/usr/web/www.marshallindependent.com/wp-content/themes/coreV2/single.php
×

Time for conversations, brainstorming

Last week the Minnesota Department of Education report showed the Marshall High School 2016 graduation rate falling to 83.5 percent from 86.8 percent in 2015. The rate was 89.8 percent in 2013.

While any kind of decrease in graduation rates is reason for concern, Marshall High School is still above the state rate of 82.2 percent. That’s the silver lining for Marshall education. The state rate was actually a record high.

Of course, anything short of 100 percent is a concern. According to Superintendent Scott Monson, Marshall Public Schools is facing challenges that are not unique to school districts across the nation

“For the past several years, we are seeing an increase in the number of students coming to Marshall during their high school years but who may not be able, for various reasons, to graduate on time with their class,” he said.

“However, we will continue to focus on opportunities for improvement because that’s what our students need.”

That focus has to be never ending. Monson said schools in the district follows a plan that include grade checks every three weeks and offering a variety of supports and interventions.

The one support mechanism that should boost future graduation rates is the district’s recent decision to expand pre-K education despite lack of funding from the state. There is no doubt getting youths on the right track early in their development will produce the right results.

How did the district overcome the lack of funding from the state?

“It created really nice dialogue and brainstorming,” Monson said during a new conference earlier this month with Gov. Mark Dayton.

The education community in Minnesota is facing many challenges.

An article published in the March edition of the Minnesota Educator reported an increase in the state’s teacher shortage. It stated the number of teachers reported as leaving their positions has increased 46 percent since 2008-09.

A competitive job market and lower salaries for teachers are considered the two biggest barriers to retaining teachers, according to school hiring officials.

“The shortage of qualified teachers has gone from an issue, to a problem, to a crisis, in only a few short years,” Education Minnesota President Denise Sprecht said in the article.

On Monday, the Independent published an article featuring a Southwest Minnesota study on poverty which claimed one in six children in the region live in poverty. The study was conducted by the University of New Hampshire’s Carsey School of Public Policy.

The report also stated that 17 percent of the children in the region — about 11,000 — live in poverty.

It’s sobering news, according to Diana Anderson, president and CEO of the Southwest Initiative Foundation. SWIF commissioned the study on youth poverty as part of its new focus on closing the “opportunity gap” for area children.

“What we’re planning to do is use it for community conversation,” Anderson said. “We want whatever solutions some forward to be locally driven.”

“Community conversation” and “brainstorming” are key here as educators and community leaders tackle these mounting challenges involving our youth. There are no guarantees of more money from the state in the near future.

So many solutions will definitely need to be locally driven.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

COMMENTS

Starting at $4.38/week.

Subscribe Today