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State Representative Sheldon Johnson
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4201
For more information contact: Matt Swenson 651-297-8406
NEWS COLUMN
HITTING THE BOOOKS
Fall always seems to creep up on us. Believe it or not, the Minnesota State Fair is less than a week away - meaning the first day of school is just around the corner.
Most kids spent their summers playing soccer, working part-time jobs, and hanging out around Phalen Lake. But in just three short weeks they’ll be hitting the books again. Some will be starting 1st Grade and others will be wrapping up high school. And several hundred 2009 East Side graduates will be beginning their post-secondary education at St. Paul College, the University of Minnesota, and a number of other institutions of higher learning throughout the state.
Whatever desk your student sits in this fall, you can be sure the quality of their education will be among the best in the nation. Because of Minnesota’s long-held tradition of supporting a world-class education system, our public schools from Kindergarten to college have consistently ranked among the most academically successful in the nation.
Minnesota’s high school seniors have ranked first in the nation for ACT performance four years in a row. According to the Report Card on American Education, Minnesota has ranked first in academic achievement nationwide for two years running.
Still, there are serious challenges facing our schools and our students - particularly on the East Side, where the achievement gap facing students of color and English language learners presents significant barriers to academic success.
As parents, you may have been alarmed to hear about a recent report released by the Minnesota Department of Education. That report showed that only 3 of the 9 elementary, middle, and high schools serving students on the East Side met rigorous Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) standards under No Child Left Behind.
It is important for parents, students, and teachers to understand that this report does not mean our students are failing - or that our schools are failing our students. In fact, the opposite is true. Our local schools are a model for success, and parents can be confident that their students have access to a world-class education. Dedicated, talented teachers on the East Side are serving our students well every day, and making needed progress to narrow the achievement gap holding our students down.
The truth is, AYP simply doesn’t tell the whole story; it fails to accurately measure the steady improvement our local schools are making in academic excellence - despite the difficult challenges facing our students. The federal government continues to increase nationwide blanket targets for achievement from year to year in an attempt to have all students testing at grade level by 2014.
This makes meeting AYP standards increasingly difficult, as the target keeps moving, holding our students to unreachable standards that are simply out of touch with what is actually happening in the classroom. Attempts to reform this inadequate school rating system were met with vetoes by Governor Tim Pawlenty in the last two legislative sessions - denying students, parents, and school districts the opportunity to accurately gauge academic progress.
Giving schools an arbitrary, virtually unattainable moving target for academic achievement is no way to inspire confidence in our students or rally our community to support a yet higher-achieving school system. Instead, it gives our schools and our teachers a bad rap, distracting attention from what should be the focus of our community: supporting our students to achieve their greatest potential.
With that, I want to offer a challenge to our community this school year - a challenge for parents in particular: get involved in our schools. Despite the policy flaws in our education system, Minnesota schools offer our students the best education possible. But our students can only succeed if we rally behind them as teachers, parents, and volunteers. By showing up to parent/teacher conferences, coaching a sports team, or reading to kids at your local elementary school, we can all help give our students the education they deserve; the education they need to succeed in a globally competitive 21st Century economy.
I wish all our students, teachers, and administrators the best of luck this school year. We will be standing behind you every step of the way.
Please contact me with your questions and concerns. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sheldon Johnson
State Representative
District 67B
(651) 296-4201
rep.sheldon.johnson@house.mn
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