World-Class Schools, World-Class State Minnesota’s Promise World-Class Schools, World-Class State As the African proverb says, “It takes a whole village to raise a child. We are the village and these are our children.” Our children are the promise for the future and our promise to them is to identify and support an educational system that prepares all of its students for success in the global economy. The Minnesota’s Promise project began in 2005 when 27 past and present school administrators came together to share strategies and build relationships across rural, urban, and suburban lines. Since that time, more than 500 Minnesotans and a broad array of organizations have converged in large summits, small group meetings and countless conversations to provide input into what a successful system may look like and how we can achieve it. One click to move to next slide.

“Public education in Minnesota is at a crossroads. Taking the third road… Taking the second road… Taking the first road… Four clicks plus one to move to the next slide. Notes: Public education in Minnesota is at a crossroads. In one direction, the road continues down the path we are already on”… the strategies and structures that have made Minnesota an educational leader. In a second direction, the road departs from the status quo and heads toward change, but after a short distance it splinters off into many different pathways that lead to many different destinations. In a third direction, the road also heads toward change, but it does not diverge in different directions. Instead it leads toward a single destination that is different from and better than the place where the journey began. Minnesota’s Promise seeks to put our state on the third road, down which schools and communities can walk together.” —Minnesota’s Promise, World-class schools, world-class state, January 2008

THE STATUS QUO IS NOT AN OPTION 2 trends that tell us education must be different tomorrow than it is today. 1. Growth of the global knowledge economy 3 clicks plus one to move to the next slide -- Evidence abounds in our workplaces, our economy, our diversity, our environment, our families, our children, our new technologies, and our schools, that the Status Quo is not an option. 1. The growth of the global knowledge economy demands that all citizens have high-level knowledge and skills to earn a living wage and to take advantage of the opportunities available to well-educated Americans. 2. Demographic changes require that educators learn to work with students from backgrounds that are different from their own and different from the students educators have worked with in the past, including growing percentages of the following: Students of Color Students whose first language is not English Students who live in poverty 2. Demographic Changes Students of Color Students whose first language is not English Students who live in poverty

2 specific challenges guide schools as we respond to these trends. 1. Close the achievement gaps between Minnesota’s students and other students in the highest-performing nations in the world. 2. Close the gaps that exist among our students right here in Minnesota. 2 clicks, plus one to move to next slide

A Vision for the Future 10 Essential elements of a high performing educational system. 1. Early Childhood Education 2. Educator Quality 3. Academic Rigor 4. Family and Community Involvement 5. Multicultural Community 6. Data and Research 7. Funding 8. Time 9. Special Education 10. Health and Wellness 1 click plus one to move to next slide. Notes: After many meetings, conversations, and a whole lot of research, the 28 organizations whose work is related to children, families, schools, communities and post secondary education agreed to work toward the following ten strategies as part of Minnesota’s Promise.

1. Early Childhood Education Investment in educational success starts early State: support targeted services from birth through all day kindergarten options. Connect families to services Collect and disseminate data District: Conduct early outreach Provide professional development Sustain early gains School: Align early childhood programs with elementary education Locate early childhood and elementary programs in the same building when possible 3 clicks plus one to move to the next slide. Notes. Each of the essential elements was broken down show what might be done at the state, district and school level to achieve the vision.

2. Educator Quality Great teachers and principals are recruited, prepared, supported, and retained. State: Recruit the best Develop leaders Establish incentives District: Connect preparation to practice Enhance induction programs Grow internal leadership development programs for principals and other key positions. Create career ladders Empower leaders School: Strengthen schools as workplaces Make professional development part of everyday life for teachers administrators and other school staff. Celebrate!

All academic roads are rigorous and all lead to higher education. 3. Academic Rigor All academic roads are rigorous and all lead to higher education. State: Raise expectations Align expectations Spark innovation District: Teach 21st century skills Support planning and guidance Tap the power of technology Ensure access School: Reach out for rigor Create safety nets Raise the floor Engage the community

4. Family and Community Involvement Families and communities are full partners in education State: Expand parent education Engage employers Support informed choice District: Build the infrastructure that promotes connections between home and school. School: Keep parents informed and involved Share leadership and decision making Build community and establish partnerships

5. Multicultural Community All cultures are included and supported, and connections are made across local and global cultural divides. State: Fund foreign languages Support cultural history Promote global awareness Make global comparisons District: Recruit staff the changing demographics Enhance Educators’ cultural competence Make cultural understanding a part of the curriculum School: Embrace diversity as an asset Make the school a welcoming place for everyone Monitor program participation Support adult learning

6. Data and Research Educators use data and research to improve teaching and learning every day. State: Focus on growth Build a data collection Promote benchmarking District: Develop holistic measures Make connections among sets of data Monitor trends School: Make data-driven decisions Use frequent assessments Help parents become informed about education

7. Funding Schools are provided with funding that is predictable and sufficient to produce world-class performance. State: Define adequacy Develop and fund a new formula District: Ensure equity Invest in leaders’ budgetary skills Advance accountability School: Emphasize outcomes See the big picture

8. Time Schedules and calendars are designed to help all students reach high standards State: Lengthen the school year Emphasize outcomes District: Lengthen the school day Create year-round schools Provide professional development School: Rethink the day Connect with families and community Reduce distractions

9. Special Education Services for students with disabilities are proactive, effective, efficient, and adequately funded State: Emphasize outcomes, not processes Develop and implement a new approach to funding Share best practices Streamline paperwork Advocate at the federal level District: Build capacity Recruit and assign the best Manage medical solutions School: Intervene early Mainstream when it makes sense Discontinue services when goals are achieved

10. Health and Wellness Parents and other stakeholders ensure that students come to school physically and mentally ready to learn. State: Provide health care Fund school services Disseminate best practices District: Help students eat right Invest in mental health School: Connect with families Sustain physical education

“Minnesota has the potential to. join the ranks of the world’s “Minnesota has the potential to join the ranks of the world’s highest-performing educational systems, but both research and experience make it clear that to realize that goal, we need a statewide strategy that is serious, systemic, and supported across political, economic, and cultural lines.” We need to move to the next step toward the future which is a coordinated, comprehensive, inclusive vision and plan. We need all of you to step up and become involved in the “big picture” of what schools can and must become. Our kids…our futures depend on you. Go to www.minnesotaspromise.org to get more information then talk to your teachers, your principals, your superintendents, your neighbors, your legislators. Find ways to support and become a part of what is “Minnesota’s Promise”. Kent Pekel, Executive Director College Readiness Consortium University of Minnesota