Education Notebook

Study reconfirms the importance of early childhood education

I noticed this recent story in MinnPost reinforcing the critical importance of early education, especiall for children born into poverty:

Two items of note appeared in Learning Curve’s inbox over the long weekend, both concerning early childhood education. Both offer further confirmation that the achievement gap begins when a child is born into poverty, can be narrowed by top-flight early childhood education and becomes harder — and more expensive — to try to close as kids age.

The first was passed along by former teacher and voracious reader Ray Schoch who, if hat tips were money, would be taking us all to Bermuda for the next holiday.

The cover story in the Dec. 1 issue of The New Republic, “The Two-Year Window” is behind a paywall, but I daresay it’s worth the price of a subscription. Even if you’re not terribly interested in education or child-care policy, it’s a terrific piece of science writing.

It’s a fascinating story on infant brain development in the first two years of life, a time when adversity can literally reshape the brain for life. Among other things, the story reports the first findings of the Bucharest Early Intervention Project, which studied Romanian orphans who have experienced severe neglect and abuse.

 

Education commissioner to host town hall meeting in Rochester Dec. 8

A town-hall meeting featuring Minnesota Commissioner of Education Brenda Cassellius will be held Thursday, Dec. 8 from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the International Event Center, 7333 Airport View Dr., S.W.
The event is being held to talk about the state's efforts to seek a waiver from No Child Left Behind, a federal law passed under George W. Bush that mandates that all students attain math and English proficiency by 2014.
Minnesota is seeking relief from some of the more punitive aspects of the law.
The town-hall meeting was set up at the request of Casselius, who is traveling the state seeking public comment about the waiver, said Rochester district spokeswoman Jennifer Pozanc. Casselius chose Rochester as the site to hear from people from southeastern Minnesota. The meeting is open to parents, teachers and community members.
"We believe it takes far more than a single test to evaluate how well our students and schools are doing," said Casselius. "What matters more is how students are growing and learning, not just over the course of the school year. but over the course of their academic career."
Cassellius is spearheading a 7-point "Better Schools for a Better Minnesota" plan aimed at closing the achievement gap and using innovative strategies to improve results.