MN2020

Minnesota Commons

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:00:14 +0000

By Katie Sanders, Interim Communications Director

There is much talk about the Commons and “Death of the Commons” these days. A basic library journal search shows more writing on the subject in the past two years than the dozens (and hundreds) that preceded them. A brief primer for those unfamiliar to the concept of Commons: The initial concept applied to land used for the good of the whole community, and that it ought to not be enclosed to benefit the good of a single person.

The oppositional next leap (because there is always an oppositional next leap) was the inalienable right of people to property. With that counter-argument, supporters of each view set into motion a chronic debate. It is the stuff of lawsuits and keeping a veritable army of lawyers in abundant salary. Over the years, the commons has come to encompass a great deal more than land use issues, though they remain (forgive me) the foundation. The present era argument for the commons has come to include everything from genetic material, diseases, and radio bandwidth to the languages we create.*

In Minnesota, our Commons have the same range of issues and disagreements. Is a stadium worth publicly financing if I can’t pop by to use it at my own leisure? If trucks hauling sand in Winona wreck the roads ten times faster than normal wear and tear, shouldn’t the company paying for the movement of the materials also repair the roads? Also, there are the limited versions of the commons: I help pay for the streets, but they are maintained, policed and managed by other entities (most of which I also help pay for with my tax money).

In his article “The Future of the Commons,” CUNY Professor David Harvey examines the role of work, value, and property rights, among other topics. In his article, Harvey correctly points out the history of enclosure (i.e. creating a commodity from what was previously held in common) fails to fulfill common interests.

If you’re thinking all of this sounds vaguely familiar in a “99 percent versus one percent” fashion, it is. Here are a few recent examples: ALEC at the Minnesota legislature; the Koch brother’s disproportionate influence in Wisconsin; the housing bubble and anything related to Wall Street, to name a few.

Harvey goes on to say, “….that the unified effect addresses the spiraling degradation of common labor and common land resources…. The point is not to fulfill the requirements of accumulation for accumulation’s sake….the point is to change all that and to find creative ways to use the powers of collective labor for the common good.”

Of this point the Minnesota legislature should be acutely aware as they all face re-election in 2012. The 99 percent are watching and by my count, no matter how much influence can be obtained by the one percent, my public school taught me that 99 is greater than one.

*Commonwealth, by Thomas Hardt and Antonio Negri.2009

MAAP Con 2012 - Final Thoughts

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:00:34 +0000

By Michael Diedrich, Policy Associate

I went to last week's Minnesota Association of Alternative Programs (MAAP) conference not knowing what to expect beyond an interesting list of presentation topics made stronger by the classroom ties of the people doing the presenting. I left the conference tired but with a head full of interesting thoughts.

In case it wasn't clear in past posts, most of the schools in MAAP are working almost exclusively with students who have had little to no success in more conventional school settings. As a result, they face enormous pressure to do things differently and find, well, alternative programs to encourage student learning and prepare students for a rapidly approaching future outside of school.

To characterize these students as “at-risk” is to understate the situation. These students are post-risk, and on the losing side of that risk. This is part of what drives the sense of urgency around developing new approaches to teaching them, and it's a shame that we're resistant to that same mindset with most of our other students.

Perhaps one of the most refreshing things about the conference was seeing how clearly committed these educators were to student learning and how clearly irrelevant they found our current “measures” of student learning (i.e. test scores). We've allowed ourselves to slip into a mindset that decides the most worthwhile thing about a school are the MCA scores it produces once a year.

This (a symptom of the larger attempt to turn education into a marketplace) means that other attempts to encourage innovation struggle. Charter schools were supposed to be about teachers developing new programs to help students learn. Too often, however, we lavish the most praise on schools that, according to their conservative boosters, “[use] 'drill and kill' methods that would drive most education professors shrieking from the room.”

We aspire to more than that, or at least we ought to. The people at the MAAP conference are developing the substance under the shiny surface of online learning (facilitated by an in-person instructor). They're figuring out how to get students learning beyond the classroom. They're getting their students plugged into the generations of wisdom in their communities. There are plenty of teachers in more conventional schools doing the same, but they aren't getting enough credit for that work.

It's time to give credit where it's due and make it easier to build new programs without obsessing over what it means for test scores.

Full MAAP Con Coverage:

Treasure MAAP? T eacher Evaluation Expeditions at Northwest Passage Online/Hybrid Learning Intergenerational Learning Expecting Knowledge Mastery The Keynotes

Future Dimming for House Transportation Bill

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:30:56 +0000

By Riordan Frost, Policy Associate

We recently wrote about the new transportation bill proposed in the House, and disagreed with the direction it contained for America's transportation future. The debate on the bill has been delayed in the House until next week, and in the meantime many others have voiced their opposition.

Smart Growth America, NRDC, Reconnecting America, and Transportation for America were among the sizable group of organizations that signed a letter opposing the bill. The environmental website Grist compiled a number of reactions to the bill, including an article in the New York Times that called the bill 'uniquely terrible.' Most notably, the White House has voiced its opposition to the bill, threatening to veto it should it make an unlikely journey through both chambers. Giving a clear and concise opinion of the executive branch's opinion was U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who called it the "the worst transportation bill I've ever seen during 35 years of public service."

There are many sticking points, including the provisions aimed at expediting approval for the Keystone XL pipeline and opening up drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. Perhaps the biggest sticking point of all, however, is the proposed change in funding for public transit. Currently, transit funding has a secure position in the Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund, which steers a small portion of the federal gas tax to transit. This makes good policy sense, due to public transit's role in congestion relief and energy efficient mobility, which is why the policy has been in place since the early 1980s.

The new transportation bill, however, proposes setting up an 'Alternative Transportation Account' and giving it a one-time infusion of $40 billion, taking away the secure funding home for transit, and leaving its future uncomfortably uncertain.

Taking away the current dedicated funding source for transit jeopardizes its position at exactly the wrong moment, and we need look no further than our own state for proof. Minnesota saw record transit ridership in 2011, and Metro Transit's Commuter Challenge was a big success too. According to Metro Transit, "customers boarded Metro Transit buses and trains nearly 81 million times in 2011 – an increase of 2.7 million rides (3.5%) over 2010." Additionally, Minnesotans who took the Commuter Challenge in 2011 tracked 195,000 trips totalling 2.45 million miles, and saving an estimated 114,000 gallons of fuel.

Transit deserves a committed and secure funding source, and both Minnesota and the nation as a whole deserve a better transportation bill than the one proposed in the House. A bipartisan bill is making its way through the Senate, so stay tuned for further analysis as it progresses.

MAAP Con 2012 - The Keynotes

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:00:57 +0000

By Michael Diedrich, Policy Associate

Last week's Minnesota Association of Alternative Programs (MAAP) conference featured three keynote speakers: the thought-provoking Marion Brady, rabble-rousing Kirsten Olson, and gleefully iconoclastic Don Glines. While most of the conference's presentations came from people in the classroom, the keynotes gave a chance to zoom out and ask the big picture questions about what really drives learning and what that means for schools.

Brady – an education scholar and commentator – challenged the audience to rethink how we categorize learning in schools. He argued that much of what we debate now aims to wring the last bits of productivity from language arts, math, science, social studies, world language, physical education, and the arts as separate disciplines. Rather than pursue that course, he suggested a new aim: Teaching students how to make sense of experience. Brady believes that by reframing learning around investigations that develop a mental organization system built around who, what, where, when, and why, we can better prepare students for dealing with new situations and experiences.

Olson zoomed out even further. A researcher and consultant, her focus has been more about figuring out why students disengage from school and the connection between school experiences and learning. She found that many people who have succeeded at learning did so primarily outside of (or in spite of) their schooling. Her primary concerns were about how our prescriptive approach that assumes one “right” way of teaching and learning actually damages many students' relationship with learning.

Glines, the former head of the Wilson Campus School in Mankato, would probably have been up for leading a march from the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester all the way up to the capitol building in Saint Paul. In by far the most charged keynote, he exhorted the group to challenge pretty much everything about the current policy structure for schools. He believes that categorizing the kinds of programs represented at the MAAP conference as “alternative programs” pushes them aside and attaches stigma for being different from more conventional approaches to school. He'd much rather fling open the doors to a wide variety of programs within traditional public school districts.

The bottom line here is that there are people putting out serious thoughts that challenge much of the current mindset dominating education discussions these days. They are deeply committed to genuine learning and truly believe that what we're doing isn't working for most of our students.

Granting Preservation and Development

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:00:08 +0000

By Lee Egerstrom, Economic Development Fellow

A Connecticut foundation has made a $15,000 grant to Preservation Alliance of Minnesota (PAM) for the St. Paul-based group to study how a revolving fund might help communities preserve historic properties and spur economic activity.

The money is coming from the 1772 Foundation which supports preservation programs nationwide and the preservation of properties in New Jersey, Connecticut and Rhode Island. The grant to PAM allows the Minnesota group to study how a revolving fund would help efforts to identify historic properties and the issues or barriers to their reuse. The grant will also help identify how a revolving fund and PAM could help the process.

All one needs to do is look at scenic St. Croix and Mississippi River towns and the visitors and shoppers they attract, says Will O’Keefe, PAM’s communication and program director.

Data assembled for PAM’s Minnesota Main Street Program in 2011 found a three-to-one relationship between private and public investment for improvements and business development in historic buildings, O’Keefe said. In five participating cities in the program, 61 full-time jobs were created, 24 new businesses were started, 47 rehab improvements were undertaken, and three public improvements were started.

In the first seven months of the Minnesota Main Street Program, PAM found that preservation improvements returned $9.20 to the state for every $1 invested, and that 14 projects underway are projected to create nearly 3,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs.

A private foundation grant that might improve on PAM’s preservation record will pay dividends to the state, our communities and our individual quality of life.

MAAP Con 2012 - Expecting Knowledge Mastery

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:00:53 +0000

By Michael Diedrich, Policy Associate

For the last few days, I've been covering the Minnesota Association of Alternative Programs (MAAP) conference in Rochester and passing on some of the most interesting, exciting, and thought-provoking concepts.

The final presentation I attended was given late on Friday morning by a teacher from the Wayzata Focus Program, which is an alternative program aimed at helping students build the skills for success in a more conventional classroom environment. His focus was on a grading philosophy that expects knowledge mastery from all students. It was a powerful reminder that, though the conference was organized around “alternative” programs, “alternative” doesn't mean weak standards or low expectations.

The Wayzata Focus Program grading policy requires students to score 70% proficiency or higher on all assignments and assessments in a given term. If a student scores less than 70% on an item, the student must revise or correct it in order for it to count as complete. During the first two terms, students must have all work completed, thereby earning a minimum grade of C-. Students who with incomplete work receive an “I” course grade (for “Incomplete”) and have two weeks to complete all work at 70% or higher. Students who do not complete all work during those two weeks see that “I” become an “F”.

During the second two terms, the policy toughens up. 70% is still the minimum for each assignment, but students now have only one week from when an assignment was due to complete or revise the work. An assignment that is still missing or incomplete after that week receives a zero.

What has this grading policy done for the program's students? The first class of students to finish the program while this policy was in effect saw assignment completion rates in the 85-95% range depending on the term. These, again, are students who have traditionally struggled with skills like work completion in more conventional classrooms.

The Focus Program is still working to improve the consistency of the policy – some subsequent classes saw completion rates around 75% – and this policy wouldn't work for all students. The real point here is that increasing the variety of programming in the public school system and creating interventions for struggling students doesn't have to mean lowering standards.

VIDEO: Right to Freeload

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:30:55 +0000

By Tom Niemisto, Video Production Specialist

When we look deeper into the proposed constitutional amendment to make Minnesota a "right-to-work" state, it's important to know what could be stripped away by proposed legislation. As we've highlighted over the past two weeks, removing benefits provided by unions would compromise safety, shortcut training programs, even eliminate voices in contract negotiations.

It is also important to listen to workers who would be directly impacted by weakening collective bargaining policy in the workplace.

MAAP Con 2012 - Intergenerational Learning

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:30:49 +0000

By Michael Diedrich, Policy Associate

For the next few days, I'll be covering the Minnesota Association of Alternative Programs (MAAP) conference in Rochester and passing on some of the most interesting, exciting, and thought-provoking concepts.

A teacher from the Owatonna Options Program (a student-directed learning community inside Owatonna High School) gave the second presentation I attended on Thursday morning. His focus was on intergenerational learning though the incorporation of senior members of a school's local community.

When we do talk about schools connecting with their surrounding communities (which we don't do often enough), we often talk about connecting schools with local businesses to arrange for mentorships, supervised work experiences, or technical trainings. Beyond this strictly econo-centric domain, the conversation dries up.

This can be a loss for our students and teachers, as local seniors can often prove to be an invaluable resource for academics and student sense of connection to a broader world. Too often, school becomes a clearly artificial, constructed experience. For students that don't buy into the worth of that experience, this is a recipe for checking out of school (mentally if not physically). By tying school into the reality of the local community, students can feel a more immediate connection to what they're learning.

Seniors can be one route to this connection. While Google might be able to point students to a list of events that occurred during the 1960's, Mr. and Mrs. Larson from Beech Street can talk about what the civil rights movement looked like up here (Did you know that we used to have an active chapter of the KKK in town?), and Ms. Glenn – who was a Freedom Rider and marched with Dr. King – can talk about being in the movement.

Will this directly impact test scores? I don't know. Will this give students a better grounding in their community? If it's done correctly, yes. And that's worth fighting for, too.

On Deregulation

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:00:58 +0000

By Jim Spensley, Hindsight Community Fellow

Recently, Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) staff prepared an environmental assessment (EA) based on language in FAA Re-Authorization. MAC Environmental Manager, Roy Fuhrmann, reportedly said of the assessment; “…isn’t about the environment; it’s really about options for expanding MSP.”

The EA offers only two scenarios for expanding MSP, one of which is “no action.”

The first alternative is to add gates at the Humphrey Terminal, then move American, United, and other airlines there, then re-model the Lindbergh Terminal for exclusive use of the Delta Airlines hub.

The “no action” alternative is: Add gates at the Humphrey Terminal and re-model the Lindbergh Terminal for more use as the Delta Airlines hub. In this case, "no action" really means don't build more gates at Humphrey after the current capital improvements (which include two additional gates), are completed. Therefore, "no action" actually amounts to more use of MSP, including more use as the Delta Airlines hub.

Either proposal is based on the data of increasing numbers of flights. More flights will logically result in more noise. However, the Noise Oversight Committee has already determined that whichever alternative is chosen, the noise levels will be acceptable because of (projected) less-noisy aircraft and precision navigation systems. Which begs the questions: Would approval of the EA prevent airlines from flying noisier aircraft? Would approval of the EA require MSP and airlines to install, to possess, and use only aircraft equipped with precision navigation components? Will flight path changes made last year (after the near-mid-air collision of September 2010) that inundated Standish-Ericsson and adjacent neighborhoods be continued or revised? None of these concerns is addressed by the EA. Also missing from the report are the actual environmental impacts of more deicing and more taxiing, more high-pressure fuel lines and fueling stations, more runoff, and more vehicular traffic at MSP.

The public should demand more of both FAA and MAC. It is long past time for elected officials to intervene. The South Metro Airport Action Council’s observation that noise and pollution can be reduced and safety increased by simply reducing peak hour rates could be correct, and that alternative should be in any legitimate EA and improvements plan--considering the other alternatives depend upon uncertainties.

EnergyScoreCards

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:00:01 +0000

By Katie Sanders, Interim Communications Director

It is difficult to imagine any market that has yet to be explored for cost savings opportunities. However, many of us wake up in one daily: Multifamily rental properties, also known as apartment buildings. CenterPoint Energy and the Greater Minnesota Housing Fund are in the process of rolling out a new program that will study this very issue. According to their website, “[EnergyScoreCards™] program aims to demonstrate that engaging multifamily owners, property managers and tenants in actively managing energy use can measurably reduce utility spending, energy and water consumption and carbon emissions.”

While the program is in a pilot stage here, it borrows from a program established by Bright Power, Inc., an energy consulting firm based in New York. About two years old, EnergyScoreCards™ are catching on for use by both companies and municipalities across the country.

EnergyScoreCards™ is a database that benchmarks the utility and water use of one building against comparable buildings. The pilot program is scheduled to last two years in Minnesota, after which the two funding partners of CenterPoint Energy and Greater Minnesota Housing Fund will sort through the data.

For example, if a water heater is both inefficient and electric, the energy use will add up quickly. But what inspiration, if any, does a property owner have for investing in an efficient appliance?

Additionally, participants in the pilot program have access to a portfolio analysis tool that can tell them what building, if they own several, will give them the best return on investment if made more efficient.

Pam Schmidt, Vice-President of Minneapolis-based Sherman Associates signed on early to the study. “Utility costs are usually the largest single expense for our properties. Benchmarking has enabled us to reduce or control our utility costs. This process of collecting, analyzing, and reviewing energy data performance has enabled us to drive more energy savings across our portfolio of all property types market rate rental, affordable rental, commercial, and hotel,” Schmidt said.

“What’s in it for the building owner is a sense of ‘Where do I stand?’” said Janne Flisrand, the Program Coordinator at Minnesota Green Communities. “By looking at the benchmarking the property owner can tell what to invest in to save money. Is it water or electric? It provides the groundwork for effective utility management in buildings.”

MAAP Con 2012 - Online/Hybrid Learning

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 20:30:12 +0000

By Michael Diedrich, Policy Associate

My first presentation on Thursday afternoon was about online/hybrid learning, presented by a teacher from District 287. The main thrust of the presentation, in Star Trek Ed terms, was about moving past the shiny factor to the substance factor of online-facilitated learning.

An interesting point about framing came up early in the presentation: the presenter noted that we should stop talking about “online learning” as wholly distinct from “learning.” As we get better and better at using online tools to help learning happen, more and more learning will take place online. In other words, it'll stop being a separate kind of learning and just be learning.

Another interesting story to come out of the presentation was that the presenter was able to increase his class sizes without a drop in learning by using online units he'd designed using Moodle. This particular tool allows students to work with a variety of texts organized around a particular set of skills, get feedback on assessments of those skills, and advance through the teacher's pre-approved sequence of learning for the unit at their own pace.

Allowing students to pick units increases their buy-in at the beginning of the unit, and structuring the unit to give them a significant sense of progress early on turns that buy-in into positive momentum. For students who have struggled with more traditional classroom environments, this can be a major factor in keeping them learning.

This doesn't mean that teachers sit back and watch students stare at glowing screens. Instead, teachers move between the unit groups to provide context and push students to think deeper.

The bottom line for this presentation is that we're getting better at using technology to make learning happen, but that progress on this front requires teachers to rethink how they teach. Instead of replicating traditional lectures, packets, and worksheets, learning can now be about structuring the sequence of independent activities to build the desired skills. There's still a lot of work yet to do to realize the biggest dreams of the techno-advocates, but it's good to know it's not all about the shiny.

Sen. Senjem’s Freudian Slip

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 19:00:09 +0000

By John Van Hecke, Executive Director & Fellow

After Governor Dayton’s State of the State speech, conservative Minnesota State Senate Majority Caucus Leader Dave Senjem reacted to Dayton’s vision. “We weren't called incompetent to govern or anything like that, so that kind of rhetoric was absent and thank goodness it was. I think he extended a spirit of cooperation to us, and we'll certainly reach back to him and certainly work with him towards a successful session."

Hmm. Where to begin?

Whenever I hear someone refute an unalleged allegation—in this case, “you’re incompetent to govern”—I immediately assume the affirmation. In other words, when Leader Senjem goes out of his way to deny that conservative policy leaders are incompetent to govern, that tells me that, at some Freudian level, Leader Senjem believes that conservative caucus members are incompetent to govern.

To be fair, coming off of eight years of the Pawlenty Administration, conservatives can govern. I whole-heartedly disagree with their public policy orientation and believe that many of Pawlenty’s choices have dug Minnesota deeper into a hole but, clearly, Pawlenty met the minimum governance standard. The world did not end during Pawlenty’s terms and the sun rose after his final day in office.

I would, however, like to correct Leader Senjem. The legislature’s role is to legislate, not to govern. Sure, broadly, governance can refer to our entire tri-partite system of government, that unique separation of powers structure designed to ensure that not too much can go wrong too quickly. Specifically, Governor Dayton’s job is to govern; the State House and State Senate legislate. Legislating is a big, important job—a pillar, in fact, of representative democracy—but the legislature isn’t the executive branch. Leader Senjem’s comments suggest something different.

If Minnesota’s public policy leaders are serious about toning down the rhetoric and focusing on shared values leading towards legislative session accomplishments, this would be a good place to start. If Minnesota’s elected leaders focus on what really matters—education, jobs, healthcare—Minnesota moves forward. If the distractions, bickering and sniping continue, Minnesota falls behind. And, I really mean it.

MAAP Con 2012 - Expeditions at Northwest Passage

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:00:01 +0000

By Michael Diedrich, Policy Associate

My first presentation on Thursday came from two teachers at Northwest Passage High School. They described their school's use of “expeditions,” which are less metaphorical than they sound. Several times a year, the teachers take students outside the "normal" school environment to encourage team-building, problem solving, and navigating relationships with peers and adults.

The expeditions are broken up into three different levels that increase in duration and intensity. Low-level expeditions could be a night or two spent close to home. At their most intense, students spend a week or more backpacking in Texas, exploring Mammoth Cave, or adventuring in other ways and locations. These highest level expeditions usually require students to meet certain physical fitness standards and often result in intense personal discoveries.

Roughly thirty-five trips are offered in a given year, with six over the summer. The 180-student school can afford this by asking a lot of their 15 member staff. In addition to being teachers, staff are also licensed bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and pretty much all of the other work of keeping the school functioning.

Of course, this approach will not work for all students. Part of the point of this conference is that no approach works for all students. Programs like Northwest Passage are aimed at students who have struggled in more traditional school settings, though one could argue that there are plenty of students that merely get by in traditional settings who would thrive in a school more like Northwest Passage.

What was missing from this presentation? Any discussion of test scores. The teachers clearly have a different definition of what is worth aiming for in terms of student success. The kinds of outcomes that motivate these teachers – increased self-confidence (distinct from typical teenage bravado), better coping skills, improved relationship-building abilities – are critical to students' lifelong success and impossible to measure on the MCAs. It's worth reminding ourselves from time to time that there's more to school than a particular subset of math and reading comprehension skills.

P.S. Those who are interested in learning more about Northwest Passage's work can see more at http://fieldnotes.nwphs.org, which features pictures and reflections from the expeditions.

Debunking Myths of Affordable Housing

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:30:31 +0000

By Chip Halbach, Executive Director MHP

Affordable housing in Minnesota still is getting a bad rap, but this might change with a new public television documentary airing on Sunday: Homes for All.

Evidence of continuing NIMBY challenges facing families needing housing surfaced in the community outreach process the state went through in preparation of the 2012-16 Consolidated Plan. This is a document that is required to be completed every five years in order to receive various federal housing resources.

For the Plan, state agency staff completed extensive interviews with community leaders to determine the need for housing as well as barriers to creating housing affordable to people with incomes too low to be served by the private market.

Shortage of resources to cover the gap between what people can pay and the cost of housing ranked as the number one barrier. But barriers related to social perception are still prevalent.

One individual surveyed said in his community there was a prevailing sentiment that by creating housing for homeless individuals, homeless people would move into the community.

Another survey responder identified community ignorance of the struggles many families face in surviving on low incomes, particularly when housing costs are increasing faster than incomes as they have for renters over the past decade.

Many participants in the state survey said that public education on challenges faced by low income people would be beneficial and, in particular, information about the quality of affordable housing now being produced in Minnesota.

Many people have a very limited understanding of affordable housing and form opinions, pro or con, from a narrow base of experience. And for older Minnesotans that understanding was based on outdated images of massive, crime ridden, poorly-funded public housing projects here and elsewhere.

To bring this understanding of affordable housing up to date, TPT Minnesota has produced a one-hour documentary, titled Homes for All. The documentary offers an insider’s view of affordable housing in Minnesota and the people and communities that rely on it. The documentary profiles residents, developers and community members in three Twin Cities affordable housing developments.

Homes for All is being shown on TPT’s Minnesota and Life channels. After the show premiers February 19 (8 pm on TPT MN) it will be available “on demand” at tpt.org.

I encourage people to bring an open mind to the topic affordable housing and watch the TPT program. I think that you’ll find Minnesota’s affordable housing to be architecturally pleasing, durable and well run. And, I believe that you will find the residents of affordable housing the good neighbors we want in Minnesota.

MAAP Con 2012: Teacher Evaluation

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:00:55 +0000

By Michael Diedrich, Policy Associate

The first presentation I attended, presented by two administrators from White Bear Lake, offered perspectives on teacher evaluation that higher level policy discussions often overlook.

The presenters cautioned against “the widget effect” that treats teachers as interchangeable widgets rather than individuals with multiple routes to effectiveness. They also encouraged a mindset organized around growth rather than judgment or punishment. One further point they raised was about the importance of differentiating formative assessment -- aimed at improving or shaping skills -- from summative assessment -- aimed at providing quality assurance -- which is an important distinction when too many of our policymakers seem fixated solely on summative quality assurance when most of our focus should be on formative skill development.

The presentation also listed five questions we should ask about all teacher evaluation systems (including the statewide system currently in development). The five questions are:

Do the criteria and tools cover the classroom performance areas most connected to student outcomes? Do the criteria and tools set high performance expectations for teachers, or do they settle for minimally acceptable performance? Are the performance expectations for teachers clear and precise? Are the criteria and tools student-centered, requiring evaluators to look for direct evidence of student engagement and learning? Are the criteria and tools concise enough for teachers and evaluators to understand thoroughly and use easily?

These questions combine fairness to teachers with a persistent focus on relevant student outcomes. It should be noted that even an evaluation system that satisfactorily answers all of these questions depends on competent evaluators to be effective. There's a lot more to talk about with regard to teacher evaluation, and we'll have more on teacher evaluation next week. Stay tuned!