A joint hearing on the recent changes to concurrent enrollment accessibility has been set for Oct. 8 in Minnesota. The Higher Learning Commission accepted the invitation from Minnesota’s Higher Education Committee Chairs Rep. Bud Nornes and Sen. Terri Bonoff. to come to Minnesota and explain the rule and their rationale. This Joint Meeting of the Committee on Higher Education and Workforce Development … Read More
How Minnesota Got Here on Concurrent Enrollment
By Fred Nolan, PhD, MREA Executive Director Minnesota over the past 25 years has experienced both an explosion of K-12 teachers with general curriculum and instruction masters degrees and simultaneously an accelerating explosion of dual credit, concurrent courses in high schools taught by teachers with these masters degrees under the auspices and blessings of Minnesota’s public colleges and universities. In … Read More
Inside Concurrent Enrollment
Minnesota’s growing concurrent enrollment (dual-credit) programs for high school students to earn college credit while attending high school is being threatened by recent actions of the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). The Commission is proposing new credentialing requirements for Minnesota’s secondary teachers to teach these college courses under the auspices of a college or university. Thanks to the work and advocacy of MREA … Read More
Minnesota Needs to Lead Dual Credit Change
Barbara Gillman-Danley, president of the Higher Learning Commission, told Minnesota media on Friday that she was “surprised at the intensity” of the pushback in Minnesota to the commission’s decision to make the credentialing rules an explicit requirement for accreditation. Minnesota has been a leader in breaking down the barriers between high school and college for decades. Minnesota was the first … Read More
The Power of Your Voices for Students’ Dual-Credit Opportunities
Thank you for raising your voices to and regarding the Higher Learning Commissions’ recent decision affecting the ability of students to earn college credits while in high school. Teachers of any college credit class, including concurrent enrollment classes, now would need to have a masters in the discipline or 18 credits in the discipline beyond a masters not in the … Read More
Facility Fallout: Facility & Technology Equity
While the legislature took a major step forward in 2015 to assist rural districts with long term maintenance needs, most rural districts face major hurdles to building new or remodeling old facilities due to tax base issues related to agricultural production land values. In addition to facility maintenance, construction and remodeling costs, rural district leaders have cited improving school technology … Read More
Early Learning
MREA has long supported early learning and it is among the top issues for the 2016 legislative session. A 2003 report from Art Rolnick of the Federal Reserve Bank changed the debate over the value of early childhood education. It estimates that dollars invested in high-quality preschool education for disadvantaged kids paid an inflation-adjusted 16 percent return. View a brief … Read More
Teacher Development & Evaluation
MREA has a long-standing platform position promoting teacher quality and availability so the state’s 845,000 students have highly qualified licensed teachers. View printer-friendly brief on this issue. Where We Stand The state directed school districts in 2014 to implement a teacher evaluation and development plan (TDE). The 2014 Legislature spent $302 per teacher in one-time money for districts that don’t participate … Read More
Severe Teacher Shortages
Minnesota can no longer turn a blind eye to the severe teacher shortages and long-term teacher supply issues in the state. A lack of teachers is affecting academic opportunities and achievement in our schools. Read Minnesota’s Teacher Crisis Report View a brief on this issue View the presentation from our October 7 meeting Where We Stand The current trends in … Read More
Facility Fallout Bills
There are a series of options under legislative consideration to address the facility fallout in Minnesota and improve equity in facility and technology funding for our state’s schools in 2016 – and beyond. Learn more about the Facility Fallout. The School Facilities Task Force report from the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) is still viable. Several bills have been introduced … Read More