Wind fall (get it?)

An interesting development today from the St. Paul Legal Ledger ...

School trust lands are nothing new. But legislation during the 2008 session directed that schools actually receive some proceeds from land use directly - a change from previous years when school trust land proceeds were used to offset education costs.

Now, it seems, as taconite and timber sales have dropped in the flagging economy, wind may have become the prized resource. Schools in this area, including St. Peter, have flirted with wind energy for years, but this may be a legitimate way to harness wind for financial gain.

Both political parties believe there are major flaws in the state's education funding system. Too many inequities, too many disparities and too much burden on local tax levies. But long-term solutions will be impossible until there is a little breathing room in the state budget.

For now, such bold moves may help weather the storm.

The increasingly public superintendent

I offer this story today, from the Rochester Post-Bulletin, but not as a commentary on Rochester Public Schools. To be honest, I have little familiarity and even less experience with their school system.

But the story brings to light how political school superintendencies have become. I don't mean political in the snide, pejorative sense; but political in terms of the dialogue superintendents have with their district residents.

Witness the rise in town hall meetings and community feedback forums in public school districts. Witness the way superintendents in many districts spend much of their time stumping for fall referendums. Most superintendents are now hired on three-year contracts and it is not uncommon for school boards not to renew those contracts.

Not to say this evolution has been a negative one. Superintendents serve as a primary conduit between the classroom and the public - and that's significant. Classrooms are, in some ways, very similar to halls of congress where the actions and behaviors of its participants can seem strangely foreign when viewed from the outside.

Superintendents are also largely responsible for measuring the success of their respective districts and sharing that information with the community. That element of public accountability, while flawed in some ways, has long been needed in public schools - and I think most superintendents would agree.

And while publicly elected superintendents are rare, the debate is long-raging with very few states outside those in the south even allowing such a selection method. I would tend to agree that appointment works best, but it's an interesting debate nonetheless.

Red means student generosity

I got to work Friday morning and found my little, red voicemail light was on. Such discoveries often bring a lump to my throat knowing that, behind that light, there is often an angry reader or an observant one who has caught a mistake in my story. For me, that little red light has come to signify dread and shame.

But Friday's red-light special was of the heartwarming variety. It was a message from Shane Baier, the principal at Mankato East, to let me know the Class of 2009 had made a $100 donation to the ECHO Food Shelf. The interesting thing is, the donations were collected during the actual graduation ceremony. Students received their diplomas and then dropped their dimes and dollars into a donation basket.

As the K-12 education reporter, I come across dozens of such stories.

Covering a story recently about Maud Hart Lovelace fans, I found myself wandering the Betsy House where I stumbled upon a framed letter written by an obviously very young student. Scrawled in somewhat misshaped penmanship, the note said simply that the Betsy-Tacy Society was important and the student council wanted to donate some money.

And that was it. No fanfare. No fancy language. Just an acknowledgement of work well done and a token of financial support.

This blog entry could go for days detailing all the generous efforts of students in this area. Truly, they prove regularly that this country is in good hands.

Consider this an acknowledgement of work well done.

Charter school governance: Mayors or Quarterbacks?

After the Minnesota legislature passed a round of charter school reforms during the latest session, it appears a different kind of charter-school sponsorship is cropping up elsewhere. According to these news accounts in the NY Daily News and the Providence Journal, there seems to be a growing interest in mayoral academies, where civic and community leaders govern a school.

Such a concept would represent a significant philosophical shift from charter schools in this area, which are largely founded on teacher governance. A model based on mayoral or municipal governance would have some clear benefits, not the least of which would be expanded opportunities for collaboration.

But one drawback to mayoral academies might come quickly to mind for residents of the Mankato area. Being a youngster in the Free Press office, I had never heard the strange and mysterious tale of Stan Christ - the former Mankato mayor who fled critics and controversy by cover of moonlight - until yesterday when fellow FreeP staffers relived the tangled tale.

With apologies to the dependable John Brady, perhaps Minnesota should consider Brett Favre-sponsored charter schools. He's one person we know won't go away.

School reform: Everyone has an opinion

School reform is a topic sure to spark conversation at any water cooler. Especially now, as schools face increasing amounts of public scrutiny and accountability (one of No Child Left Behind's clear, but often forgotten, successes) everyone it seems has an opinion on how schools can produce better students. This guy is one of them, and he brings some interesting ideas to the table about school reform.

While the premise that American students are lagging in comparison to the rest of the world is arguable (an international test, the TIMMS, evaluates math and science skills of students from all countries; American and Minnesotan students performed very competitively in 2007), one thing is for certain:

Schools are changing. And change is good.

And even though many of the reforms discussed in the above link are unfeasible in this area, a few of them are already germinating in school districts throughout the region. Take bilingual education, for instance. Here's a story that ran in the Free Press about a preschool teacher who uses Spanish to enhance/promote student literacy; Project SOCRATES (based in N. Mankato) provides world language courses to rural schools through Internet-TV; and most schools now require a world language component for graduation.

Another suggestion was to raise the compulsory education age. Keeping students in school for another year may not be the solution - but giving students some post-secondary and experiential education while still in high school is invaluable. Classes like Project Lead the Way and ProStart give students a chance to explore careers while still in high school; PSEO and Advanced Placement offerings continue to increase.

Schools have a tough job. In a business where kids are the commodity, change must be handled carefully and diligently. But educators also have to hear the demands of the wide world outside the schoolhouse doors. And that world demands students that are smarter and more adaptable than ever before.

Education Secretary is QComp-limentary

Today could be the first in a new era of teacher compensation in Mankato Area Public Schools.

Members of the Mankato teachers union are voting this afternoon on whether to accept the district's QComp proposal, which was recently approved by the state. If approved, teachers would receive raises based on meeting individual, school-wide and district-wide goals - instead of experience and education level.

Of indirect importance to Mankato schools is the continued support of performance-pay programs by political heavy hitters at both the state and federal level. Despite its continued status as a political lightning rod (you can read a critical Star Tribune report from February here, and a report from the Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor here) such widepread support for performance-pay programs will help districts feel comfortable that funding will not be pulled from under their feet a year or two into the program.

According to an Education Week blog post, Education Secretary Arne Duncan was in front of U.S. House and Senate members on Wednesday to outline the department's fiscal 2010 budget. During one hearing, Duncan was grilled about his continued support for teacher performance-pay programs, which are slated to receive a huge boost in federal aid.

At the state level, Gov. Tim Pawlenty has been fervent in his support for QComp, refusing in the last legislative sessions to dissolve QComp and redirect the funding into other school funds.

As for the vote in Mankato schools today, the result is anyone's guess. The district's 2006 QComp proposal was rejected by teachers.

Hey girls - how about some science?

Somewhere between dolls and dresses, the girls are losing their compasses and protractors.

Gender norming is nothing new. Sociologists have long known that boys grow up with trucks and dirt, and grow up to become mechanics and entomologists. Girls grow up with mini baby strollers and plastic kitchen sets, and later become nurses and teachers.

But as area high schools continue to expand their math and science programs, they are also trying to find ways to extend their programs to more girls. And according to this story on a New York Times blog, that challenge continues nationwide.

During Monday's meeting of the Mankato Area School Board, career education coordinator Monde Schwartz gave of an overview of the district's career education programs. Among them is a revolutionary engineering curriculum called Project Lead the Way that is rapidly becoming a staple of science-conscious high schools throughout Minnesota.

Mankato schools have offered Lead the Way for several years. The curriculum includes several classes, from introductory engineering concept courses to advanced design courses. For the first time next year, Mankato schools will be offering the highest-level Lead the Way class: Engineering Design and Development, in which students must solve a real-world engineering problem and submit their solution to a panel of outside reviewers.

Along with Lead the Way, the district also offers a nursing class (students can earn their state nursing assistant's certification) and a culinary arts class - both of which are largely attended by girls. But, Schwartz told the board, the district still wants to see more girls participating, especially in the district's engineering classes.

With the technology, science and engineering industries boasting most of the fastest-growing (and well-paying) careers in the world, there are plenty of opportunities for young women who are willing to take the leap into a boys' world.

For those interested, here some links for parents and students.

For young girls:
- Braincake: an online community where girls can solve science mysteries and share their stories
- Zoey's Room: another online community for science-savvy girls
- Whyville: an imaginative and interactive game-based science site for girls and boys
- Cool Math: math-related games and puzzles
- Animal Land: math and science games related to animals

For parents:
- Sally Ride Science: a primer on getting girls involved in science
- Girls Tech: a comprehensive list of science links and resources; a terrific web site for parents seeking healthy online activities for kids

A hello and more wage freezes ...

In the interest of sparing folks a speech about this being an inaugural blog post (I'm sure my lack of blog experience will be readily apparent without an announcement), I offer this story I read today on MinnPost.

Wage freezes are, indeed, sweeping the state. In this area, teachers in Waseca have already accepted a soft freeze to help the district alleviate a $1.3 million budget cut. Ed Waltman (Mankato) and Harold Remme (New Ulm) are only two area superintendents who have already accepted pay reductions.

This spring alone, more than 100 jobs and $10 million were cut from area school budgets. Those are significant numbers in any industry, especially in education where officials are continuing to adjust to rising achievement standards and evolving demands from a workforce that is waiting to replace a generation of baby-boomers with today's learners.

During Monday's meeting of the Mankato Area School Board, officials closed the meeting to the public and began discussing bargaining terms for the upcoming negotiation session with teachers. And while it's too early to tell what the next round of contracts will look like, odds are good that freezes will be a topic of discussion.

I'd be curious to know what people think about wage freezes for teachers. Some would argue that unions have worked against themselves by driving districts into a corner financially and that freezes are not only appropriate, but responsible, in this economy. Others would argue that teachers are already underpaid and undervalued and that further wage loss is too much to ask.

Given the fact that Gov. Tim Pawlenty has proposed frozen education funding through the biennium - and knowing that a district's expenditures rise 2-3 percent each year due to salary raises and increased operating costs - this does not appear to be an issue that will go away soon.