|
October 27, 2016
If you haven’t been able to attend any of the regional
meetings, please join us on Wednesday, November 2 at 6 p.m. for a virtual stakeholder
meeting. Everyone is welcome to tune in to this meeting, which will follow the
same format as the regional meetings did, with an introduction to ESSA followed
by time for you to ask questions or make comments about the act. No need to
RSVP, just join
us at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
So far, over 250 people have attended regional meetings in Duluth, Bemidji, Marshall, Rochester and St. Cloud. Thank you to those of you who have been able to come talk with us
about ESSA! Our next ESSA Update newsletter will include information about the themes that come up at each of these meetings.
There is one more in-person meeting next week in Burnsville,
in addition to the web meeting mentioned above. For more information, visit the
Stakeholder
Meetings page of the MDE website, then register to attend
the Burnsville meeting or join us on Wednesday for the virtual
meeting.
The Minnesota Department of Education convened educators, students, parents and community partners to participate in focus
group meetings in October to gather input on two specific topics, well-rounded education and meaningful family engagement.
We heard from participants that there is the need for
school flexibility in providing a well-rounded education. Schools should focus
on student strengths and that multiple ethnic and cultural backgrounds should
be reflected in curriculum and extracurricular activities.
When meeting the specific needs of English Learners and
children and youth with disabilities, we were advised to encourage districts
and schools to balance those needs against students’ access to enrichment activities
such as performing arts.
Finally, we heard that family engagement is important, and
is everyone’s job at a school. Family engagement has great potential to empower
parents and build relationships with communities.
|
