2019

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Maria Tapia, Hiawatha Parent

“The way Minnesota funds schools is completely inequitable,” said Maria Tapia, a Hiawatha parent. “My children’s school serves mostly students of color, kids with limited or low income, children who don’t speak English at home; we understand our children need more support. We’re talking about some of our most historically underserved children in the city. We should be giving them more resources and opportunities—but we’re giving our children less, because they are in a charter school.”

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Legislative Scorecard Released

It’s our job to make sure that policymakers understand the opportunities and barriers facing Minnesota students—and that they work boldly to address them. We also work to shine a light on the decisions being made at the Capitol and how they impact students, families, and communities. Minnesota’s confusing policymaking process makes it difficult to know where legislators stand on education issues and how the public should respond to their policymakers. To make policymaking more transparent, hold legislators accountable to do more, and let advocates know where their voices are needed most, EdAllies published its first biennial Legislative Scorecard looking back on the previous legislative sessions.

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Advancing Policy

EdAllies led the charge to ensure student data is clear and disaggregated, information on how well schools are serving students is made transparent, and families of students with disabilities can choose the best school for their kids without facing a penalty. We weighed in on these and numerous other issues during the legislative session, working to keep students at the center.

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School Funding

Special education funding was in the spotlight this year, and EdAllies weighed in on how policy design choices would impact students. Specifically, we focused on ensuring that as we close critical funding gaps, we also hold students with disabilities harmless regardless of where they choose to attend.

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Licensure

Over 4,500 Minnesota educators—and over 21% of our teachers of color—taught with a Tier 1, Tier 2, or special permission license in 2019. EdAllies built a broad and diverse coalition to elevate the stories of impacted educators, school leaders, and students. Through testimony, impactful media coverage, op-eds, and a multi-pronged advertising campaign, we provided timely, compelling information about the impact of proposals that would undermine critical licensure reforms. Attempts to erect licensure barriers for our high-quality educators failed during negotiations, and teachers will retain diverse pathways to the classroom for now. 

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Data + Transparency

Good data is essential to understanding who is being served in our schools and whether we’re moving the needle to close gaps. EdAllies worked to spark deeper conversations about standards-aligned tests, improving how we administer and report on them. The Legislature took small steps forward by requiring schools to test students as late as possible, giving educators and families a better snapshot of how individual students grew throughout the entire year.

In 2016, legislators passed the All Kids Count Act to disaggregate student achievement data across the lines of race, ethnicity, income, zip code, disability, and more. By organizing communities across the state, attempts to repeal this critical policy failed. Minnesota schools press on with initiatives to collect and report on student achievement in more nuanced, actionable ways.

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Alternative Teacher Prep

EdAllies led a coalition of alternative preparation providers and other nonprofits to successfully advocate for regulatory changes, removing barriers for high-quality, alternative pathways to the classroom.

After advocating for recent legislative changes to make it possible, EdAllies was thrilled to see Minnesota approve its first-ever alternative teacher preparation programs. The new programs, operating in both the Twin Cities metro area and Greater Minnesota, will help fill teacher shortages, increase teacher diversity, and redesign teacher preparation centered on student achievement, employee mentorship, and teacher residency.

PIE Network - Eddies “Best Defense” Nomination

EdAllies was recognized by a network of our peers and nominated for our defense of tiered licensure.

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Lifting Up and Sharing Research

EdAllies launched Research Rundown, a curated list of recent, relevant research we think is worth adding to the education equity conversation. This new monthly resource summarizes key research findings from across the nation to help inform policy making in Minnesota.

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Excluded and Exaggerated Data Hides the Real State of Our Students

EdAllies works to closely track state education data and help translate what it means to our constituencies. This year, Research Director Krista Kaput wrote a blog calling out state officials for a confusing, opaque approach to releasing critical annual data. The blog caught the attention of policymakers and reporters alike, elevating the importance of quality, transparent data going forward.

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Prioritizing Lived Experience

EdAllies launched the Real Voice Real Choice campaign to shift the ways we think and talk about students’ potential, about what families want for their children, about what’s working and not working in schools, and much more. The campaign website features an 8-minute video depicting the experiences of students of color in the Twin Cities, plus other opinion pieces, resources, and actions.

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Educator Guide on Student-Centered Learning

EdFellow CJ Ellsworth collaborated with our team to write and release “5 Strategies for Personalized Learning”—a guide exploring what works in a school focused on student-centered learning. In addition to basic how-tos, the guide outlines the potential miscues and areas of struggle that teachers and students may face—and what can be done to mitigate them. 

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Surveying Educators

Minnesota is revamping our state Standards of Effective Practice, setting the bar for what is and isn’t taught to aspiring teachers. EdAllies surveyed and received feedback from over 50 local educators about their teacher prep experiences to inform our advocacy.

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Standing with Charter Students & Families

When proposals emerged to place a moratorium on charter schools, EdAllies made space for learning and organizing. We brought charter school students, parents, educators, and advocates together to talk about how the proposal might impact them, and develop a plan to push back. We closed the year ready to roll out a collaboratively built plan, with a focus on connecting decision makers directly with those who would be impacted.