State needs leader who can break gridlock on needed change.
"Some of the reforms are important, but will not alone create the structural change we need. We have to step back and ask what education outcomes do we want and how do we change the whole system to drive those outcomes.''
TOM HORNER, Independence Party candidate for governor
Recent news about the second-round awards of Race to the Top federal education funds brought a difficult reminder. More than 13 million students and 1 million educators in nine states will share $3.4 billion to improve student learning.
Minnesota is not among them.
Thinking ahead to a possible third round of funding next year, Minnesotans should evaluate the three leading candidates for governor through an education lens. Which of them has the best chance of building the consensus, political will and widespread support necessary to approve needed K-12 reforms?
This state lost its bid for the first round of Race to the Top funding last year, missing out an additional $300 million for K-12 programs. Then Minnesota didn't even apply for the second round, largely because education stakeholders couldn't reach agreement and approve key education initiatives.
The competition is designed to encourage education innovation to enhance student learning and close the persistent achievement gap. More than a dozen states passed laws to fit the criteria.
Among the proposals our Legislature couldn't approve were giving the education commissioner clearer authority to intervene with struggling schools and implementing statewide teacher evaluations that tie performance ratings, in part, to a comprehensive measure of student achievement.
Minnesota also lost points in the federal competition because only about 12 percent of its teachers supported the first application. Minnesota was also dinged by the feds for not having a clear strategy for improving student learning.
And though lawmakers had lots of discussion about it, they failed to create new alternative pathways to becoming a teacher -- a proposal that had significant support from a conservative governor, a liberal president, local businesses, nonprofits, and minority groups who are rightly demanding more progress for students of color.
Democrat Mark Dayton, Republican Tom Emmer and Independence Party candidate Tom Horner all express a desire to make the state's education system more effective for more kids. Based on his positions and emphasis on independence, Horner is saying the right things about how to push some of those reforms and facilitate broader system overhauls.
A former moderate Republican, Horner doesn't have either positive or negative baggage with Education Minnesota, the state's teacher union. He supports a sensible balance of raising some additional revenue for education while also reallocating current funding to the most effective programs, such as early childhood education, principal- and teacher-led schools, and better salaries for effective educators. He could work with various groups with a clean slate, and advocate change in areas such as educator seniority.
Voters need to hear more from the other candidates about their specific ideas on education reform and how to expedite progress. They need to challenge the perception that they'd be too polarizing on education matters and that because of their loyalties and party affiliations would have a harder time bringing together disparate forces to agree on structural change.
The Race to the Top competition has smartly stirred expanded interest in improved standards and instruction, and has inspired states, school districts and unions to work together in new ways. So far in this campaign, Horner is talking about the best combination of skills and policies to put Minnesota back in the running for federal education innovation funds. ©
2010 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.
