The Partnership's 2010 education priorities are guided by our Minnesota's Future Initiative, our long-held Principals for Education Reform and support for Minnesota's Race to the Top application.

Minnesota’s Future Initiative

“The Minnesota’s Future Report,” published in conjunction with the Itasca Project, drives the Partnership’s education efforts. The report, produced by McKinsey and Company, addressed two key questions:

  • How does Minnesota’s education system compare with the best in the world?
  • What can we learn from them to deliver better education in Minnesota?
Following release of the report in February 2009, the Partnership, Itasca, the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and the Bush Foundation formed a leadership team to identify action steps in four prioty areas:
  • Transform teacher training
  • Recruit top teaching talent to high-need subjects and areas
  • Provide top quality principal leadership development
  • Use data to improve performance
The Minnesota’s Future Initiative aligns closely with the criteria for Race to the Top funding from the Obama Administration. McKinsey and the Minnesota’s Future Leadership Team are working with the Minnesota Department of Education and others to submit a successful Race to the Top application.

 

Principles for Education Reform

The Partnership continues to be guided by our long-held Principles for Education Reform:

  • Set rigorous, world-class, academic standards for all students.
  • Measure and report student progress – individually and by school – on a uniform and comparable basis.
  • Give educators flexibility to offer the programs they believe will be most effective for their students.
  • Provide families with the ability to choose the programs that best meet their children's academic needs.

Legislative Priorities

The Partnership will advocate legislation consistent with our Principles for Education Reform, our Minnesota’s Future Initiative and our support for the state’s Race to the Top application, including:

  • Require passage of standards-based, minimum competency tests in order to receive a high school diploma.
  • Provide permanent approval of alternative teacher licensure through programs like Teach for America and the New Teacher Project.
  • Strengthen existing public school options (charter schools, open enrollment, etc.) and advocate new options, including vouchers and tax credits for scholarships.
  • Continue funding for the Principal Leadership Academy.

 

Education Funding

What constitutes an appropriate level of state aid for education is an ongoing debate, driven primarily by comparisons to previous funding levels and increased district spending. Given the economic challenges in the short-term and the demographic changes in the long-term, continued reliance on large biennial state funding increases to sustain existing systems is unrealistic. In this context, the Partnership advocates broadening the conversation to include tools that would enable school boards to better manage the use of existing resources and to link funding increases with improved outcomes.

For more information, contact Education Policy Director Jim Bartholomew.