for magnet school teachers? Two teachers at Armatage Montessori School and Barton Open School describe conflicts between Focused Instruction and their practice as teachers as part of our continuing Focus on Teaching series.