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The RDale LAC Newsletter was not posted on their site, so I copied and pasted it here for your info.
The Voice-may be a popular entertainment show on television, but the past few weeks it was legislators, sitting in their chairs, listening to the voice of those testifying on issues important to our students.
Robbinsdale Area Schools school board member, Helen Bassett, testified before the House Education Finance Committee on February 14th regarding integration aid. Bassett spoke as a member of the Integration Revenue Replacement Task Force. She detailed how the recommendation of the Achievement and Integration for Minnesota (AIM) would combine the goals of racial integration, increased student achievement, and educational equity.
"Our students in all their diverse glory ARE the crop.", shared Bassett referring to the need for MN students to reap the harvest of education they deserve. Bassett shared how the task force engaged in substantive dialogue while considering alternative viewpoints. She told the committee that support for integration aid leverages investments in education. It is not an either/or choice.
HF 247 continues its journey through the House.
Director Bassett was appointed by the Commissioner of Education, Brenda Cassillius to the Integration Revenue Replacement Task Force. The task force completed its work a year ago, but the findings were never granted a legislative hearing. Director Bassett from She is also chairperson of West Metro Education Program (WMEP).
Another Robbinsdale voice was heard in support of a bill that would tie the per pupil formula to inflation. Kami Aho, a parent and member of the Legislative Action Coalition testified before the House Education Finance Committee. HF 416 , if passed, would allow districts to forecast and budget better. Rep. Paul Marquart, chair of the committee, told Aho how important it is to hear from parents.
Let you voice be heard! It is an important and very simple process. If there is an issue you are passionate about, contact me to discuss testifying at the Capitol.
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Current Events
February Forecast was released on Thursday, February 28 and the news was better than many thought. The improved forecast shows a deficit of $627 million rather than the projected $1.1 billion. As things currently stand, $295 million will go towards repaying the shift - what is owed schools. Scott Croonquist, executive director, Association of Metropolitan School Districts (AMSD) testified at a hearing in February.
"One thing schools really need is an increase in the state's basic formula allowance for K-12 education", said Croonquist. He went on to say that more aid is needed for underfunded special education services, all-day kindergarten and technology. The StarTribune ran an OpEd by George Kimball, chair of AMSD.
Governor Dayton's budget has called for a 1% increase in the basic education formula. That would translate to approximately $52.00 per student. Quite simply, it isn't enough. Now is the time to contact your legislators and Governor Dayton to let them know we need more. (Click on the links on the right side of the page)
SF 481 was introduced as a bill that would establish scholarships for high-rated early learning programs. Minneminds, a statewide organization formed to help ensure the youngest learners have access to high-quality care and learning programs, is helping build momentum behind this bill. An OpEd on what the long term benefits of early education ran in the StarTribune. One of the authors, Art Rolnick, is a leading authority and advocate of early learners and a former Federal Reserve Bank executive.
Special education has needed more funding for years. Cross subsidies have reached $12 million in Minnesota alone. Recently, there has been a great many conversations and articles written on the need to fully fund special ed.
Now is the time to reach out to your legislators and tell them to it is not right to have such a high cross subsidy - special education needs to be fully funded.
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1%
Governor Dayton's budget plan calls for a one percent increase in the general education formula. That 1% equates to approximately $52. per student. There are 170 school days - is $0.31 a day really enough? With budget targets on the horizon, you as a constituent, can make an impact. Email or call your legislators today and tell them that the proposed 1% increase in the general education formula isn't enough.
Governor Dayton's budget
- Investments in E-12 learning - an increase of 1% in the general formula for FY2014
- Increase in special education funding - $125 million investment beginning in FY 2015 by adopting the recommendation of the Education Finance Working Group. I
- Teacher Evaluations - $10 million budgeted to create and implement a system that supports teachers and will continue to benefit all our student achievement.
- Early Childhood Education Scholarships to ensure more children attend high quality preschool and child care.
- English Learners - ensuring longer access to language skills to fully participate classroom learning.
- Investments to provide education, training and support for the prevention of school bullying.
For more information, please click here.
Recent Events Almost 75 people came to Capitol Rally Day to show lawmakers their support for education.
Parents and community members for Robbinsdale Area Schools, as well as four neighboring districts, shared how programs such as Early Childhood Family Education or Family Literacy impacted their personal lives. Others asked questions about the GRAD math requirement and if lawmakers would support raising the per pupil rate to inflation. Read the article that appeared in the Patch here.
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I have a question. If black kids can only learn by sitting in a class with white kids, then what difference does it make whether 70% of the class is white or 50%? And why are we proposing billions of dollars to do something that doesn't improve academic outcomes one bit?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.americanexperiment.org/publications/commentaries/in-response-to-ugly-progressive-hokum?utm_source=3-8+Mitch+Bunkum+Response2&utm_campaign=Mitch+Bunkum+response&utm_medium=email
J. Ewing
If black kids can only learn by sitting in a class with white kids, then what difference does it make whether 70% of the class is white or 50%?
ReplyDeleteDo you really think that black kids can only learn by sitting in a class with white kids?
--Hiram
Absolutely not. I find the idea highly offensive, racist and stupid. Yet that is the straw being grasped by our floundering public education system. They are spending billions of dollars already, and propose to spend billions of dollars more on integration, and claiming that this is the magic been that Willie race the achievement gap between white and black students. Apparently they believe black students only learn by osmosis from their white classmates, rather than by what the teacher provides.
ReplyDeleteJ. Ewing
Absolutely not. I find the idea highly offensive, racist and stupid.
ReplyDeleteNeither do I, and that's why I didn't have much interest in the premise of your question, since I and it turns out, you both disagree with it. As it turns out, your question is sort of like asking, "If the Earth if flat, at some point would you fall off the edge?" I just don't know how to answer questions like that.
--Hiram
They are posed as questions not for you, but for the idiots who seem to believe not only the premise but the reality. If you look at the link, you will find that the usual suspects are busily insisting upon vast new sums for integration, and claiming that this will magically erase the achievement gap. The question is intended to point to the utter folly of the argument and the action.
ReplyDeleteJ. Ewing
Why should I believe the public schools are serious about closing the achievement gap if unwritten and unchallenged Social Promotion policy always overrides attempts to close it?
ReplyDeleteLet me put it this way. If the schools knew how to erase the achievement gap, or basically how to improve achievement for the 50% that can't even graduate, they would have done it years ago. They don't, so they keep making excuses, and it's criminal.
ReplyDeleteJ. Ewing
Is that what the money is for? Integrating schools?
ReplyDelete--Hiram
Since the funding in question is called "integration funding", it seems that is what it would be used for...
ReplyDeleteAt least that's halfway honest. What is NOT honest is the claim that race-mixing is the best and only solution needed to fix the achievement gap. But of course nobody wants to take "student achievement improvement funding" because that might require them to actually deliver results.
ReplyDeleteJ. Ewing
I guess I never heard anyone saying that "race-mixing is the best and only solution needed to fix the achievement gap." Where did you pull that from?
ReplyDeleteWe had come up with lots of factors previously...
G2A Blame vs Contributions
Sorry, but you will have to read through the link I provided to pick that up. I can point out that those "factors" are yours, not the ones that the educrats are using as excuses.
ReplyDeleteJ. Ewing
J.Ewing--did you really just use the term "race-mixing"??
ReplyDeleteJohn--The education budget is so complex that I've never entirely understood how the integration funding is used. I gather a great deal of it is allocated to things like The Choice is Yours program, where a motivated NoMi family can enroll their child in higher-quality suburban districts. That feels an awfully lot like vouchers to me, so it seems like many conservatives would dig it.
I read through the Center for the American Experiment link that J provided, and I'm not seeing anything at all about the Minnesota integration budget (let alone the "best and only solution" bit. ). Not sure how a Colorado lawsuit has to do with the subject at hand?
--Annie
Sorry Annie,
ReplyDeleteI have been distracted this week and derelict in my duties... J's linked article says that some "Liberal Education group" disagrees with the validity of a document published by some "Conservative Education group". American Experiment Hokum Award
The document in question says that "the Minnesota Department of Education and three influential education policy organizations are promoting learning gap-related plans that would focus—not on vital reforms in the classroom—but on making “racially balanced schools” (mislabeled “integration”) the centerpiece of our efforts to reduce the gap."
And that this will "pave the way for a plaintiff victory in an “education adequacy” lawsuit against the State of Minnesota. Two prominent attorneys have already raised the threat of such a suit against the State.
In an education adequacy lawsuit, plaintiffs will portray the learning gap as evidence that Minnesota is failing to offer the state’s children a constitutionally mandated “adequate” education. As a remedy, they will likely seek: 1) billions of dollars in additional K-12 funding and 2) a metro-wide, race-based busing plan—and insist these are necessary to “close the gap.”"
AE Our Immense Achievement Gap Exec Summary
According to Table of Contents, see pages 77-80 in this document for integration info. MN School Finance Guide
ReplyDeleteAnd this goes further.
MN DOE Integration Page
I can see how Integration funding is important and similar to vouchers, however tying this gap issue to "Race" just makes me angry. Race is not the cause.
G2A Cause vs Correlation
G2A Poor Kids Stupid or Unlucky
The big challenge with using integration of Lucky and Unlucky students to improve test scores significantly is that the percentage of "Unlucky" kids in the school seems to need to be in the <30% range to make a big difference.
ReplyDeleteG2A Results: A Comparison
G2A Comparison:Just One More
My rationale is that they need to be a small enough group that "good" peer pressure works, there are enough volunteers and donors to help them, class discipline is workable, etc...
Imagine the challenge when a school has majority of Unlucky kids... Peer pressure is likely to support goofing off rather than learning. There are likely few volunteers and donors to help. (ie no time, no money, or don't care) Instead of dealing with a couple challenging kids in class, you may be dealing with 20 of them...
Of course there was this interesting idea I proposed awhile back... G2A RAS 2/7 Model
I think you have finally found a way in which the distinction between "lucky" and "unlucky" kids makes sense. I have said it in a different way, in that schools with a more "challenging" mix of students need to adopt different techniques for teaching, and still may be unable to overcome all of the obstacles to learning these kids have. Right now, however, I am firmly convinced that the vast majority of such schools – principally those in inner cities or inner ring suburbs – do NOT use effective teaching methods, or have an effective discipline policy, or set high expectations, all of which would be necessary to improve results. Instead what we have are the schools making excuses, demanding more money to do the jobs they claim to be uniquely qualified to do, and continuing to fail in the same old ways, year after year.
ReplyDeleteWhat is particularly galling is when race is used as a proxy for deciding which kids are unlucky, and then not doing anything about it! That is, if all we do is mix the kids according to skin color and then fail to adjust our teaching techniques, expectations and discipline policy, we fail ALL the kids and spend more money doing it.
J. Ewing