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on June 18, 2018
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Why are public schools feeding students, who are not in school, during the summer?

Written by Kim Crockett
in Culture, Education, Families, Minnesota Budget, Welfare

I am not at all unsympathetic to hungry kids if they have incompetent and/or neglectful parents. But this is not a proper expenditure or activity for any public school. Period. This gives a whole new meaning to in loco parentis. These schools have operational deficits and massive unfunded pension liabilities. Even if you could accept the argument that schools should feed kids year-round, and I do not, we do not have the money. The good news is local charities are involved; it should stop there. ...

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on June 15, 2018
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St Paul Schools hire principal with an interesting resume: Misused State Funds, Drunk Driving Arrests

Written by Kim Crockett
in Culture, Education, Fraud

Superintendent Joe Gothard said in an interview that he was unaware of the audit when he picked Dutrieuille as principal of the grades K-8 Hazel Park Preparatory Academy on the East Side. Gothard said he’s since reviewed the audit and has no concerns. Besides the questionable spending, Dutrieuille faced drunk driving charges four times between 1993 and 1999. Gothard said he was unaware of Dutrieuille’s drunk driving arrests....

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on June 12, 2018
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American Experiment comments on PELSB’s attempt to redefine “cultural competency”

Written by Katherine Kersten
in Culture, Education, Government

Minnesota’s Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board is writing rules to implement the state’s 2017 teacher licensing law. In the process, the board is trying to smuggle in an extremist definition of “cultural competency” training, which would shape teacher training for licensed teachers in both public schools and private schools. Through this backhanded maneuver, the board is essentially attempting to replace the far more limited (and reasonable) definition of “cultural competency” that is already in law....

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on June 12, 2018
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Catholic Schools and Embracing the Elusive

Written by Mitch Pearlstein
in Education

In most public policy discussions and debates regarding elementary and secondary education, critically important ideas are routinely downplayed to the point of dismissal because they are intrinsically elusive. And because such ideas are largely ignored, a lot of young people who could be better served and educated are not. Or, more specifically in this instance, a lot of kids who might benefit from attending a Catholic school don’t have the opportunity. [Photo Credit: wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock]...

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on June 05, 2018
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Rural Schools Show Off Pride in Agriculture and Country

Written by Tom Steward
in Education, Greater Minnesota

Schools constantly tout high speed internet, iPads and other high tech tools and training when it comes to preparing Minnesota students to compete in a global economy. But an increasing number of rural school districts now call attention to the skills their students are already putting to use to grow Minnesota's economy in an industry increasingly reliant on high tech--agriculture. Their recognition focuses on an annual ritual dubbed "Drive Your Tractor to School Day." [caption id="attachment_10818" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Pierz Healy High School[/caption] The parade of tractors plays out in districts all over the state at spring planting time. The Morrison County Record reports the...

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on May 29, 2018
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Survey Says: MN teachers have heard very little, if anything, about Janus case

Written by Catrin Thorman
in Education, Employee Freedom, Unions

The Supreme Court has up to another month to rule on Janus v. AFSCME, a case asking the High Court to overturn a 1977 decision that forces government employees to pay agency fees to a union. The court’s upcoming ruling could significantly impact millions of public workers, including thousands of teachers in the state of Minnesota. But as of April 2018, 70 percent of Minnesota teachers had heard not much (27 percent) or nothing (43 percent) about Janus v. AFSCME, according to a national survey by Educators for Excellence (E4E). This shows how important it is to help our teachers understand...

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on May 25, 2018
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Good News: Assaulted Para-Teacher Will Recover. Bad News: Schools are Really Dangerous for Teachers

Written by Kim Crockett
in Crime, Culture, Education, Employee Freedom, Unions, Welfare, Uncategorized

Where is the teachers’ union? Teachers are being assaulted. At work. Where is their union? Is it calling for tough discipline, or throwing kids out of school who hurt and maim teachers? Is it demanding that police reports are filed? ...

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on May 24, 2018
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Pension Funding: the Pension Problem Will Return, Again

Written by Kim Crockett
in Education, Employee Freedom, Pensions

The pension bill, which Gov. Mark Dayton supports, is expected to become law though some lawmakers are stunned at the growing expense. Pensions are supposed to be covered by employer and employee contributions that are then invested by the state, but Minnesota stopped paying the full cost of pensions in the early 2000s. Imagine if you did that with your mortgage and then tried to catch up to avoid foreclosure....

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