Twin Cities Daily Planet (https://www.tcdailyplanet.net/category/education/page/20/)
Amid debates over high administrative pay at colleges nationwide, University of Minnesota officials agree President Eric Kaler’s successes outweighed any signs of his failure — earning him another term.
Growing up, Nelson Inz wasn’t a great student. Because of his father’s Huntington’s disease, which affects impulse control, Inz experienced an abusive household at a young age, which inhibited his schooling.When he became a teacher, he realized that when kids struggle outside of school, they need extra help getting up to grade level in reading or staying engaged because of outside factors. Inz hopes to bring that personal experience and knowledge to his campaign, running for Minneapolis school board in District 5 this year.“That’s the ethic that I’d like to bring to the school board,” said Inz. “No matter who the kids are, you have to believe you can make a difference through the public schools. I believe the schools themselves can make a difference and make for better communities that are more just.”Inz believes in the power of public schools to be an instrument of social change, he said, which is why he became a teacher in the first place. Continue Reading
That early learning is critical is one of the few points of agreement in today’s education reform debate. Unfortunately, actually improving early childhood education on a large scale is trickier than it looks at first.The high return on investment for strong early childhood education has become a well-worn talking point. Estimates as high as $16 of benefit for every $1 invested raise eyebrows and catch attention. Those benefits come from many sources: higher income (and thus higher tax revenue), lower K-12 expenditures for special education or remediation, and—one of the most beneficial—lower crime rates, producing lower justice system expenditures and “savings” for victims. Of course, some students benefit more than others, and the return on investment numbers capture trends, not absolute guarantees for each student.Defining what constitutes a high-quality early childhood program is still a challenge. While individual programs with high returns on investment are known—the Abecedarian Project at the University of North Carolina, the Chicago Child-Parent Centers, the HighScope Perry Preschools, and others—it’s tougher to identify the characteristics that are most important for replicating those results. Continue Reading
The University of St. Thomas adjunct faculty members have been voting on whether to unionize since July 03. Both the Administration and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) have been very vocal. Just prior to the vote, two other collectives entered into the fray with great urgency, both of which wanted to grant the Administration time to work directly with adjuncts before unionizing. Despite their pressure, the Union gambled on winning more “yes” than “no” votes, rather than cancel the vote as it did at Macalester.The first collective was made up of adjunct faculty members of the Theology Department, including myself. Continue Reading
Reading around in Greater Minnesota newspapers, Bluestem paused at this item in Sauk Centre Herald staff writer Randy Olson’s profile of Dean Simpson, Lt. Governor candidate paying attention to rural Minnesota: Continue Reading
On the heels of a successful campaign to form an adjunct faculty union at Hamline University, adjuncts at St. Thomas will vote this week about whether they would also like a union. Advocates say their work at UST is not compenstated sufficiently, and that instructors face a level of uncertainty and job instability around issues like class assignments, schedules, work space, and more. As contingent labor, individual faculty members have limited power to negotiate better terms, but organizers hope that collectively they can have more influence over the terms of their employment.
Two years after the Anoka-Hennepin School District entered into a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice after multiple suicides of LGBT students, and a lawsuit by six students alleging rampant bullying and discrimination, conservative Christian parents continue to fight the inclusion of LGBT students in the district.At the June 30 school board meeting, the board heard the recommendations of the Anti-Bullying/Anti-Harassment Task Force, a group established by the consent decree. The task force is composed of 29 parents, teachers, principals, district administrators, and additional community members who are charged with making developing ways to make Anoka Hennepin Schools safer for students.The task force presented 5 recommendations which included: Increase messages of kindness in the Anoka-Hennepin community, provide comprehensive communication about safety and inclusiveness for all people in our schools, increase adult presence in unstructured common places in middle schools through the use of volunteer school ambassadors, and increase awareness and acknowledgement of the variety of family structures & characteristics.But it was Recommendation 3 that has caused outrage amongst Anoka-Hennepin’s conservative Christians. That recommendation reads:Recommendation 3: Honor and celebrate the contributions of diverse people and families in our community, country, and world, including the LGBT community. In an effort to affirm and celebrate the diversity represented by district students, families, and employees, the Task Force recommends Anoka-Hennepin Schools recognize, affirm, and assess specific LGBT activities including, but not limited to, continuing to support student-led Gay Straight Alliance clubs; hosting school-related family nights for our diverse populations, including LGBT families and LGBT students and their parents; and creating public displays honoring LGBT history month each October beginning in 2014.During the June 30 meeting, the school board heard from task force member Bryan Linquist who used thinly veiled language to urge the board to reject Recommendation 3 [find video of the meeting at the Anoka-Hennepin School District Streaming Media Archive].Linquist notes that he opposed the recommendations even though he wasn’t there to vote on them. “I was not present for the voting or part of the 19 that voted to move all 5 recommendations forward.”“I ask you to aware of what is being recommended and whom the recommendations benefits. Continue Reading
This coming school year, the United States will, for the first time, have more students of color than white students in its public schools. American Indian enrollment has stayed largely flat, Asian American enrollment has increased slightly, black enrollment has ticked slightly downward, and Hispanic enrollment has steadily increased to nearly one in four students countrywide. Continue Reading
Last April, when New York governor Andrew Cuomo was deciding how to allocate $2 billion for classroom technology, he turned to a three person council for advice. One of the advisors he selected was Google chairman Eric Schmidt, prompting criticism about a potential conflict of interest. Would Schmidt recommend Google-favorable learning technology? This controversy illustrates a larger concern with the growing acceptance and adoption with educational technology: how much of a role should corporations be allowed to play in our education system? Continue Reading
“Most people identify me as a janitor’s daughter that went to Cornell,” said school board candidate Iris Altamirano. A woman who beat the odds in her own life, Altamirano decided to run because, as a mother of two young children, she’s concerned about the opportunity gap. She believes she has the skills from her career as an organizer to make the district better for all students, especially from marginalized communities. “Minneapolis is a great city and we do a lot of great things and we are leaders in the country on a lot of amazing things,” she said. “I just think the opportunity gap should not be one of them.”Many people like her message. Continue Reading