LearnmoreMN Blog

Success in college starts in high school

By Dave Ellefson, June guest blogger

All of the calendars that I look at tell me that spring has begun and summer will be here on June 21^st. However, the reality has been that since spring was declared by my calendar, Minnesota has had record snowfalls and the temperature seems unwilling to stay above average for this time of year. The calendar says one thing; that doesn’t mean that the weather will be what we expect. Likewise, students earn diplomas, but that doesn’t mean they’re ready to succeed.

In other words, if our graduates have done all that is required of them, will they be able to take those skills and be successful at the school they attend? The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) reports that for the class of 2009 in Minnesota, 29% of students in associate programs completed them in three years, and 60% of students in bachelor’s programs completed them in six years. Bachelor’s completion numbers have been improving over the past 10 years, but the associate numbers have been trending downward. These statistics are shocking to me and I believe they should be shared with students, parents, educators and policymakers.

I know that academic preparation will always be an important component to students completing coursework in a timely manner. However, to obtain even better results we must focus on the career decision process. Students need to have time in their high school day to investigate, explore and set goals concerning their education and career futures. I believe that when a school begins to allow students to focus on career education in a purposeful and timely manner, it will empower its students to follow a path that will lead to successful completion of their post-high school experience.

In the K-12 Omnibus bill, Individual Learning Plans are now a required component of a student‘s education. The U of M’s Ramp-Up to Readiness program provides the scope and sequence, and the curriculum to develop an Individual Learning Plan for all middle school and high school students. Ramp-Up helps students learn about the soft skills that are needed to persist at college. Lessons teach students about the job market, choosing colleges, and about financial-aid. Students learn about how they may use advanced coursework to challenge themselves and get a jump start on college coursework.

Goal setting is a key skill which Ramp-Up uses to help students give direction and purpose to their learning. As my school began to implement Ramp-Up this year, it was interesting how students would come to my office and make comments about the program. From there they would ask a question which always related back to the topics that they recently covered in their Ramp-Up sessions. Our school did not implement Ramp-Up as effectively as it could have; however, this year we had more students complete college applications earlier in the school year. There was also an increase in the number of students registering for Advanced Placement courses and College in the School coursework for next year.

Schools must create a climate that will meet the needs of all students to be college and career ready. What examples can you share that are helping make students college and career ready?

STEM inequity starts early

By Yvonne Ng, January guest blogger

As a new mother, I’m seeing STEM education efforts through a slightly different lens. It is important for me to be sure that my son and his classmates have every opportunity to be employable in our high tech future (so he can get a good paying job, move out of the house, and if I raise him right, tend to my husband and me in our old age!).

But seriously, I’m not the only one. Efforts by organizations like Generation: Next and Minnesota Compass are trying to ensure that our educational system unlocks the potential of all our children.

In Minnesota, this is particularly important, not just for our bastion of biotech firms, but also for manufacturing and engineering companies. Having conducted interviews for my husband’s engineering services company, I have seen firsthand how difficult it is to find candidates with the required technology and education.

The need for a local STEM talent pool will only increase. At a recent medical convention, the buzz was about “onshoring.” China’s rising fuel costs and standard of living is bringing manufacturing jobs back to the States. This means that our educational system must produce quality STEM professionals — thus employable in the future will mean “STEM ready.”

However, I am concerned that the indicators used by these initiatives lack a key feature. Don’t get me wrong: the reading and math benchmarks make sense, though I know there is debate about whether the timing is soon enough for math to intervene. However, the items are all very, well, “heady” while studies show that it is experience in STEM related activities that affect competence, confidence and comfort — especially in currently underrepresented populations of females and those from financially challenged homes. I’m concerned that without full appreciation of certain experiences in STEM-readiness, we may unintentionally leave our population largely untapped.

For example, spatial, not mathematics, tests are considered the best indicator for success in STEM areas [Root-Bernstein, Can women be creative scientists?]. Spatial is defined as folding 2D shapes into 3D, rotating objects in one’s mind, imagining mechanical motion, and seeing spatial patterns and relationships [Newcombe, Picture this]. These are developed mainly through hands-on manipulation and investigation of devices — activities that often happen before even entering school.

Experience with tools and technology are one of the missing link for girls which prevents them from experimenting, and thus innovating with technology, a necessary characteristic of an engineer [Schreuders, Pipeline or personal preference: women in engineering]. Men cite having played with these at a young age, which makes many women feel that they cannot catch up and results in them constantly feeling like an imposter engineer, computer scientist, etc. [Margolis, Unlocking the Clubhouse].

So is a child who lacks the opportunities to play with and develop these skills doomed? Not with good teaching. Effective educators teach mathematics with tangible objects to create concrete physical experiences in the classroom and link to the abstract concepts of mathematics. Inquiry experiences in class give children who have limited at-home experiences with nature a leg up. Key art and hands-on experiences can improve spatial skills.

Indirect evidence seems to support this: Girls have scored noticeable improvement in the standardized test for mathematics over the past 20 years [Monastersky, Primed for Numbers]. Students struggling with engineering drawing classes (notably, most of the women students) saw noticeable improvement when spatial skills were explicitly taught [Sorby, A course in spatial visualization and its impact on the retention of female engineering students].

An effective teacher is the link between sound curriculum and the individual child. He/she determines the strengths and gaps in students and appropriately enhances their education to unlock the potential of each student. In every in-service class I have taught, this desire to help their students achieve is at the heart of every successful teacher.

The United States is one of the few places that gives — in theory — every student the opportunity to prepare for college. The down side is that we put more burden on the teacher to provide equal access through education, despite the fact that some children start school never having visited a park, a zoo or a museum. Some have never ridden bikes, taken apart or fixed a gadget, or made paper creations with scissors, tape or glue.

These missing experiences with nature, the designed world, and tools and technology are what teachers must identify, accommodate and measure as they try to continue to give an equal education to all. Key indicators must: 1) include some evaluation of experiences that develop a child’s spatial skills and 2) be measured earlier so we keep the STEM door open to more students rather than play catch up (or worse, resign to missing the boat) in middle or high school.

Support low-income, first-generation and immigrant students in transitioning to college

By Awo Ahmed, November guest blogger

Colleges can encourage and help first-generation, low-income and immigrant students transition into post-secondary education by working with students early in their high school years. They can also help these students when they first arrive on campus.

In my previous blog post, I talked about the financial burden low-income first-generation and immigrant students face when they come to college. Providing institutional financial aid that covers large financial gaps will help students focus more on academics and less on how to pay for their education. In addition, expanding work-study programs geared toward campus engagement can alleviate some of the financial burden and make sure students are active within their communities and campus. Research has shown that students engaged in campus activities are more likely to graduate from their institution. Involving parents early in their child’s post-secondary education is also very important.

Providing educational workshops about the financial aid process and tools can be significant for parents. A great example is the FAFSA online application process. It might be easy for some of us to understand, but for parents who are new to the country, the financial aid process has a lot of jargon that is confusing and complex. Introducing financial aid literacy tools for families and students will assist them making a good decision on schools that are affordable and a good fit for their child.

Another strategy colleges use to ease the transition between high school and college for low-income and first-generation and immigrant students are bridge programs that take place about a month before the academic year starts. The goal of these programs is to provide early exposure to academic and social resources available to students on campus. Students from such backgrounds aren’t aware of all the different programs and services that exist. Summer bridge programs provide that extra help. Staff and faculty members help students navigate and connect with these resources on campus. Students are encouraged to get involved in student activities and clubs to integrate into the campus life, creating a personalized college experience for students.

Furthermore, creating a strong first-year program such as freshmen achievement courses or freshmen study groups and making participation mandatory or highly recommended can help students transition academically from high school to college. Providing tutoring, study groups and academic support services through faculty and staff can have a lasting impact on the students overall academic performance throughout their college career. The support network students establish during their freshman year can open doors of opportunity later when they want to reconnect with those staff and faculty for research opportunities or general advice. The goal of these networks is to provide not only academic support but also social support. Having the opportunity to talk to faculty or staff about future career goals or graduate programs will help students make decisions about their future.

First-generation students — whether native-born Americans or children of immigrant families — will face challenges and barriers to college access. However, there are many ways to reach out to these students and ensure that they have a chance to succeed in post-secondary education. This is vital to our success as a nation.

Good outcomes start with a good plan

By Todd Bloom, October guest blogger

During the 2012 legislative session, Minnesota took an important step toward every student in the state having an individual learning plan (ILP) for college and career success. With strong bipartisan support, the Legislature passed and the governor signed, a provision that “strongly encourage[s]” school districts to support students in developing plans for transitioning to postsecondary education or employment.

If districts were to follow policymakers’ guidance, beginning in ninth grade, every student would have an academic action plan for completing high school and for preparing for college and the workforce. These plans would emphasize academic rigor and would help create for students supportive networks of educators, families, community organizations and employers. During the planning process, students would gain insights into their learning styles and would have opportunities to explore postsecondary and career options.

The legislation was motivated, in part, by a recommendation by the Governor’s Workforce Development Council that “all high school students should have a Career and Postsecondary Plan that helps them prepare for success after graduation.”

That advice is gaining popularity across the country. In April 2011, Hobsons published a report detailing policies on ILPs for every student. A key finding was that more states are moving toward a required planning process: When that report was published, 25 states plus the District of Columbia mandated ILPs for all students.

Some districts in Minnesota do have ILPs for every student in place already. Minneapolis Public Schools’ My Life Plan, a graduation requirement for the class of 2010 onwards, has middle and high school students reflect on, explore and respond to key questions:

1. Who am I?
2. Where am I going?
3. How do I get there?
4. How do I function effectively?

In the 11^th and 12 grades, every student develops and executes a plan to transition to college and/or a career. And Minneapolis is just one example.

What is driving the popularity of ILPs? One of the main reasons is that the planning process engages students and gives them ownership of their learning and outcomes. Students find that planning enables them to transition from one part of the education system to the next with greater confidence and success. With improving college completion high on the public policy agenda, educators and policymakers are drawn toward tools that help students set and accomplish that goal.

Looking ahead, ILPs are likely to expand:

• Beginning planning in sixth grade or earlier
• Connecting with student information systems for data analysis
• Incorporating curriculum about the planning process (the University of Minnesota’s Ramp Up to Readiness is an excellent example)
• Promoting deeper family engagement

So, what do you think? Should every student have a plan for transitioning to college and/or the workforce? What are the important issues to consider?

Preparing for and entering postsecondary education

By Lesley Lydell, January guest blogger

As in many other states, Minnesota postsecondary education faces an array of challenges, from decreased funding and rising costs to rapidly expanding worlds of knowledge transmission, the changing demands of the “knowledge economy,” and an uncertain employment world for graduates. Within these challenges, one central concern we focus on in my office is whether students participate in postsecondary education and what helps them succeed, both during their education and beyond. Although students increasingly enter postsecondary education at various times throughout their lives, the transition of recent high school graduates into postsecondary education offers one lens on how educational systems can collaborate to serve students.

In the revised edition of Minnesota Measures: 2011 Report on Higher Education Performance, data on students’ preparation for and entrance into postsecondary education illustrate positive trends but also point to ongoing challenges.

Growing Participation

Postsecondary Preparation: Minnesota high school students overall have strong participation and achievement in challenging academic courses and assessments. Minnesota students received the highest scores in the nation on a standardized college entrance exam, and increasing numbers of students are participating in college-level courses through Advanced Placement courses, Postsecondary Enrollment Options, and other programs. The number of students participating in Postsecondary Enrollment Options programs has more than doubled since 2000, and the number of students taking Advanced Placement exams rose 8% between 2009-10 and 2010-11.

High School to Postsecondary Transition: Compared to the national average, Minnesota high school students have a high four-year graduation rate at 76% for 2010. Minnesota also has a higher-than-average percentage of high school graduates who go on to enroll in a postsecondary institution within a year of their graduation.

Unlike in states with a high percentage of high school graduates who enroll in a postsecondary institution but also a higher rate of students who drop out of high school before graduation, a larger proportion of Minnesotans stay in high school, graduate, and enter directly into higher education. For all Minnesota high school graduates, the number going on to college has increased by 15% between 1996 and 2010 to 71% of recent graduates enrolling in college. There have also been sizeable increases in the numbers of recent Minnesota high school graduates of color enrolled at a Minnesota postsecondary institution, with a 49% increase in enrollment between 2004 and 2010.

Achievement Differences

• Although all groups of students had higher graduation rates in 2010 over the previous year, with a 1% increase in high school graduation rates for white students and a three percent increase for students of color, the four-year graduation rate for students of color was 30 percentage points lower than the rate for white students.
• State-level proficiency exam scores in 2011 for 10th and 11th grade students indicated achievement differences for students from low-income backgrounds and some students of color, with approximately three-quarters of students from low-income backgrounds and American Indian, Hispanic, and African-American students not fully meeting grade-level standards in math.
• College readiness benchmarks on the ACT college entrance exam indicated just over one-third of Minnesota’s ACT test-takers for 2010-11 scored as academically prepared to succeed in higher education. Although there has been some improvement in ACT benchmark scores since 2007, Minnesota students of color overall scored as less prepared than the state average.
• The percentage of Advanced Placement exams that received scores eligible for college credit (scores 3-5) increased at a higher rate between 2010 and 2011 for Minnesota test-takers of color than the state and national average increases, with the largest increase in higher-scoring exams taken by Hispanic test-takers. Overall, however, the percentage of exams taken by American Indian, African-American/Black, and Hispanic test-takers receiving a score eligible for college credit was below the state average of 65% of all exams taken.

Although there are positive trends in improving preparation for and participation in postsecondary education for all students, there are areas for added focus and collaboration as we work to better serve students and smooth the transitions between high school, postsecondary, and the workforce.

What are the most promising strategies you’re aware of in improving students’ postsecondary preparation and participation — locally, nationally, internationally?

IB equips students for changing world

By Jon Eversoll, February guest blogger

So who else says the IB has strong programs? Consider Newsweek magazine’s list of “America’s Best High Schools.” In 2009, 36 of the top 100 were IB schools. The list’s author, Jay Matthews, additionally cites U.S. Department of Education studies suggesting the best way to prepare students for college is with rigorous courses.

But rigor in the IB doesn’t simply mean more pages to read and problem sets to solve. In challenging students with real-world issues and concepts, the IB develops inquiring learners who seek to understand the perspectives of others. Students do volunteer work at every level. They are instilled with attitudes and attributes — balanced, caring, communicator, knowledgeable, principled, to name a few — that will serve them well throughout their years. In fact, these are some of the traits New York Times columnist David Brooks held up in his article “Amy Chua Is a Wimp” as more cognitively demanding than memorization or an unwavering focus on a task.

Acquiring these skills starts early. In the IB Primary Years Program (preK-5), students explore six transdisciplinary themes — such as who they are and how the world works — which invite students to look beyond themselves. For example, while researching their local Minneapolis community, students may investigate other river cities in the world, asking how and why they are similar and different.

Making meaningful connections to the world continues in the Middle Years Program (grades 6-10). Here students may look at how mathematical functions are used every day or, while studying metals in chemistry, reflect on how we best use our resources. In history students might ask, “why do societies change?” Recent events in the Middle East underscore the importance of such questions.

The culmination of the IB is the Diploma Program (grades 11-12). Students doing the full diploma take six classes covering many subjects, including another language. Most courses are two years long and subjects train students to be practitioners of the discipline. Art as an artist. Biology as a biologist. All include externally assessed oral and written exams. Strong scores can earn college credit.

And the IB is for all students. A study at the University of California  suggests that IB students, in particular those from low- to moderate-income families, have higher GPAs and graduation rates than comparable non-IB students.

Our children will succeed by being flexible thinkers and well-rounded citizens. Indeed, Minnesota’s IB schools equip their students with the attitudes, skills and knowledge to live in this changing world. Whether it’s through the IB or other programs, this is exactly the kind of preparation our students need.

IB strengths: a teacher’s perspective

By Jon Eversoll, February guest blogger

We hear too often that our students aren’t prepared for college. One program that delivers the rigorous, student-centered education Minnesota’s students need is the International Baccalaureate — or the IB as it’s known. Malaysia was my introduction to IB and I’ve been a convert ever since.

At the International School of Kuala Lumpur, I taught juniors in the IB’s Diploma Program. These students were embarking on a two-year journey in literature featuring a battery of assessments and culminating in a pair of two-hour exams in May of their senior year. Students needed to write a commentary on a poem or prose passage they had never seen. They also had to respond to a question using two works they had read. Insightful analysis was golden. Paraphrasing was the kiss of death.

How to help my students tackle this? My students and I examined the IB’s assessment rubrics which called for them to: show perceptive understanding; use detailed textual evidence; write clearly, precisely and concisely. The IB demanded my students think and communicate for themselves.

So, together, we dove into the text. The literature needed to resonate with my students. We considered the beauty of the language, the universality of experience that it captures. Reading Chronicle of a Death Foretold, we saw the world through the eyes and values of the Vicario brothers. Students thought critically. They reflected not only on what they learned but how they learned. Students were at the center: leading Socratic seminars, digging out motifs and cutting the flab out of their writing. By the end nobody paraphrased. These young adults had ideas about literature that they could communicate and back up with evidence.

My students took their IB exams (full diploma candidates take classes in six subjects) and went to college — in the United States, Canada, Singapore, Denmark, England. In reports back, most said college was easier than high school. They could write research papers, defend their ideas and manage their time. I wished I had had the IB to prepare me for college.

Fortunately, students in Minnesota do. Minnesota is home to 44 IB schools — out of 3,130 worldwide —  with others in the process of becoming authorized. I work at Park Center Senior High which offers sophomores the final year of the IB’s Middle Years Program and juniors and seniors the Diploma Program. (The IB also has a preK-5 Primary Years Program.) Our students are benefiting from the IB’s focus on thinking critically and communicating clearly. Just ask those at Park Center.

What has your experience been with IB?

Equity and quality needed in K-12

By Carlos Mariani Rosa, September guest blogger

From the vantage point of the two public places I occupy: the chair of a state legislative committee on education and the director of a nonprofit focused on advancing the academic success of students of color, I want to share my assessment of Minnesota’s success in properly educating all students for the rigors of our world: we are doing a lousy job.

I won’t belabor the depth and diversity of statistics that back that assessment, including: the graduation rates of African-American boys, the college retention rates of white students and the high school standardized test results of ELL students. The Minnesota Minority Education Partnership has spent a decade reporting these outcomes and you can find those online.

Minnesota’s education system does great things, but not for all students, and in some communities not even for the majority of those students. We fail miserably with students of color but we also don’t produce the best K-12 outcomes — defined as college-ready for maximum global engagement — for all students, including white students.

Equity and quality may seem to be separate ideals but I believe in this case, they are one in the same. For example; only 34% of white students are deemed college-ready by ACT test results. And while this measure is only 16% for Latinos, the correct goal for that community is not to achieve the 34% white student outcome — which is too low — but for Latino, white and all other student groups to achieve 100% readiness rates.

While it’s true that an individual can attain quality academic outcomes in almost any school, it is also true that the odds of doing so diminish when the student is in an environment that fails to drive the same level of quality for other students. And make no mistake on this point: legislators invest over a third of our state budget to produce nothing less than quality from every student. We don’t do that in order to validate unequal advantages pre-existing in society upon students’ entrance to our public schools.

Generally speaking, all students are greatly influenced by school community dynamics. Students improve when they challenge themselves, but also when they are challenged by their community of classmates.

And increasingly that classmate community in Minnesota schools is a racially and ethnically diverse one, made up of students with different learning styles and world perspectives that our system has yet to develop competency with in order to drive quality.

And so it’s not just equity that suffers, with students of color persistently showing up in the lower end of achievement measures. Overall quality suffers, with all students unable to push the boundaries of their gifts by virtue of being part of a system that signals its acceptance of low achievement. All kids — black, white, brown — profoundly get this message.

We are more linked to one another — across race and culture — than we have been led to understand. While “closing the gap” is indeed about race equity, racial equity is about all of us.

I’ll blog next on the recent failure of our state’s political systems to move education reform ahead — and I’ll include myself in that critique.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Keeping kids focused on the destination

By Kathleen O'Donnell, July guest blogger

In late June, while most kids were just settling into summer, Destination 2010 students came together to prepare for the final leg of their K-12 journey. Their third annual summer weekend retreat was held at Camp Saint Croix with the theme of Rising to the Challenge and Exceeding Expectations.

Destination 2010 is an initiative of The Minneapolis Foundation designed to help a cohort of students graduate on time (in 2010) and pursue higher education — while sharing lessons learned along the way. Instead of creating new programs, the initiative weaves together existing resources to provide information, opportunities, and support to the students, the majority of whom are low-income students of color, and many of whom will be the first in their families to attend college. The program also conducts campus tours, connects kids with summer enrichment activities (and underwrites the costs), and offers many other activities to keep kids involved, focused, and achieving year round.

It’s an unusual program for its size and scope — launched in 2001, every 3rd grader in seven struggling Minneapolis and Saint Paul public schools was invited to participate. Every student who remained continuously enrolled in the two districts would receive a $5,000 or $10,000 scholarship to pursue post-secondary education. As they prepare to enter their senior year, 185 students remain in the program. This includes 40% of the original 364 students, along with students in another program who merged with Destination 2010 midstream.

The high attrition rate underscores the fact that mobility has posed the same challenges to Destination 2010 as it has to the school system itself. And the effect on the students can be devastating. We’ve witnessed first-hand the corrosive effects of mobility on relationships over time, on access to information and opportunities, and on academic success.

On the flip side, one of our greatest successes has been the ability to keep students on our radar who might have otherwise fallen off. For many students, the identity of being in Destination 2010 has transcended time and place. We’ve been able to maintain relationships with some students through homelessness, multiple moves, family upheaval, and time in the juvenile justice system.

Another significant challenge has been the need to constantly combat the pull of low expectations — both from external sources and within the students themselves — especially among so-called ‘average” students. Generally speaking, high-performing low-income students (those who are “beating the odds”) garner attention. Students viewed as average or underperforming often pass under the radar of efforts to nurture college aspirations. Yet even as Destination 2010’s approach has been to set the same high goals for all students, that vision hasn’t necessarily taken root for every single student or family.

And, honestly, for some students, the barriers can seem overwhelming. It can be very challenging to continue to hold high expectations and demand accountability for our students, when we’re aware of the difficulties and instability in their personal lives. It’s a balancing act for everyone who teaches young people to strive to achieve amid stressful circumstances.

Fortunately, we work in close partnership with the families, community programs, and school leadership and staff. To connect most effectively with the students and their families, a group of Destination 2010 liaisons who reflect the diversity of our students serve as the primary contacts. The liaisons have built relationships that open the door for tough conversations about what it will take to get into higher ed. They work with the students, but also help families navigate the roadmap to higher education (financial aid applications, appropriate pre-college class selections, etc.). They even keep family phone numbers current...not a small task. They keep our students encouraged and connected; keep the families informed, involved, and empowered; and have helped make Destination 2010 a diverse yet cohesive community of students striving to achieve.

Destination2010 student Rakeem has reflected, "I have been through a lot of programs in my life due to certain circumstances, but D2010 is by far my favorite. I look forward to seeing my friends and fellow students doing something productive and so serious about their lives to come. I see so many of my peers throwing their lives away with drugs and what not. I have made the choice to do something better and I feel that the decision I have made is the right one. Well, I am aware of my surroundings and I am capable of getting to my destination, are you?”

Question to readers: What strategies have you found to be successful in keeping students connected through achievement programs that aren’t necessarily focused on a specific school, neighborhood, or activity?

Latinos engage on education policy issues

By Rogelio Muñoz, March guest blogger

During President Barack Obama’s first address to the nation last month, he called for Americans to be more civically engaged in their communities on issues important to them. The president emphasized the significance of what we each can do when we unite, mobilize, and work together. In Minnesota, that charge has been the essence of Latino civic engagement for generations and today it is no different.

Shortly after the 2009 Legislative Session convened in early January, the state’s Latino community participated in the 2009 Latino Legislative Day at the Capitol. The event, organized by the state’s Chicano Latino Affairs Council, was the first in modern history to bring Latinos together under one united voice to support a multi-issue policy agenda.  With some 200 Latino community members, leaders, supporters, and longtime advocates, the day at the Capitol addressed the council’s priorities for the 2009 Legislative Session and important policy issues for Minnesota’s Latino community, such as Pre K-12 education, higher education, and health. 

On the issue of education in the state, Latino students in public schools continue to be impacted by the achievement gap across all subject areas and have the lowest graduation rate. Currently, Minnesota’s minority communities or people of color comprise more than 14 percent of the total state population. When you compare this percentage to students of color in our public schools, the percentage is much higher at 24 percent or almost one-fourth of the total student enrollment. Further, Minnesota’s total Latino population is at 4 percent (208,000) while it is surpassed by the total Latino student enrollment at 6.1 percent (51,000). What does this say? Clearly, the state’s Latino community is younger and growing fast.

During the Latino Legislative Day at the Capitol, 25 teams organized and led by Latino community leaders, met with state legislators to brief them on the needs of Latino students. View their recommendations 

Minnesota must meet the needs of Latino students in public schools and prepare them for higher education. It’s important to our community and to the state.