On July 16, MDE announced the seven Minnesota charter schools that were awarded CSP Startup or Replication/Expansion grant. Who are the schools? What is a CSP grant? Read here to find out.
On July 11, the Minnesota Department of Education hosted over 100 people for an update on implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act. This post provides an overview of the topics discussed at the meeting, as well as the timeline for ESSA implementation.
On June 27, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of Mark Janus, a child support specialist for the state of Illinois. Janus sued his union, American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), arguing that he should not have to pay mandatory dues. This post will discuss the Janus case, and how unions—both state and national—have prepared for the ruling.
It’s been a busy few months for PELSB and its staff as they prepare for July 1 deadline for implementation of the new teacher licensure system. This post will provide a refresher on the new teacher licensure system, an update on rulemaking, and information on how teachers and teacher candidates can apply for licensure.
Ron Brown College Preparatory opened its doors in August 2016 to 110 freshmen as part of DC Public Schools’ twenty million dollar “Empowering Males of Color” initiative. The primary purpose of the school is to serve the city’s young African-American and Latino men, two groups who have historically struggled in the district.
Bewildered by the unrelenting demands of the job, and not impermeable to the demoralized banter of my colleagues, I left my 5th grade teaching post—and the teaching profession—after just two years. Strangely, I even insisted to my now-husband that he not let me teach again. Somehow I knew that I would want to.
On May 10, the Minnesota Association of Charter Schools recognized four schools at the third annual Innovation Awards event. Additionally, under a new award program established this year, one educator was honored with the Minnesota Charter School Leadership Award.
Deanna Hron—a kindergarten teacher at King Elementary School in rural Deer River, MN—received the Educator Leadership Award at the Community Schools National Forum in Baltimore last week, in recognition of her “strong leadership in advocating for community schools.” But Hron's journey was not without struggle.
On Friday, April 20, PELSB met to do final interviews for the three finalists for the executive director position, as well as to go over the new rule draft. This post will go over their deliberations, the new rule draft, and the timeline for rulemaking.
Last week, MDE held the last meeting of their Reporting and Recognition Committee, which was formed after they submitted the state’s ESSA plan to USDE in September 2017. This post will discuss the recommendations from the committee, how Minnesota will deal with a new ESSA provision around fiscal transparency, and some important dates regarding implementation.
