Minnesota’s Future Initiative: World-Class Schools, World-Class Jobs
In February 2009, the Partnership and the Itasca Project released a joint report, “Minnesota’s Future: World-Class Schools, World-Class Jobs.” The report and recommendations, produced by McKinsey and Company, seek to answer two questions:
- How does Minnesota compare to the best in the world?
- What can we learn from them to deliver better education to students in Minnesota?
The report, which represents phase 1 of the initiative, found that Minnesota has both strengths to build from and areas to improve.
| Minnesota Strengths | Minnesota Weaknesses |
| Best in the U.S. by many measures | Best in the U.S. isn’t good enough |
| Rigorous standards & assessments | Wide academic achievement gaps |
| Adequate, equitable, predictable funding | Lack of college readiness |
| Options for students | Employer dissatisfaction |
MBP Education Policy Chair John Stanoch, state president, Qwest Communications, leads this initiative on behalf of the Partnerhip and Itasca. In Phase 2, the Partnership, Itasca, the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and the Bush Foundation have established working groups to pursue specific, actionable items in four areas.
Transform teacher training: Lynn Casey, chair and CEO of Padilla Spear Beardsley, and Peter Hutchinson, president of the Bush Foundation, is leading this effort to collaborate with the Bush Foundation, MnSCU and others to reform teacher preparation programs and improve the value proposition of the profession.
Recruit top teaching talent from variety of sources to high-need subjects and areas: Dick Pettingill, retired president and CEO of Allina Hospitals and Clinics, is spearheading this effort, which focuses on bringing more high-quality, non-traditional candidates into the profession by supporting Teach for America and The New Teacher Project.
Provide top-quality principal leadership development: John Stanoch and past Education Policy Chair Chip Emery, retired head of MTS Systems, are working to scale up leadership development and training through the Minnesota Principals' Academy and the Leadership Academy for Minneosta Charter and Alternative Schools.
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Use data to drive performance: Leading the effort to identify resources and expertise to help the Department of Education complete its longitudinal data system is Bruce Nicholson, chairman, president and CEO of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. The goal is to link data on student performance across the education system and produce user-friendly reports to inform educators, policymakers and the public.
For more information, contact MBP Education Policy Director Jim.Bartholomew@mnbp.com.