Presumably you're reading this because you're interested in issues around the Achievement Gap. You'll notice that there are not many topic areas in the table of contents on the left. That's because . . . Read more
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Recent Brown Bag Videos
(April 28th, 2012)
Emily Puetz, Chief Academic Officer for the Minneapolis Public Schools, spoke at an Achievement Gap Brown Bag on April 13th.
Dr. Misty Sato of the University of Minnesota spoke at an Achievement Gap Brown Bag on April 27th.
Rosemary Frazel Brown Bag - the school readiness gap - May 11th
(April 27th, 2012)
Focusing on what matters to close the school readiness gap: teacher-child interactions
At the May 11th AGC forum, Rosemary Frazel will provide an overview of the research that supports the use of the Classroom Assessment and Scoring System (the "CLASS") as a tool for understanding the quality of student- teacher interactions in pre-K classrooms. She will also discuss use of the CLASS to improve teacher effectiveness through coaching. Rosemary has been working with the CLASS for two and half years both as an observer and as a trainer of coaches. She was previously a parent educator in ECFE and Public Policy Director for the Children's Defense Fund-MN.
The May 11th AGC forumwill be from noon to 1:30 pm, at University Lutheran Church of Hope, 601 13th Ave. SE, Minneapolis. Attendance is free and open to the public.
Misty Sato Brown Bag
(April 22nd, 2012)
Professor Sato in the College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnnesota, leads the college's TERI (Teacher Education Re-Design Initiative) program. On Friday, April 27th, she will speak at a Brown Bag on the work, both present and future, that the college is doing to improve the quality of Minnesota's teachers. The meeting will be from noon to 1:30 pm, at University Lutheran Church of Hope, 601 13th Ave. SE, Minneapolis. Attendance is free and open to the public
Pacific Education Group Brown Bag - April 20th
(April 10th, 2012)
The Pacific Education Group aims to help Minnesota school districts overcome the impact of racism and White privilege on students' learning. On Friday, April 20, noon to 1:30 pm, at House of Hope Presbyterian Church, 797 Summit Avenue, Saint Paul, you can hear of a representative of the organization. Luis Versalles is a former principal in the Richfield School District before joining PEG. He will speak on the organization's work nationally and locally and tell you how the organization actually conducts "Courageous Conversations". This forum is free and open to the public.
League of Women Voters: Forum on the Acheivement Gap - April 16th
(April 9th, 2012)
Part of a series. The panelists include Karen Kelley-Ariwoola, Eric Mahmoud, Sara Paul, Mark Bonine, and Lynn Nordgren. The forum will be held Monday, April 16th, at 7 pm. For lots more details visit the League's web site.
Emily Puetz Brown Bag - April 13th
(April 1st, 2012)
On Friday noon, April 13
, Emily Puetz will give us an up-to-date report on Focused
Instruction, a key element in the District's program to improve
school outcomes. She has been Chief Academic Officer for the
Minneapolis Public Schools since 2010. She was previously
director of teaching and learning at Eden Prairie Schools and has
also run a private educational program. . . .Read more
Our April Agenda
(April 1st, 2012)
April is a big month for the Achievement Gap committee. Of the four events in April, three of them are Brown Bags, and one is an evening forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters. We'll send out more info as each event draws near, but here are the dates and times for you to mark on your calendar: . . .Read more
Robert Bruininks Video
(March 2nd, 2012)
Dr. Robert Bruininks, former President of the University of Minnesota, spoke at an Achievement Gap Brown Bag on March 2nd.
Michelle Walker Video
(February 28th, 2012)
Michelle Walker, the Accountability Officer for the Saint Paul Public
Schools, spoke at an Achievement Gap Brown Bag at the end of February.
Rick Mills Video
(March 2nd, 2012)
Rick Mills, the CEO of the Minneapolis Public Schools, spoke at an
Achievement Gap Brown Bag in early February. (This was our first attempt
at doing a video, and we apologize for the poor quality of the video
itself; but it seemed to us you might like to hear Mr. Mills in spite of
that.)
Mar 2 Brown Bag - Robert Bruininks
(February 18th, 2012)
Our next Minneapolis meeting -Friday noon, March 2nd - features Robert Bruininks, former president of the University of Minnesota. Earlier he spent seven years as chair of the University's Department of Educational Psychology.
Last year the U of M Alumni Association said Bruininks is "preparing for a year's leave of absence during which he'll travel from Paris to Sydney to investigate how other countries are organizing higher education in the face of dwindling resources. Then he'll return to the University faculty as part of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. He wants to examine how universities can narrow the achievement gap among young children. He plans to return to his education psychology roots and offer proposals on how to revive public education, from K through U."
We meet in the University Lutheran Church of Hope, 13th Avenue and 6th St. S.E. Mpls. Parking on north side of the building. 12 NOON Bag lunch - bring a sandwich. Coffee and water supplied. If you plan to attend sign up here.
Feb 24 Brown Bag - Michelle Walker
(February 18th, 2012)
Dr. Michelle Walker, Accountability Officer for the Saint Paul Public
Schools, will speak this Friday, February 24, noon, at the Achievement
Gap Committee Forum at House of Hope Presbyterian Church, 797 Summit
Avenue, Saint Paul. She will speak on the process of updating the
District's strategic plan, "Strong Schools; Strong Communities," through
the inclusion of over 100 recommendations from the nine community
action teams organized by the District that presented their
recommendations to the District last December. The largest Action Team,
The Achievement Gap Action Team, was co-chaired by Grant Abbott,
co-chair with Don Fraser of the Achievement Gap Committee.
if you are
planning to come, please
register here.
February 10th Brown Bag - Rick Mills from John Risken
(January 30th, 2012)
On Friday noon February 10 we will hear Rick Mills, CEO of the Minneapolis Public School System (second in command), speak about the progress of Minneapolis students in reducing the achievement gap. A retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, Mills . . .Read more
St. Paul Brown Bag - Julie Landsman from Grant Abbott
(January 14th, 2012)
The next Achievement Gap Committee event in Saint Paul will feature veteran teacher, teacher educator, and author Julie Landsman . She taught for twenty-five years in the Minneapolis Public Schools and continues to teach and consult at local colleges of education. She is the author of A White Teacher Talks about Race and with Chance Lewis edited White Teachers/Diverse Classrooms: A Guide to Building Inclusive Schools Promoting High Expectations, and Eliminating Racism . She will talk about what needs to be done to overcome the impact of White privilege and racism in our schools and especially in our classrooms.
This meeting will be on Friday, January 27, Noon to 1:30 pm, at House of Hope Presbyterian Church 797 Summit Avenue. Parking is on the north side of the church off Portland Avenue. Please enter through the door across from the parking lot. Also, please bring your own lunch.
Ann Marie DeGroot - January 13th Brown Bag from John Risken
(January 5th, 2012)
On Friday noon January 13 Ann Marie DeGroot, Executive Director of the Minneapolis Youth Coordinating Board, will tell us about the work of the YCB on the 25th anniversary of its founding. Consisting of elected officials from all the public agencies that have an impact on Minneapolis children, the YCB is working to better coordinate services among the many youth-serving organizations, to involve youth in public decision-making, and to set fresh goals to improve outcomes for Minneapolis children.
The meeting is at the University Lutheran Church of Hope at 13th Avenue and 6th Street in Southeast Minneapolis. Bring a bag lunch - water and coffee will be supplied. Parking available on northeast side of Church.
Pam Costain. November 4th.
(October 22nd, 2011)
Friday noon, November 4th, Pam Costain will speak on building a system for career and college readiness: what's working and new directions. Pam is a former chair of the Minneapolis School Board and has been president of AchieveMpls since June 2010. AchieveMpls is a strategic nonprofit partner of the Minneapolis Public Schools Within the last six months the Minneapolis School District has received $13 million from four local corporations, and it is undertaking changes that Pam will describe as she shares her expectations for the future. The 12 noon meeting is a bag lunch at the University Lutheran Church of Hope at 13th Avenue and 6th Street in southeast Minneapolis.
October 28th, Friday Noon
(October 16th, 2011)
Candidates for the Saint Paul School Board (seven of the ten as of today) will join us for a conversation on how to address the equity/opportunity/achievement gap in the Saint Paul Schools. Grant Abbott will moderate. The meeting will be Friday, October 28, noon to 1:30 pm, at House of Hope Presbyterian Church, 797 Summit Avenue, St. Paul. Parking is available in the lot north of the church off Portland Avenue. Entrance is on the north side of the church. Coffee and tea water provided, but people who attend are asked to bring their own lunch.
The Twin Cities Daily Planet wants to learn what folks believe schools should do to narrow the achievement gap. Here are their questions: What's the best way to close the achievement gap? Is the best solution to: A) Increase engagement between schools and communities B) Focus on accountability and basic reading and math skills C) Focus on intensive intervention after school and in early childhood, or D) A different approach. At the October 14th meeting of the Committee on the Achievement Gap they will ask these questions of those in attendance. The answers they hear will be recorded and at the end of the month they will write an article summarizing what they've heard across this and several other conversations across the Twin Cities. This October 14th meeting will be at 12 noon at the University Hope Lutheran Church at 13th Avenue and 6th street in Southeast Minneapolis. This is a bag lunch with coffee and water provided. Please let us know if you plan to come.
FRIDAY NOON, September 30th - Mary Cathryn Ricker
(September 25th, 2011)
Mary Cathryn Ricker will speak on the efforts of the Saint Paul Federation of Teachers to end the equity/achievement gap in the Saint Paul Public Schools. Mary Cathryn is a nationally board certified teacher with many years of classroom experience and is in her fourth term as president of the Federation. The meeting is Friday, September 30, Noon to 1:30 pm, at House of Hope Presbyterian Church, 797 Summit Avenue, Saint Paul 55105. Parking for the event is in the church's parking lot on the north side of the church off Portland Avenue.
FRIDAY NOON APRIL 29 - Achievement Gap Committee
(April 18th, 2011)
State Representative Carlos Mariani-Rosa will speak on the work of the Minnesota Minority Education Partnership. He will also report on the status of education funding.
The Minnesota Minority Education Partnership was founded in 1987 and seeks to increase the success of Students of Color and American Indian Students in Minnesota schools, colleges, and universities.
Bag lunch at the House of Hope Presbyterian Church, 797 Summit Avenue, Saint Paul. (Parking lot on the north side of the church off Portland Avenue).
Focused Instruction - Achievement Gap, April 15th from Emily Puetz
(March 22nd, 2011)
(To be featured at the April 15th Achievement Gap meeting)
Presented at the Minneapolis School Board meeting on February 8th, 2011.
Welcome
(February 20th, 2011)
This is the web site for Achievement Gap - Minnesota, an informal, twice-monthly gathering of people interested in finding ways that all students in Minnesota can learn to their full potential regardless of their ethnicity, sex, or country of origin.