Every holiday season, I'm besieged with emails and tidbits about area schools who are donating to worthy organizations.
I try to give some credit to everybody, sprinkling stories throughout the season. But it's impossible to cover them all.
So I need to give credit to the Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton sixth-graders. They are collecting pennies to support the building of schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan, an idea that germinated after the class read "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson (in itself a remarkable story of a mountain climber-turned humanitarian). They have collection jars at all three district schools and several around the community as well.
But (in a somewhat dubious distinction) they were the first to notify me. Surely there will be many to follow, but kudos to JWP for getting a head start.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Expert schmexpert.
Admittedly, my window of political perspective is pretty limited. But even a political lightweight like myself can enjoy the old-fashioned brouhaha that is developing over charter schools.
School choice is a deeply held and ravenously defended movement in education.
Its supporters say that charter schools can fix the achievement gap, teach the unteachable, serve the under-served and, generally, save students from a post-Industrial education model that has changed little in the last century.
Critics say charters siphon much-needed state aid from traditional districts already crippled by inadequate state funding and that their lack of oversight and accountability makes them invisible to the public.
As always, the truth is somewhere in the middle. But the real problem arises when the so-called experts can't separate themselves from the politics.
Take, for instance, a MN2020 report released this summer. The report documented that more than 75 percent of all charters lacked certain financial controls and that their audits contained irregularities. Inevitably, charter opponents hailed the report as definitive proof that the movement had failed. Charter supporters, meanwhile, blasted the report for its bias and pointed out that nearly all schools, charter or otherwise, have qualified audits.
Even months after its release, I can personally vouch for the fact that bitterness about the report remains on both sides.
But even more problematic is the story developing at Stanford University.
The nutshell: Brilliant economic professor authors groundbreaking study on New York charter schools. She shows, through meticulously gathered data, that charters have the potential to all but close the achievement gap. The report was released - and charter supporters proudly donned their finest feather yet.
But one problem: The report wasn't peer reviewed; and when it was (surprise, surprise) the reviewer found the study was overstated, under-quantified and, generally, untrustworthy.
Back to square one.
The charter school debate is one of the most important taking place right now in the world of education. And this kind of biased reporting only re-hinges the debate on the same old partisan frameworks.
Shame. Shame. The public needs better from its so-called experts.
A sidenote:
Minnesota was the first state in the country to legalize charter schools when it did so in 1991. Since then, regulations and guidelines for charters have evolved, but the Center for Education Reform ranks this state's charter law as the second best in the nation.
School choice is a deeply held and ravenously defended movement in education.
Its supporters say that charter schools can fix the achievement gap, teach the unteachable, serve the under-served and, generally, save students from a post-Industrial education model that has changed little in the last century.
Critics say charters siphon much-needed state aid from traditional districts already crippled by inadequate state funding and that their lack of oversight and accountability makes them invisible to the public.
As always, the truth is somewhere in the middle. But the real problem arises when the so-called experts can't separate themselves from the politics.
Take, for instance, a MN2020 report released this summer. The report documented that more than 75 percent of all charters lacked certain financial controls and that their audits contained irregularities. Inevitably, charter opponents hailed the report as definitive proof that the movement had failed. Charter supporters, meanwhile, blasted the report for its bias and pointed out that nearly all schools, charter or otherwise, have qualified audits.
Even months after its release, I can personally vouch for the fact that bitterness about the report remains on both sides.
But even more problematic is the story developing at Stanford University.
The nutshell: Brilliant economic professor authors groundbreaking study on New York charter schools. She shows, through meticulously gathered data, that charters have the potential to all but close the achievement gap. The report was released - and charter supporters proudly donned their finest feather yet.
But one problem: The report wasn't peer reviewed; and when it was (surprise, surprise) the reviewer found the study was overstated, under-quantified and, generally, untrustworthy.
Back to square one.
The charter school debate is one of the most important taking place right now in the world of education. And this kind of biased reporting only re-hinges the debate on the same old partisan frameworks.
Shame. Shame. The public needs better from its so-called experts.
A sidenote:
Minnesota was the first state in the country to legalize charter schools when it did so in 1991. Since then, regulations and guidelines for charters have evolved, but the Center for Education Reform ranks this state's charter law as the second best in the nation.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
One superintendent's courageous stand ...
I read a lot of news stories. Dozens, and sometimes hundreds, a day.
But it has been some time since I read a quote this powerful:
"I'm not John Doe. I'm Tim Caroline."
The words were spoken Monday by the superintendent of the Moose Lake School District. He was filing a suit alleging that he was molested by a church priest while on a church-sponsored trip at Dunrovin Retreat Center in Marine on the St. Croix in 1970 or 1971.
This is the seventh suit filed against the official since February, according to this story from the Star Tribune. The official also faces suits alleging abuse while teaching at DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis and Cretin High School in St. Paul in the late 1960s and early '70s.
Most suits alleging sexual abuse against minors are filed under "John Doe." But instead of retaining his anonymity, Caroline used his name.
I find such a statement to not only be courageous, but exemplary. And Caroline's actions speak a thousand words for the many who have been silenced by the stigma of being a victim.
But it has been some time since I read a quote this powerful:
"I'm not John Doe. I'm Tim Caroline."
The words were spoken Monday by the superintendent of the Moose Lake School District. He was filing a suit alleging that he was molested by a church priest while on a church-sponsored trip at Dunrovin Retreat Center in Marine on the St. Croix in 1970 or 1971.
This is the seventh suit filed against the official since February, according to this story from the Star Tribune. The official also faces suits alleging abuse while teaching at DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis and Cretin High School in St. Paul in the late 1960s and early '70s.
Most suits alleging sexual abuse against minors are filed under "John Doe." But instead of retaining his anonymity, Caroline used his name.
I find such a statement to not only be courageous, but exemplary. And Caroline's actions speak a thousand words for the many who have been silenced by the stigma of being a victim.
Who doesn't love a trust fund?
During the 2008 legislative session, lawmakers made a change to the way proceeds from school trust lands would be spent on schools. And now, that change is ready to pay dividends.
In previous years, money from the trust lands - which are located in northern Minnesota and generate profits on timber sales, mineral leases, taconite royalties and campground fees - were subtracted from the state's K-12 budget. Thus, school districts were not seeing any additional revenue from the land.
But last year, lawmakers decided to use those proceeds as a source of new revenue to schools. So, beginning in fiscal year 2010, districts will receive $36 per student.
Jerry Kolander, business manager for Mankato Area Public Schools, said the district has already included that extra revenue (approximately $250,000) into the budget - so it won't help in staving off possible spring reductions. But, he said, a little extra money is "always welcome."
Of course, the state legislature could always decide to change the law again in the next session. With whispers already coming out of St. Paul about another state budget deficit and another round of unallotments, such a scenario is not unlikely.
The school trust lands were created in 1858 when the federal government put two parcels of land for each township into a public school trust. For a more detailed look at the governance and history of the lands, see this legislative report. And here's an article from the International Falls Daily Journal where superintendents discuss the impacts of the trust revenue.
In previous years, money from the trust lands - which are located in northern Minnesota and generate profits on timber sales, mineral leases, taconite royalties and campground fees - were subtracted from the state's K-12 budget. Thus, school districts were not seeing any additional revenue from the land.
But last year, lawmakers decided to use those proceeds as a source of new revenue to schools. So, beginning in fiscal year 2010, districts will receive $36 per student.
Jerry Kolander, business manager for Mankato Area Public Schools, said the district has already included that extra revenue (approximately $250,000) into the budget - so it won't help in staving off possible spring reductions. But, he said, a little extra money is "always welcome."
Of course, the state legislature could always decide to change the law again in the next session. With whispers already coming out of St. Paul about another state budget deficit and another round of unallotments, such a scenario is not unlikely.
The school trust lands were created in 1858 when the federal government put two parcels of land for each township into a public school trust. For a more detailed look at the governance and history of the lands, see this legislative report. And here's an article from the International Falls Daily Journal where superintendents discuss the impacts of the trust revenue.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Get ready for more spring cuts
Since last spring when school officials made the largest round of budget reductions in recent history, many administrators have been candid in saying that this coming round of cuts could be even more painful.
Waseca, for instance, has cut millions of dollars and dozens of staff in the last two years. But a failed referendum two weeks ago has all but guaranteed another seven-figure reduction. When the Waseca School Board meets on Thursday, it will begin delving into specifics on how the reductions will be handed out. School closings and reduced activities will be on the agenda for sure.
In Anoka-Hennepin School District, which is among the largest in the state, school closings and boundary shifts are supposed to save more than $3 million.
The work is already beginning and budget forecasts are decidedly grim. If communities thought last year was tough (ask Maple River and Waterville-Elysian-Morristown families about their school closings) then don't hold your breath that this year will be any better.
Waseca, for instance, has cut millions of dollars and dozens of staff in the last two years. But a failed referendum two weeks ago has all but guaranteed another seven-figure reduction. When the Waseca School Board meets on Thursday, it will begin delving into specifics on how the reductions will be handed out. School closings and reduced activities will be on the agenda for sure.
In Anoka-Hennepin School District, which is among the largest in the state, school closings and boundary shifts are supposed to save more than $3 million.
The work is already beginning and budget forecasts are decidedly grim. If communities thought last year was tough (ask Maple River and Waterville-Elysian-Morristown families about their school closings) then don't hold your breath that this year will be any better.
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