Minnesota Commissioner of Education, Alice Seagren, was the keynote speaker at the Senate District 41 Full Committee dinner meeting with nearly 70 people in attendance on February 22.
|
|
|
Com. Seagren emphasizes the four major points of the Governors education budget
|
|
Prior to being appointed Commissioner, Alice served twelve years in the Minnesota House of Representatives most recently as the representative from 41B. She is the former Chair of the K-12 Education Finance Committee. Since she was born in Missouri, Alice has the “Show Me” attitude displayed formerly as a legislator and now as a Commissioner.
Alice indicated that she was appointed by Governor Pawlenty on July 20, 2003 and started her new job on September 1. The most employees she had managed in the past were 5 and now she manages 400 in the Department of Education. As a legislator she was on the side making cuts to the department and now she has to live with it as Commissioner...
The Governor’s budget was introduced on January 25th, calling for a 2% inflationary increase in each of the next two years for school districts. There were some reductions two years ago. One program reduced was ECFE (Early Childhood and Family Education) which is a subsidized program. There are also increases proposed for at-risk students, ESL (English-as-a-Second-Language) students, and school districts with declining enrollment.
The Governor wants to reform the education system. One program is QualComp – Quality compensation for teachers. This would include:
- Professional development in schools that are looking for the best practices.
- Evaluation of every teacher every year (vs. the current system of evaluations every year the first three years of teaching and then tenured teachers being evaluated once every three years).
- Career ladders would be established with Master and Mentor Teachers at the top of the ladder. They would help train and mentor other teachers and be recognized for their expertise. The goal is to retain these teachers rather than forcing them to move into administrative positions for higher compensation.
- Some compensation tied to student achievement and professional development is also on the table.
The Governor wants to make high school more rigorous and more relevant. Many seniors have completed their graduation requirements before the end of senior year and then they don’t take any classes for all or a portion of senior year. Some proposed strategies include:
- Have the state pay for ACT testing for 8th and 10th graders to be sure they are on track for college preparation with the needed classes and skill levels.
- Give college credit for advanced placement test scores of 3 or higher at all Minnesota universities. The state can’t make the University of Minnesota accept scores of 3 or higher but they can make MnSCU accept them.
- Also give credit for CLEP tests which are similar to the advanced placement tests. Students can take college courses while in high school and get credit for high school and college.
|
|
|
Alice Seagren, Larry Frost, and Corrine Ellingham catch up on Bloomington politics
|
|
The Governor wants to simplify the funding formula so it is more understandable. The proposal is to fund a student at $5000/year. There would be an additional $300/year if the student is poor, an additional $700/year if English is a second language, and $1352/year/student if the district is sparsely populated. There would be money for transition from the old funding formula to the new one. There would be a guarantee that no district would be harmed meaning they would not receive less money. They would review the per pupil amounts and approve them each year.
Alice says that it is fun to be the Commissioner in a sick sort of way. She was asked “Did you dream of being the Commissioner when you were a little girl?” Alice responded, “No.” She and her husband, Fred, are enjoying this public service journey. She asked him, “Honey, did you every think I’d be on the school board, a legislator, and the Commissioner of Education?” He responded, “No.” She then asked, “Would you have married me if you had known?” He responded, “No.” Alice got a chuckle from his response.
Alice made the following comments during the Q & A session:
Our achievement gap in MN is one of the largest in the country. There is a low correlation of class size to achievement. We need a good teacher who is highly skilled. We’ve spent a boatload of money but we’ve not spent it wisely. We need involved parents, high expectations, and stability.
There is a concern by some regarding textbooks with biased history. This concern is a local issue and should not be handled by the state. The graduation standards will drive what is taught and which textbooks are used.
We could use Best Practices for principals as she noted that all successful schools have professional principals.
Sixty percent of students should go to post-secondary education. Sixty percent are assessed as having the ability to pass the ACT. However 30% are not pushing to take the tougher classes or going on to post-secondary education.
A question was raised about vouchers for private schools. She has mixed feelings. The Governor has “choice” in his proposal. Corporations could donate to help with scholarships. There is a voucher bill and a tax proposal bill pending.
Alice does not agree with a current bill to overturn the closing of two schools. This is a local control issue, not a state issue.
