On January 10th, Secretary DeVos notified MDE that their ESSA accountability plan has been approved. However, just because MDE’s plan was approved does not mean that their work is done. Rather, MDE has formed a new stakeholder Committee in order to gain input about future improvements to the plan and will have to implement the plan starting in the 2018-19 academic year.
The shortage of Minnesota teachers with special education licensure is particularly problematic given the increasing use of special education services statewide. Read about how some programs in the state are trying to rectify it.
Last week, the Minnesota Management and Budget Office released the November Forecast for the state, which showed a $188 million projected deficit. While the deficit is hardly a cause for concern, the rising costs of special education services is. Education Evolving has long contended schools can use intervention frameworks to reduce the rate of special education-identified students. Read here to learn more.
Guest blogger Julene Oxton reflects on David Osborne's new book, where he provides examples of cities that are reinventing public education, from her perspective as a teacher who started an autonomous, teacher-powered school in a Minnesota school district.
What would happen if schools had more autonomy and accountability for performance? And what if metro regions featured more diversity of school designs and parental choice? In his new book, David Osborne answers these questions by describing the transformational E-12 public education changes that are taking place in several American cities.
MDE was recently awarded $45.8 million in Charter Schools Program grant funds from the US Department of Education. The purpose of the CSP grant program is to help high-quality charter schools expand and grow, while also improving instruction for all students.
On Tuesday, the Innovation Research Zone Advisory Panel met for the first time to discuss the Innovation Research Zone application, which was released in mid-September. Read here to learn more about the process for deciding which applications will be accepted to become Innovation Research Zones, as well as the timeline for application review and implementation.
It’s a busy and exciting time at Education Evolving. We are proud to unveil the results of that work, including a new vision for student-centered learning, statement on educational equity, policy paper, visual brand, and logo.
Woods Learning Center, a teacher-powered school in Wyoming, was one of the schools Secretary DeVos visited on her "Rethink School" tour. Hear from two teacher perspectives regarding the controversial Secretary's visit and how they used it as a learning opportunity to showcase their innovative school model.
On Monday, 30 states, including Minnesota, turned in their Every Student Succeeds Act accountability plans to the US Department of Education in the second and final deadline. Minnesota’s accountability plan is the culmination of the work that the Minnesota Department of Education engaged in for the past 21 months. Read here for some of the changes that MDE has made to the plan since we last reported.
