Educators from all backgrounds are invited to share their strategies and successes in breakout sessions at MREA’s 2016 Annual Conference: Making Teaching Matter. Presentation proposals are due Friday, May 27. MREA is looking for best practices, solutions, and research that can be presented in more than 30 breakout sessions from 50 to 75-minutes each. Presenters will have the opportunity to positively impact more … Read More
Nominate and Share Best Programs
In Rockford, Marshall, and Perham, great things are happening with STEM, math, and students in transition. Last fall at its Annual Conference, MREA recognized these members’ exemplary programs for their innovation and benefit to students. Now it’s time to tell us about a great program at your school by nominating it for MREA’s Profile of Excellence Award. What are the compelling … Read More
School Report: Aid Down, Levies Up, Funding Flat
Per-pupil state aid to schools has fallen 10 percent and operating levies have increased dramatically over the past 15 years, when adjusted for inflation. The combination has resulted in flat per pupil funding over 15 years when adjusted for inflation. These trends are clearly visible in this chart from a recently released, detailed report on statewide and individual district funding … Read More
House Approves Extending Equity Revenue Increase to All Schools
The House Omnibus Education Bill extends the 25 percent increase in equity revenue to all school districts in the state. This revenue is currently available only to school districts with their administrative offices located in the 7-county metropolitan area. This increase is the only ongoing, widely-available, general fund increase in either the Senate or House Omnibus bills. See how this … Read More
Nominate Best Programs and Practices
Now is the time to nominate your best practices and programs from this school year for MREA’s 2016 Profiles of Excellence Awards. From Ada to Zumbrota, across Greater Minnesota, MREA wants to know about members’ programs that serve as examples of innovative educational opportunities for our rural students. What are the compelling practices or programs at your school or educational organization? Criteria Consider these questions as … Read More
Nominate Best Programs and Practices
Now is the time to nominate your best practices and programs from this school year for MREA’s 2016 Profiles of Excellence Awards. From Ada to Zumbrota, across Greater Minnesota, MREA wants to know about members’ programs that serve as examples of innovative educational opportunities for our rural students. What are the compelling practices or programs at your school or educational organization? Criteria Consider these questions as … Read More
Technology, Teacher Recruitment Top Priorities in Omnibus Bill
The House and Senate Education Committees passed their education finance bills on schedule last week. They neatly bracket the Governor’s target of $60.77 million. The Senate’s budget tops $100.5 million, while the House spends $52 million. Both bodies assume that several districts with Capital loans will repay their loans thus providing the state with an infusion of $52 million. Even … Read More
Senate Education Committees Review 3 Key Bills
The Senate E-12 and Higher Education Committees heard bills last week on loan forgiveness, debt service, and additional funding for intermediate school districts and other school cooperatives serving certain children with disabilities. Loan Forgiveness Senate’s Higher Education Chair Terri Bonoff (DFL-Minnetonka) on Tuesday heard a bill that would fund the state’s newly created loan forgiveness program for teachers that was established … Read More
Education Omnibus Bills Introduced: How They Compare
After three packed weeks of bill introductions and testimony, both the House and Senate Omnibus Education Policy Bills passed out of committee for their first deadline. HF 3066 DE and SF 2744 A5 are designed to include policy changes that do not have state-level cost impacts. View side-by-side comparison of bills. Some of the more significant proposed policy changes include: Personal … Read More
Scholarships Available to Summer Humanities Institute
The Minnesota Humanities Center is offering scholarships to a Summer Educators’ Institute in St. Paul the week of June 26-July 1, 2016. Participants from Greater Minnesota are encouraged to apply. Increase Student Engagement The Institute, “Transforming Education Through Absent Narratives,” provides educators with an opportunity to engage with the Humanities Center’s approach to increase student engagement through absent narratives — the … Read More