Response to Minnesota Standards

Academic Standards Committee Public Meetings
Proposed standards are posted on the CFL website

Thursday, March 13th	Winona Middle School -- 1570 Homer Road -- Location: Commons area -- Time: 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Friday, March 14th	Austin High School -- 301 3rd Street N.W -- Location: Auditoriu -- Time: 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 15th	Rochester: Century High School -- 2525 Viola Road N.E. -- Location: Auditorium -- Time: 9 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
Monday, March 17th	Duluth: Central Administration Building -- 215 North 1st Avenue East -- Location: School Board Meeting Room -- Time: 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Tuesday, March 18th	Eveleth-Gilbert Senior High School -- 801 Jones -- Location: Boardman Auditorium -- Time: 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Wednesday, March 19th	Onamia: Mille Lacs Nay Ah Shing School -- 43651 Oodena Drive -- Location: Gymnasium -- Time: 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Thursday, March 20th	Wayzata: Greenwood Elementary School \ -- 18005 Medina Road -- Location: Gymnasium -- Time 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Friday, March 21st	Minneapolis: Sheridan Middle School -- 1201 University Avenue NE -- Location: Auditorium -- Time: 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Monday, March 24th	Stillwater Area High School -- 5701 Stillwater Blvd. North -- Location: Auditorium -- Time: 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Tuesday, March 25th	Elk River High School -- 900 School Street -- Location: Zabee Theater -- Time 7 p.m. - 9 p.m
Wednesday, March 26th	Alexandria Discover Jr. High -- 510 North McKay -- Location: Auditorium -- Time: 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Thursday, March 27th	Marshall Sr. High School -- 401 S Saratoga Street -- Location: Auditorium -- Time: 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Friday, March 28th	Mankato East Sr. High School -- 2600 Hoffman Road-- Location: Auditorium -- Time: 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Attending a meeting?
Here are some large areas you might consider in your remarks:
1. What doesn't need changing/what's right about current standards
2. Content of the standards
3. Number of standards
4. Testing. Which standards will be tested? How?
5. Making the transition. How will the high schools make the transition when some classes have students under Profile requirements and some students under new requirements?
6. Effect on your district & students
7. An issue you have a question about

Other talking points

Good models to look at:
Deborah Dillon's Senate testimony
Richard Beach's Development of the Standards
Mary Beth Blegen's Sentate testimony

Tips:
Limit yourself to three items or so (Yecke may remark that a good sermon has three ideas)
Speak from notes. It's not a good time to ramble or forget what you wanted to say
Be sure to sign up if you are planning on speaking.
A summary of the meeting (or at least your remarks) would be most welcome. Email to Sandy Hayes

If you'd prefer not to speak or can't make it to a meeting, you can send an email on the CFL site -- scroll down the page or you can send written comments.

Timeline for the Committee's work

Download Commissioner Yecke's powerpoint presentation given to Academic Standards Committee on Februay 19

State Standards the Committee was given to study:

English/Reading Committee members:

English/Reading grade K-2
Mona Carter Bemidji School Board
Taught K-3 reading in public and private schools for four years and notes that her techniques improve achievement for her students.
Wayne J Haapoja former Redwood Falls School Board
Chaired the planning, evaluation and reporting committee, chairs the Minnesota Academic Excellence Committee., is a member of the Academic League Council and tutors 8th grade mathematics.
Leah Klein Duluth Kindergarten teacher
Has taught for 23 years. She holds a BA degree in Elementary Education from the College of St. Benedict.
Lisa Lorensen Elk River Parent
Lisa Lorensen recently moved to Minnesota from Chesapeake, Virginia. A mother of two small children, she volunteered in Virginia schools and admires their high academic standards.
Jayne Ropella St. Paul Principal
An educator and principal for 16 years, has had extensive experience working with standards at all grade levels. She also has experience with the National Center for Education and Economy primary literacy and elementary standards.
Sidney Simonson Virginia Assistant Superintendent
Former teacher and principal, is currently the assistant superintendent for the St. Louis County School District focusing on establishing learner expectations in all content areas.
Cathy Solomon Vadnais Heights Parent
Holds a secondary education degree, is a parent actively involved in the education of her 3 children, and is highly concerned about strong academic standards.
Polly Sorcan Eveleth School Board
Member of her district's school board and has been on several other boards related to education and community affairs. She is knowledgeable about several academic standard systems and has helped develop curriculum in her district.
Lindsay Strand Minnetonka Parent
Has been a political reporter for KSTP and understands the diverse needs of students. She has volunteered extensively in the classroom, at the district level, and with many non-profit organizations related to children.

English/Reading grade 3-5
Kristin Brehm Wayzata Parent
Pparent of 3 children. She has a BA degree from the U of M and has been actively involved in her children's education.
Charlene Briner Rosemount Parent
Parent of 3 children, is an active advocate for public education as a parent volunteer, member of the ISD 196 Parent Leader Board and facilitator of the Parkview Elementary Advisory Council.
Marge Gruenes Lakeville Elementary principal?
Has an MA in Education and Specialist in Administration degree. She has spent 16 years in elementary schools, and 13 more as an elementary principal. She was very involved in setting state and local standards in reading and writing.
Howard Guthmann St. Paul Business Representative
A CPA and is currently C.F.O and teacher at the U of M's Elder Learning Institute, Director and Chair of St. Paul Technical College Foundation, and a member of the St. Paul Public Schools Foundation.
Rod Haenke Eagan
Has been a teacher for 8 years, administrator for 4 years, has experience as instructional designer and curriculum product developer, is a national curriculum trainer, and is a parent volunteer.
Kathryn Howe Rush City Academic coordinator
Author of reading instruction and assessment articles, holds a Ph.D. in Education Psychology, taught first grade and learning disabled K-12 students for 15 years and is the academic coordinator for the St. Croix River Education District.
Michelle Hueller Stillwater Teacher
Michelle Hueller holds reading licensure and an MA in Elementary Curriculum and Instruction, has taught for 23 years, and conducts reading instruction training and inservicing.
Diane Paulson Thief River Falls Teacher
7th and 8th grade communications instructor at Franklin Middle School. She has been teaching in Minnesota for seventeen years and was named in November 2002 as Thief River Falls Teacher of the Year.
Mike Ricci St. Paul Charter school executive director
Founder and executive director of the New Spirit Charter School, a K-8 program in the Frogtown area of St. Paul. The school is in its fifth year.
Wendy Swanson-Choi Eagan Parent
Wendy Swanson-Choi has a BS in Elementary Education, ESL Certification and two years ESL teaching experience. She has eight years classroom volunteer experience teaching literacy and math enrichment and has vast experience in organizing community members around education issues.

English/Reading grade 6-8
Laurie Biagini Plymouth Parent
Brings 24 years of experience in public education, including work as a speech language pathologist and in special education services. She brings both fundamental knowledge and enthusiasm to this committee.
Susan Huebsch Perham Business Representative
An active parent of three school-aged children and the owner of a small local business. She is concerned about the quality of education her children receive and supports high academic standards.
Judith Landrum Plymouth Northwestern College MCTE Member
Holds a doctorate in literacy and has 20 years of experience teaching English, from basic skills to graduate level work. She currently works in higher education as a graduation standards technician.
Jan Manchester Stillwater Teacher
BS in Elementary Education, a Master's in Special Education and 30 years of teaching experience. She provides active leadership as a member of many education-related committees and service groups.
Don May Eagan School board assn president
An experienced school board member and Minnesota School Boards Association president.
Linda Murdock Edina Parent
Master's in journalism and a professional background as an academic advisor. She is a very active volunteer and parent advocate on education issues.
Dr. Jennifer Norlin-Weaver Edina curriculum and instruction
Has 24 years of experience as a teacher in grades 1-7 in Language Arts. She has led curriculum review processes in the Edina schools and served as Curriculum Coordinator in International Schools in Saudi Arabia.
Pia Payne Minneapolis Middle school teacher
Has been teaching in the Minneapolis Public School system for the past 10 years. She has a B.A. in English, and a Master's in Curriculum and Instruction. She is the English Department Chair at Franklin Middle School.
Mary Spychalla Apple Valley Teacher MCTE Member
While teaching English, language arts, reading and gifted education over 30 years, served on committees to analyze national standardized tests to select those aligned to state standards and distrtict curriculum and developed language arts frameworks.
Al Winters Buffalo Parent
Parent of three children. He has been researching education issues and standards, and supports parental input in developing standards.

English/Reading grade 9-12
Gary Davison Northfield Parent
Has a Ph.D. in History and 30 years of experience in K-12, mostly teaching at-risk and inner city youth. He is supportive of strong academic standards.
Frances Edstrom Winona Business Representative
Has a B.A. in English and is the owner and editor of the Winona Post. She has been following public education policy for twenty-five years, both personally and professionally.
Mark Gleason Northfield Higher Education Representative MCTE Member
Is a Vice President of the MN Humanities Commission. They provide professional development content seminars for teachers in subjects including literature, reading, and writing. He holds a Ph.D. in English Language and Literature.
Don Helmstetter Spring Lake Park Superintendent
A school superintendent and a former president of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators. He is also a former high school English teacher and principal.
Alan Hewitt Baxter Advanced Placement teacher
Has a B.S. in English and an M.A. in Education. He is an Advanced Placement English Teacher, an Advanced Placement National Exam Reader and an Advanced Placement Consultant.
Joseph Legueri Gilbert High school English teacher
Holds an MS degree in English and has taught high school English for 30 years. He is the father of two high school students and has conducted his own research of college English requirements.
Cheryl Moen La Crescent High School English teacher
Has been a high school English teacher for 31 years. She is an advocate of high expectations in the classroom. Her strong convictions regarding current standards has meant giving testimony at several legislative hearings.
Shari Olson St. Paul Parent
A parent of 5 children in grades 1-6. She is the assessment testing coordinator at Century College.
Paul Seeba White Bear Lake High School economics teacher (Advanced Placement)
An educator for 13 years, teaches economics in White Bear Lake. He holds a B.A. and M.Ed. from the U of M. He is the only person in the state to currently teach Advanced Placement Microeconomics and Macroeconomics to 9th and 10th graders.
Dr. Jane Sigford Plymouth Curriculum director
Has a Ph.D. in Education Policy and Administration and is curriculum director in Wayzata. She has been an English and special education teacher, and oversees curriculum, professional development, assessment, and special education for the Wayzata Public Schools.
William Vieth St. Paul English teacher
Holds multiple academic degrees in English and has taught for 18 years as a secondary English teacher in grades 7-12.

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