Guide to Overcoming Minnesota’s Teacher Crisis

mreaadmin2016 Legislative Issues, Quality Teachers, Teacher Development, Teacher Shortages

How do we recruit and retain the teachers we need to prepare the World’s Best Workforce? This is an essential question for the next decade in Minnesota and across the nation. MREA released a report on Minnesota’s teacher crisis to provide background and guidance on the issue for policy makers, advocates and educational leaders. Download the guide below. MREA identifies these … Read More

Teacher Recruitment and Retention Becomes Key Issue at Legislature

mreaadmin2016 Legislative Issues, Teacher Development, Teacher Shortages

“This is our No. 1 priority” is how Senate E-12 Education Committee Chair Charles Wiger characterized the nearly three hours of testimony Tuesday for eight bills addressing teacher recruitment and retention. “The Teacher Shortage Act” heard by the Senate last week included a variety of efforts to address the state’s teacher crisis and attract and retain quality teachers. SF2513, sponsored by … Read More

MREA Members Approve 2016 Legislative Platform

mreaadmin2016 Legislative Issues, Achievement Gap, Broadband Access, Early Learning, Facility Fallout, Quality Teachers, Teacher Development, Teacher Shortages

MREA announced today its platform of the key education issues for the 2016 Legislative session. MREA members approved the platform at the annual business meeting on Nov. 16.  The platform comes from months of grassroots input, research and reflection on how to keep us positioned to be effective in the legislative process. Anticipating that property tax reductions will be a … Read More

MREA Prepares for 2016 Legislative Session

mreaadmin2016 Legislative Issues, Broadband Access, Capitol Insider Blog, Career and College Readiness, Early Learning, Facility Fallout, Opportunity Gap, Quality Teachers, Teacher Development, Teacher Shortages

MREA traveled the state through the fall and heard from Greater Minnesota schools. Now it’s time to focus our collective voice on behalf of rural students as the 2016 legislative session approaches.  The MREA Board of directors recommends the following platform for member approval at the annual meeting at the 2015 MREA Annual Conference on Nov. 17.  View the proposed platform. The proposed platform focuses … Read More

Conference Procrastinator Rates Start Sunday

mreaadminAchievement Gap, American Indian, Broadband Access, Early Learning, Opportunity Gap, Other Rural Issues, Quality Teachers, Teacher Development, Teacher Shortages

There’s still time to register for MREA’s 2015 Annual Conference, but do it soon — procrastinator rates kick in Sunday. Starting November 1, registrants will pay a late fee to register for the conference. In just three weeks, more than 350 education professionals from across Minnesota will gather  at Cragun’s Resort for Great Beginnings: When Learning Starts Early, Inspires and Applies. The event is three days of … Read More

MREA To Host Virtual Meetings on 3 Key Issues

mreaadmin2016 Legislative Issues, Early Learning, Facility Fallout, Quality Teachers, Teacher Development, Teacher Shortages

MREA will host a series of “on-point” virtual meetings in the next few weeks to gain feedback on specific issues currently impacting our Greater Minnesota schools: early learning, teacher shortages, and school bond debt. Member feedback from the meetings will form the basis to build MREA’s Legislative Platform for the 2016 legislative session. Teachers, board members, and administrators are encouraged to participate. … Read More

Teacher Development & Evaluation

mreaadmin2016 Legislative Issues, Teacher Development

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