About a month ago, I met with the Republican Chair of the Education Finance committee for about an hour. Of course, my first effort was to get more money targeted at high quality early childhood education for at-risk kids. She agreed with me, but wasn't sure if she could get the Republicans in the House to put in much money.
What surprised me most was her interest in my idea to help inner city high school kids get into what is now called career and technical education. I proposed that Patrick Henry and North connect with MCTC to expose the high school students to the trades, mechanics and quality manufacturing, etc. They would remain in high school and participate in high school activities, but spend part of their time on tech skills. The Education Chair said she'd consider paying for a 13th year so poor kids could get what they needed to get into a career path. This would be a great opportunity for students who love working with their hands but aren't interested in a traditional college degree. Many of those students drop out and never really earn a living wage.
I met with the Minneapolis Public Schools leadership team on career and tech education and they are working with MCTC to put together a proposal. At first, it would probably involve classes at the new workforce training center in the old car dealership building on Aldrich and Broadway. Although the Education Chair told me she liked the idea, it is now a very long shot because just last week the House Republican leadership assigned a very low amount of money for her education committee's budget. The amount they assigned for education won't even keep up with inflation, so she'll probably have to cut programs if she wants to fund new ones, and that isn't easy.
I came up with the idea many years ago, but at the time, there was very little interest from local education officials. This new proposal is different form Post-Secondary Option programs. In the meantime, the Superintendent of the Anoka-Hennepin District started a somewhat similar program which has been very successful; and he did it without extra money from the state.
If we don't get the necessary state money, we may possibly be able to secure some foundation money to start the program and look to state funding later. I will continue to pursue this option which, I believe, is an excellent way to keep our kids engaged in school and prepare them for the workforce.