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Minnesota Department Of Education

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Minnesota Granted No Child Left Behind Waiver; Kline Opposes Move

Congressman John Kline, who is chair of the U.S. House education committee, opposes the No Child Left Behind waiver saying it doesn't address the reforms needed.

President Barack Obama announced last week that Minnesota would be one of 10 states to receive a reprieve from the federal No Child Left Behind education law. In exchange, Minnesota would have to outline new, “bold” reforms to improve teacher effectiveness, grade school accountability and close the achievement gap in social and ethnic categories. “My administration is giving states the opportunity to set higher, more honest standards in exchange for more flexibility,” Obama stated through a White House issued press release. “If we’re serious about helping our children reach their potential, the best ideas aren’t going to come from Washington alone.” The move doesn't have full support from Capitol Hill, though, including Minnesota's Second …

In this Article:

St. Michael-Albertville Schools Welcome Idea of Leaving NCLB Behind (in St. Michael Patch), Sibley Elementary School, Longfellow School, and 7 more ›

Barb Palmquist

3:58 pm on Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Kline is against this then it's good for the student.   more ›

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Money Available to Help Increase Northfield Graduation Rates

Do you have an idea to increase graduation rates?

Is there anything better than kids helping kids to help kids? The Mayor's Youth Council, a group of mayor-appointed Northfield juniors and seniors, is handing out $2,000 in grants to fund projects that promote graduation and increase graduation rates. The money comes from the Council's successful campaign to have Northfield named one of America’s Promise Alliance’s 100 Best Communities for Young People, the third time Northfield has received the honor. “It was nice to hear that all of our efforts was making a difference and moving forward with our community and building a great place for kids to grow up,” said Katie Bull, a Northfield High School senior and member of the MYC. Bull says the Council plans to hand out three $500 grants. The …

In this Article:

Northfield High School, Northfield Public Schools District Office, Northfield's TORCH Sparks Success for Students, and 2 more ›

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Accelerate Northfield Aims to Bridge Achievement Gap

Acclerate Northfield, a new program that connects community volunteers with elementary students, aims to bridge the achievement gap and help all of Northfield's kids succeed.

Sometimes an idea accelerates and take on a power of its own. Such is the case with Accelerate Northfield, a new volunteer program that started with an idea and has since taken off with hopes of helping to bridge the achievement gap in Northfield’s schools.  Accelerate Northfield is a collaborative effort of community members, Northfield Public Schools, Northfield Healthy Community Initiative, Carleton College and St. Olaf College.  The program took form last spring with an idea of two parents, Rachel Matney and her husband, Fritz Bogott. “We saw some statistics from schools showing that Minnesota has a wider achievement gap between low-income and upper-income students than the national average,” said Bogott.  Unfortunately, Northfield was…

In this Article:

Bridgewater Elementary School, Carleton College, Northfield Public Schools District Office, and 1 more ›

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Northfield District Will Ask Voters to Approve a Higher Operating Levy in November

Questions about the future of state education funding prompted board members to seek financial cushion from local residents.

Northfield Public Schools will send residents to the polls in November to vote on renewing and raising the operating levy. Providing certainty and stability for the district’s children is the goal of two resolutions passed unanimously at Monday's Northfield School District board meeting, said board members. “We don’t take this decision lightly,” board chair Kari Nelson said as she introduced the first of the two resolutions. The first resolution puts before voters a request to increase the operating levy and maintain the capital levy at its current rate. At 10 years and $1,584.76 per pupil, the proposed levy is the longest and highest allowed by state law. The board’s request is no doubt influenced by the state’s recent budget crisis and …

In this Article:

Northfield Public Schools District Office and Northfield School Board Passes 2011-12 Budget; Considers New Levy

Thursday, July 7, 2011

State of Shutdown: Impact on Northfield Public Schools

The state budget impasse is putting some strains on Minnesota school districts.

Northfield School Board members last month voted unanimously to authorize the district to secure a line of credit to cover expenses in the event of a state shutdown and stoppage of aid payments to school districts. Fortunately for the Northfield district and other districts around Minnesota, Ramsey County District Court Judge Kathleen Gearing last week ruled that the state must continue payments to districts during a shutdown of the Minnesota state government, which happened July 1. That news came as relief to Superintendent Chris Richardson as the Northfield district receives about 70 percent of its $38.2 million annual budget from state funds.  “We really appreciated the willingness of the court to consider the fact that state aid for …

In this Article:

State of Shutdown: Dayton Signs Budget Bills and Clock Strikes Midnight: Minnesota State Government Shuts Down

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Northfield Parents Talk: How Does Your Child Deal With State Testing?

Standardized testing is a spring ritual. Do your children happily sharpen their pencils, or pray for the bell?

  • THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
  • Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Here's this week's topic: Each spring has become a ritual onslaught of standardized testing. How do or did your children cope and prepare for this? What role do or did you play in this? About Parents Talk: Each week in Parents Talk, our Parents Council—a group of moms and dads who work with us to share what matters to them and in turn to other local parents—will take your questions, offer advice and provide solutions. The parents who have graciously given their time and thoughts, and who you'll see posting their comments on our Parents Talk discussions, are: Pat Allen, Megan Basinger, Frances Boehning and Betsy Gasior. For more about Parents Talk, click here.

In this Article:

Pat Allen, Megan Basinger, Frances Boehning, and 2 more ›

Betsy Gasior

11:36 am on Thursday, May 5, 2011

Thanks for sharing, Karen. As I stated, I had test anxiety terribly as a child (even in to college and somehow learned to cope), and can only imagine the terror your son felt. I do have to say, the schools put a HUGE emphasis on them to the kids, almost to a ridiculous degree. Notes are sent home, the kids are talked to about the need for sleep, a really great breakfast...they're even told to …   more ›

Friday, March 18, 2011

Prairie Creek Evaluators Give Charter School an “A”

The Northfield charter school officials anticipate being authorized for another five years.

As public schools around the country face financial challenges and battles over collective bargaining rights, the message about one Northfield school at the Monday's school board meeting was overwhelmingly positive. Reporting on an evaluation of the Castle Rock charter school Prairie Creek Community School, Dr. Rob Hardy said that the process was not only fun but showed that school personnel demonstrated a collective sense of identity and mission. “Everyone is constantly working toward the same educational goals,” Hardy said. “Everyone is engaged in learning and making this a strong learning community.” State law requires that charter schools hire an independent evaluation team as part of the contract renewal process. The Northfield School…

In this Article:

Prairie Creek Community School and Education Department Approves Northfield Public Schools as an Authorizer

Monday, February 28, 2011

Northfield School District to Offer Teachers Early Retirement Incentives

As schools around the state lay-off teachers and cut programs, Northfield hopes to avoid layoffs in budget-balancing measures.

As Northfield School District administrators plan to cut more than $700,000 from their budget for next year, they hope to reduce expenses by offering senior teachers a financial incentive to retire early. At Monday's school board meeting, Director of Human Resources and Technology Matt Hillmann and Director of Business Services Stephanie Shawback presented a plan that could save the district about $2.4 million in salaries over 10 years. The board approved the proposal to offer early retirement to teachers with the most experience and training as part of wide-ranging cost cutting efforts in advance of cuts in state school funding. The savings come from replacing these more senior teachers and their higher salaries with less experienced …

In this Article:

Northfield High School and Northfield Schools Projected to Cut More Than $700,000 From Budget

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Education Department Approves Northfield Public Schools as an Authorizer

With the approval, the school district can continue its oversight of ARTech and Prairie Creek Community School.

Talk about a holiday treat. It's good news for the Northfield School of Arts and Technology, also known as ARTech, and Prairie Creek Community School, both of which are area charter schools. The Minnesota Department of Education late Tuesday afternoon announced that Northfield Public Schools, which has served as a sponsor for both ARTech and Prairie Creek in recent years, has been approved until 2015 to continue as what is now called an authorizer. The announcement comes about two weeks after an initial rejection from the state. ARTech Director Simon Tyler applauded the effort of Northfield Superintendent Chris Richardson and school district officials for achieving the authorization. "It's great news," Tyler said Tuesday. "I think it's a …

In this Article:

Northfield School of Arts and Technology and Prairie Creek Community School

Christine Sullivan

7:16 am on Friday, December 24, 2010

We're thrilled that Northfield is so committed to its two charter schools. Thank you!   more ›

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