As a result education is often the topic of conversation around our office “water cooler”.  I find the conversations interesting, but often respond with some distance. Given that my little guy is only 18 months old, I assume that the public school system will all be different by the time he is in school so I’ll just worry about it then.  Recently a colleague set me straight, when she said, “School change is slow.  The impact of any changes being made now will be greater on your son or future kids, than my kids who are in 6^th and 9^th grades.”

So, now I am paying attention!

When I invited Dr. Bill Green and Suzanne Kelly, Superintendent and interim Superintendent of Minneapolis Public Schools and Saint Paul Public Schools respectively, to lead a discussion last week entitled, “Act Now to Build the Future” I challenged them to make the case for young professionals to start paying attention to the schools now.  Since most in the room did not have school-aged children, or didn’t have children at all, it was really important to frame the relevance.  Bernadeia Johnson, Deputy Superintendent of Minneapolis Public Schools, also joined the panel.

Participants Christian Zepeda, Kari Anderson and Molly Gillin

Dr. Green, a historian by nature and attorney by training, made the case by educating us on Minnesota’s long legacy of public education for all.  In the 1870’s a law was enacted that desegregated Minnesota schools and guaranteed that all children regardless of race, religion or ethnicity have access to education.  He also shared a tale from the same time period in which Minnesota officials searched for more teachers.  They sent letters to cities along the east coast in attempts to allure teachers to come to Minnesota.  Noting that it was not common practice in the east, those letters specified that interested teachers must be willing to teach students of all races and ethnicities.

The legacy of ensuring education for all was illustrated in the voting booths as recently as 2008.  Residents of Minneapolis approved the Strong Schools, Strong City Referendum which generates approximately $60 million per year for Minneapolis Public Schools.  The referendum and called for a tax increase of approximately $17 per month for the average homeowner in Minneapolis – the largest tax increase for schools to date. What was most striking about the referendum passing is that 71% of voters supported the referendum even though only 20% the city’s residents have children in the district.

Clearly our history illustrates that we are a community dedicated to our youth.  They are our future and their success has a positive correlation with our community’s prosperity.  Regardless of the source of your interest in public school – your concern for your property value, your dependence on the future workforce, or your hopes for the children in your neighborhood – what matters is that we steward the legacy passed down to us and pay attention to our schools.

How do you want to advance the legacy?

Minnesota Public Radio airing of Geoffrey Canada

View the webcast of Geoffrey Canada at Minnesota Meeting.

At the Table participants

On Wednesday, April 22^nd, Former NASA astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison addressed a crowd of nearly 800 people at the most recent Minnesota Meeting.  Dr. Jemison said Minnesota needs to develop a “science literate society” to ensure its economic competitiveness in the future.  She said all students have “a world filled with ideas and possibilities before them” if they receive a balanced education that includes rigor in science and math through problem solving and real-world applications.

Jemison said that literacy in science will be critical for the jobs of the future.  But, according to the Minnesota Private Colleges Research Foundation, only 40% of high school students in Minnesota are meeting the ACT college readiness benchmark score in science. That percentage drops significantly for African American students – only 9% meet the benchmarks in science, and only 16% meet college requirements for math. Latinos, American Indians, and Asian Americans also experience participation and achievement gaps.

Moderator Eric Jolly, president of the Minnesota Science Museum, agreed, noting that “three of four new jobs that will be created in the next decade that pay more than minimum wage will require basic fluency in science, engineering and mathematics. Our students need to be prepared for that.”

According to Jemison, the accelerated pace of technology development has made science as critical as other school subjects, such as reading. Science and math skills aren’t about memorization, she said, but rather “problem-solving and critical thinking skills are the most important aspects of science literacy – being able to work our way through the day.”  Jemison who balanced a love for the arts and dancing with her technical career said that it the same creativity is used to build the space shuttle as the creativity to make a sculpture or choreograph a dance performance.

Jemison added, “It’s never too early…kids have a natural curiosity, a natural inclination towards learning” that we need to build upon.” She feels that laptops and computer training are significantly less effective than hands on experimentation from kindergarten on.

Building on the messages of teacher quality from the last Minnesota Meeting, Jemison cited teacher quality and training as essential ingredients for effective STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math] instruction. “To get rigor in the classroom from 8^th grade on up you need teachers who majored in the subject. For grade school teachers to be comfortable teaching math and science, they need to have taken some science after high school.” In addition, she said, teaching methodology needs to address a diversity of learning styles.

Panel of speakers

Jemison said effective teaching in the STEM subjects engages students’ “intellect, emotions, interests, and skills.” Students need hands on experiences with these subjects that engage the senses, she said.

It’s not just future engineers who need science and math, Jemison pointed out, but algebra and chemistry are used daily by carpenters, electricians, and beauticians.

She encouraged investment in school labs to help kids make these connections through experimentation. Jolly agreed that it is critical to make science “understandable, accessible, and meaningful” by providing students an understanding of its real world applications. He said, “It’s about challenging students to succeed.”

Dr. Mae jemison

When asked about students who may be afraid of pursuing science and math education because of its difficulty, Jolly pointed out, “When you understand that the use of science and mathematics gives you the ability to help change the world, you’re not afraid of the rigor.”

If you missed Minnesota Meeting, click here for a webcast.

Peter Hutchinson, Kati Haycock and Rudy Crew discuss the issue of teacher quality.

Today, over 600 people attended the first Minnesota Meeting.  It was the first in a three-part series on education titled Raising Expectations.  I was incredibly excited to have many of you join us at At The Table.   I think that all in attendance were both moved and alarmed by the cold, hard facts about the state of Minnesota education laid out by the speakers.  The panel included Kati Haycock president of the Education Trust, and Dr. Rudy Crew, former superintendent of New York City and Miami/Dade Public Schools.  The panel was moderated by Peter Hutchinson, President of the Bush Foundation and a former Minneapolis Public Schools superintendent.

Haycock started things off with some concrete data. “On state assessments in reading, about 80 percent of your white 4th graders meet the state standards.  For black 4th graders it’s more like 44 percent, for Latino’s about 33 percent and somewhere in the mid-50’s for both Asian and native American students.”

Perhaps most alarming, Haycock said is that for students entering the system behind grade level, the education system actually widens the gap, rather than closing it.  She stressed two fundamental factors to addressing the gap – quality teachers and a rigorous curriculum.  She said, we need to raise our expectations of all students and provide the teaching to support it.

Dr. Crew, a passionate speaker with a professional history as a reformer (including being named Superintendent of the Year in 2008 and being fired from the position in the same year) laid out three primary points.

1. Raise expectations of kids, teachers, schools and governance of the school system.
2. Teachers need to cultivate a deep understanding of effective and varied teaching approaches.  He referred to this as the development of a teaching repertoire.
3. Demonstrate a “high degree of human caring,” which, he said should be evident at the board, the district, and the classroom levels, as well as in how a community spends its dollars.

Both speakers agreed that the allocation – not necessarily the amount – of dollars is critical to closing the achievement gap. Poor students simply get less – “not less in terms of dollars but in terms of what a dollar buys,” said Haycock. Crew spoke bluntly: advocating for increased funding without demanding results deters change. He said many states, including Minnesota, have “put in more money to get the same results….Good leaders need you to push for results and back their efforts for reform.”

Both speakers identified a need for better board governance, better data, and above all, more support and accountability for teaching.  Crew commented that it isn’t about intention.  No one enters the teaching profession without wanting to make a difference, but with little, if any professional support, many beginning teachers don’t know “what an A looks like,” in teaching. He advocates introducing a master-teacher approach to allow for greater compensation for and knowledge sharing by effective teachers.

Haycock who often commented on the need for measurement and data to prove what is effective and what simply doesn’t work, talked about the  need to evaluate teaching, based not on student achievement but on student growth. Teachers need to demonstrate their “value added” for students; standardized tests measure student performance as opposed to student progress.

Hutchinson also added to the conversation by saying, “We can’t compete in the global economy by falling behind in educational achievement. Over a third of our young people who go on to college are taking remedial courses when they get there – essentially taking high school over again.

Throughout the meeting the audience could be seen taking notes, nodding in agreement to the ideas of reform, and gasping in response facts like Minnesota’s academic place nationally.

So, now how do we move beyond the chairs of the convention center to take steps towards reform?

If you weren’t able to join us, you can watch it here.

Also, here is a brief fact sheet that was distributed and a MinnPost article.