The Education Evolving Blog

Winners of Minnesota Charter Grants and National Blue Ribbon Awards Announced
October 5, 2016 · By Krista Kaput

Charter Schools Program Grant Winners

On September 28th, the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) announced the winners of the spring 2016 round of their Charter School Program (CSP) Startup and Replication/Expansion grants. In 2012, MDE received $28 million from the United States Department of Education (USDE) to be used over the course of five years for grants to chartered schools in the state.

The six winners this cycle were:

  • Startup Grants
    • Forten Academy
    • North Metro Flex Academy
    • Phoenix Academy
    • ...
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Update on Development of Minnesota’s New ESSA Accountability Plan
September 21, 2016 · By Krista Kaput

Work on Minnesota’s new state accountability plan, as required under the recent Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), continues. Given the complexity of the plan development process, and our desire to give a thorough yet still high-level update, this post is longer than usual.

Timeline for Plan Development

As a refresher, Minnesota Department of Education’s (MDE) timeline for the new accountability plan development is:

  • July through November 2016—MDE convenes various committees to...
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Comedian’s Controversial Piece Highlights Importance of Strong Charter Authorizing
September 1, 2016 · By Krista Kaput

On August 21, HBO comedian John Oliver did a controversial segment where he attacked chartered schools in Pennsylvania, Florida, and Ohio, as well as educational management organizations (EMOs). The clip went “viral” inside education policy circles, receiving nearly 7 million views.

His segment has received both praise and criticism. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said in an email, “John Oliver did something amazing.” NYU...

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Despite Recent Philanthropic Efforts, MN Charters Still Struggle to Find Facilities
August 24, 2016 · By Krista Kaput

Rachel Ose Ngendakuriyo, founding director of Big Picture Twin Cities, which will open in the 2017-18 academic year in Brooklyn Center, originally wanted to open a school in the Phillips Community. Having taught in the community, she had deep ties and wanted to create a community school that would meet the needs of the community’s students. However, Ngendakuriyo was unable to find an appropriate facility, despite looking at hundreds of locations in the Phillips community and surrounding neighborhoods, which led to her relocating the school...

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Seven New Minnesota Chartered Schools to Open Fall 2016
August 15, 2016 · By Krista Kaput

Seven new chartered schools will open in Minnesota this fall as three chartered schools close. Four of the new charters will be STEM-focused; all will start as elementary schools, with five planning on eventually growing to be K-12.

Chartered schools opening in the fall of 2016
Athlos Academy of St. Cloud, authorized by the Volunteers of America - MN (VOA-MN), will serve grades K-6 during its first year. According to the application for charter authorization,...

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Minnesota Chartered Schools Receive $2 Million for Pre-K Students
August 10, 2016 · By Krista Kaput

On August 8th, Governor Dayton announced that an additional 3,302 four-year old students in 64 school districts and 10 chartered schools, will have the opportunity to attend pre-kindergarten this fall for free due to an increase of $25 million in state funding approved during the 2016 legislative session.

The ten chartered schools will receive $1,966,342, or 7.8 percent of the funds, which will serve an estimated 237 students. The amount is roughly proportionate to the 7 percent of Pre-K students in the state served by...

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Minneapolis Chartered School Finalist in National School Design Contest
August 2, 2016 · By Krista Kaput

On July 21st FUSE Charter School, which will open in Northeast Minneapolis in the fall of 2017, was announced as one of fifty finalists (down from an initial field of 700) for one of at least five $10 million grants from the national XQ Super School Project Competition.

Backed by Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, the competition seeks to identify at least five grantees (both school districts and individual schools can apply) that have reimagined how high school...

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Judge Cites MN Board of Teaching for Contempt Over Alternative Teacher Licensure Program
July 18, 2016 · By Krista Kaput

On July 1, 2016, Ramsey County District Court Judge, Shawn Bartsh ruled that the Board of Teaching was in contempt of court for failing to resume the “Licensure via Portfolio” program that they had abruptly discontinued in 2012 due to “budget constraints.” Judge Bartsh had previously ruled in that the Board must restart its alternative-licensing program, primarily for out-of-state teachers.

The lawsuit, brought against the Board in April 2015 by Nathan Sellers and Rhyddid Watkins on behalf of their teacher...

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USDE, MDE Begin to Lay Out New State Accountability Rules
June 27, 2016 · By Krista Kaput

When Congress passed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to replace the much maligned No Child Left Behind (NCLB) educators were left with two questions: How much power would the US Department of Education (USDE) actually hand off to the states to set their own accountability standards, and how would the states use that new power to change the way schools would be evaluated for effectiveness? The questions are of special interest to charter school advocates, who have complained for years that NCLB’s focus on standardized testing discouraged the kind of innovative pedagogy chartering was...

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Charter School Innovation Awards Criteria Set
June 21, 2016 · By John Kostouros

The Minnesota Association of Charter Schools (MACS) has published the criteria it will use for the first Minnesota Charter School Innovation Awards Program. The contest is open to all Minnesota charter schools. The application form as well as an informational webinar are available on the MACS website.

The award program, the first of its kind in Minnesota, was created to showcase some of the most innovative practices being used in Minnesota’s charter schools—and also to focus attention on the important...

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