Friday Round-Up Feeding Frenzy

No recipes this week, but a timely trio of tales from the Utne Reader, In These Times, and the American News Project highlight the politics of school lunches. Congress will be re-authorizing the Child Nutrition and WIC Act this year, financing federal school breakfast and lunch programs, plus the food-stamp program. With children – particularly poorer kids – facing all kinds of child obesity problems these days, lawmakers will (pardon the puns) have their plates full sorting things out. One thing’s for sure, says the American News Project, it’s going to be a feeding frenzy for the agricultural-industrial complex.

More Highlights:

• Now this is what I call inspiring. Particularly the first three students – not to detract from the achievements of student #4, of course. But those first three might as well be poster children for the poor urban students of Minneapolis and St Paul, except they look like they’re going to “make it out.” I’ve got nothing but respect for these kids, and the mentors who helped them out.
• Obama hits out at urban school districts for failing to educate their students – but he wants to help them reform! (Washington Post)
• A propos of this: The legislature tries to answer the question: What do you do if you require students to pass a test, but don’t teach them well enough to pass it? (Pioneer Press, TC Daily Planet)
• A boozin’ substitute teacher in St Paul (Pioneer Press)
• Trying to fight the achievement gap, Minneapolis Public Schools, the Minneapolis Urban League, and Front Street Marketing and Communication are working together to recruit poor kids into a federally-funded tutoring program. (Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder)
• Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis tries advertising to draw families back. Ever since Minneapolis and St Paul school officials started talking about needing to draw students away from charters, I’ve wondered when this would happen. Apparently it’s had an effect, says the report. (KTSP)
• The St Paul Federation of Teachers doesn’t like anyone running for school board this year! (Emily Johns/Star Tribune)
• ”Say you retire from a job that involves traveling long distances to dangerous places in order to focus on children and family. What happens when your old job calls you back? Especially if that job involves serving your country in uniform?” (Tell Me More/National Public Radio)

Filed under: Announcements, Minneapolis, Minnesota, National, St Paul, Achievement Gap, Carlos Mariani, Charter Schools, Early Chilldhood Education, Education, Education Funding, Education Policy, Education Reform, Federal Education Policy, GRAD test, Military Moms, Minneapolis Public Schools, Minnesota, President Obama, School Lunches, St Paul Public Schools

New Money for Early Childhood Education?

Jill Davis. Image taken from http://www.jilldavis.net

On Monday, I sat down with Minneapolis Board of Education member Jill Davis, to talk about President-elect Obama’s promised $10 billion in federal aid for Early Childhood and Family Education. Davis was elected to the Board in November, and brings with her long experience working with young children and families as a child psychologist and administrator with Anoka County’s Children and Family Services.

Much of Obama’s proposed aid would be distributed to local governments and school districts to support the setting up of Early Childhood (Prekindergarten and Kindergarten) and Family Education programs. Numerous studies have pointed to the importance of quality early education in determining a child’s future success in school and life.

Filed under: Minneapolis, National, Early Chilldhood Education, Education, Education Funding, Education Policy, Education Reform, Federal Education Policy, Jill Davis, Minneapolis

Dept. of Shameless Self-Promotion

New articles up at the Daily Planet:
“Pushing against the achievement gap”
The high schoolers in Claire Hypolite’s chemistry class are clustered in little knots of desks, heads down and pencils flying as they grapple with packets of homework problems. They toss solutions and gossip back and forth in English, Somali, and Hmong while they work. Watching this entirely generic classroom scene, it’s hard to believe more than 80% of these kids were failing this class only a few months ago.

“Schools Pay, Society Benefits from ECE”
How do you market an investment that costs almost twice as much as the losses it’s designed to offset? One way is to wait for someone else to fund it.

Filed under: Announcements, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Achievement Gap, Claire Hypolite, Early Chilldhood Education, Edison High School, Education, Education Funding, Education Reform, Minnesota, Shameless Self-Promotion, Wilder Foundation