PS Minnesota Says It All

Let’s just send you directly to PS Minnesota, which says clearly what needs to be done with school funding. Reform the whole formula, basically!!!

http://www.psminnesota.org/

Bipartisan Unity on Levy!

Imagine signs on all our lawns for all of our local candidates for the Minnesota Legislature. The scene looks something like this: Lawn signs for Ray Cox and David Bly (for the House seat) and Jessica Peterson and Tom Neuville (for the Senate seat) all lined up together with the banner above them: “We’re all standing up for our local school district and support YES votes for the levy referendum on November 7. This is not a partisan issue.”

While you may not actually see those signs lined up like that, you very well believe it could happen, for all four candidates are supporting the levy.

Ray Cox: “I wouldn’t think of not supporting it. Our schools are what makes the Minnesota economy move along the way it has.”

David Bly: “I do support the levy and when ever I am asked I have said so.”

Jessica Peterson: “I absolutely unequivocally support the levy referendum.”

Tom Neuville: ” I do support the levy.. . You may
also state publicly that I support the levy.” He would also like to see the Northfield School Board reassure the public that during the life of the levy reserve funds are maintained and spending remains prudent.

For complete statements from the candidates I would refer you to the candidates themselves, starting with their respective websites. All the candidates have much more to say about this topic and should be heard. In the meantime, I thank them all for their careful consideration of this important issue and ask that they continue to not make it a partisan issue. Our kids need that.

Ramblings of a “Digital Immigrant” Board Member

Let’s face it: Most of us on the Northfield School Board are immigrants to this land, yet our students are digital natives.

The signs of our status are multitude:
* We are drowning every week in a load of paper, posted through snail mail.
* We print out and edit things on paper. Heck, we even print out important emails just for the sake of having a copy.
* We think of encyclopedias as a static bound series of books, filling a single library shelf, with “yearbooks” to fill in the gap since publishing.
* We consider textbooks an important part of the capital budget.

I worry a lot about how much we might miss the mark on many things technological, just because we are adapting to a whole new language, the digital language the natives speak. I suspect we will, in the next generation, need to redefine how we look at classrooms, buildings and materials.

If you are up to reading a whack on the side of the head article, try “Ths Future of Schooling: Educating America in 2014.” You’ll find it at http://www.mcrel.org/5052IR_Future of Schooling.pdf (Note that you’ll have to ask for this by title)

After you explore those scenarios, let’s talk. I’m worried about a lot of things that are on the horizon. The paper above concentrates on projecting what will happen between now and 2014. Some things are obvious. Some are not. Below I list just some of my worries.

Period 3 Seniors, Thanks!

You are the best! Thank you for being so involved in the discussion today. It was a literal breath of fresh air to see your total engagement on the issue of school funding, and to know that you understood the policy issues those of us on the Northfield Board of Education face in the near future.

* You’re to be commended for seeing the school funding issue as your own.

* You offered critical insights about how important it will be to craft the message for the public, and how we will have to really be “out there” in the community garnering support for a levy referendum vote.

* You quickly grasped the various funding categories, the part played by the State, the Feds and the local levy… and you got right down to the business of debating the issues surrounding those various streams.

* You got it…. that in order to just keep the level of programming we have now we’ll have to go for a levy vote this fall. Without that, we can look forward to further pain through budget cutting.

* Best of all, you encourage me to continue fighting for a comprehensive curriculum and fine programs.

For Period 3 Seniors

Hi!
Ron Nuebel has asked that I come and talk about school board policy issues, and I have agreed to be there on May 12. I suggested that I use this blog as a way to outline those policy issues I believe we are dealing with right now, particularly ones that impact your lives. In each case I have designed one discussion question that I hope can keep us engaged on that day.

1. THE ISSUE OF CURRICULUM RIGOR
I can just hear you say, “Oh, give me a break. I’m a senior. I’m not interested in anything more rigorous than getting out of here.” But are you aware that Governor Pawlenty and a sizable number of other legislative leaders are saying you haven’t had enough hard challenges? Are you aware that many people believe that we are losing out to other countries in a big enough way so that your children will have menial jobs while the high paying jobs go to where the brains are in India and China? are you aware that one-third of all Minnesota college kids are in need of remedial classes — classes they must pay for but for which they recieve no credit? Are you aware that these same leaders are asking for the following curriculum increases:
* All kids taking Algebra I by the end of 8th Grade
* All kids taking Algebra II before graduation
* More emphasis on the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) discliplines
* All kids taking chemistry before graduation
* Rewards for kids, schools and teachers who undertake more Advanced Placement classes or International Baccalaureate Programs (there will even be a grant program announced soon that will reward whole schools for doing nothing but Advance Placement.

SO HERE IS MY QUESTION FOR YOU: