Morning Sessions 11:00 a.m.-Noon

Black excellence as demonstrated through WE WIN Institute’s Rites of Passage model

Room 323

11:00 a.m.-Noon

According to the Minnesota Department of Education School Information reports, only 51% of African American youth are making one year’s worth of progress in reading each year. That means that almost half of our African American students are falling farther and farther behind in basic reading and writing skills. Is it little wonder then that school dropout rates among youth of color are generally much higher than that of their White peers? These rates are especially striking when you consider only 61% of African American youth graduate compared to 87% for White students. WE WIN Institute’s Rites of Passage Program is designed to instill pride, confidence, and academic and social skills in students by giving them knowledge and experiences that honor and celebrate their cultural roots. WE WIN provides adult guidance and mentoring to children and young people, as well as offering fun, productive, and meaningful activities. WE WIN staff will share their successful approach to working with African American adolescents that has been tested and strengthened through in-and-after-school settings.

Titilayo Bediako, staff member, WE WIN Institute

Crossing Borders: Transforming pre-service teachers’ perceptions of low-income minority students

Room 325

11:00 a.m.-Noon

In May 2007, the Education Department of Winona State University entered into a professional partnership with the school district of Montgomery, Alabama and Alabama State University, Montgomery (ASU, Montgomery), an historically Black university, to conduct the Alabama Study Travel Program. The Program was designed to strategically involve education majors of Winona State University (WSU) in the cultural schooling and community contexts of Montgomery, Alabama in order to help these future teachers gain a better understanding of the academic “achievement gap” that continues to widen measurably and separate low-income and minority youth from other young Americans. To better understand the dynamics of this social dilemma, this research project matched education majors from ASU, Montgomery and WSU to study and examine the Reciprocal Interaction Model as a teaching strategy for helping mono-cultural teachers understand how their own cultural biases may influence their judgments about student performance and obstruct students’ ability to learn.

Presenters:

Nicholas Hartlep, graduate, Winona State University

Dr. Joyce Johnson, faculty, Alabama State University

Michael King, professor, Winona State University

Katie Koesch, education major, Winona State University

Dr. Maudie Williams, faculty, Winona State University

Two students, representing the 25 students who participated in the project.

How School-Community Partnerships impact student engagement

President’s Room, Third Floor

11:00 a.m.-Noon

Research shows that engaging students in service connects them to their school and to the community. However, often those students who are disenfranchised from the educational process are the ones least likely to be asked to serve. At the same time, schools continue to find it more and more challenging to provide support services and assistance to students. This workshop will propose using School-Community Partnerships as a tool in engaging youth in school. Participants will hear from representatives from local communities about how mobilizing caring adults and incorporating service into the lives of students both in and out of school can be used as a way to improve student achievement and engagement.

Presenters:

Sarah Dixon, chief executive officer, Minnesota Alliance with Youth

The impact of American Indian boarding schools on American Indian Families’ view of education

Room 324

11:00 a.m.-Noon

The American Indian boarding school experience in the U.S. and Canada has had a long-lasting traumatic, generational impact on how many of our American Indian families view education today. Truancy, dropout rates, and perceived lack of parental involvement are all reactions to the mistrust this population feels for the education system. Knowing and teaching about the boarding school experience will help educators better understand the difficulties some American Indian families and students have with school. With a better understanding and specific strategies, counselors and teachers can more effectively reach these students and families and establish the foundation of trust necessary for these students to be successful.

Tami Johnson, school counselor, Saint Paul Public Schools

Increasing Postsecondary Attainment Rates for all of Minnesota’s Students: A research-based investment plan

Mississippi Room, Third Floor

11:00 a.m.-Noon

During this session, an investment plan of action for the state will be presented. This research-based proposal for how to increase postsecondary attainment rates by 50% of all of Minnesota’s students offers evidence of effectiveness and evidence of cost-effectiveness using economic analyses and best practices from around the country.

Presenters:

Angela Eilers, Ph.D., research and policy director, Growth & Justice

Dr. Robert Johnson, chairperson, Ethnic Studies Program; St. Cloud State University

REVEAL: Creating a dialogue for REVEAL-ing issues related to race, racism, and education

Room 303ABC

11:00 a.m.-Noon

Academic achievement for students of color remains disturbingly low compared to that of their White counterparts. While numerous strategies have been implemented to reduce this gap, little has changed and racism remains a prevalent part of our classrooms and schools just as in any of the nation’s other institutions. Pre-service teachers are often unprepared for the impact that race will have on their future classrooms and are not given the opportunity to learn about racism in traditional postsecondary course work or even talk about race issues in a safe and productive environment. This presentation will showcase Race Education through Values Engagement, Advocacy and Leadership (REVEAL), an innovative and comprehensive process including a series of dialogues, one-on-one coaching, and service learning which is being used at a Midwest university and a local middle school in the community. It is a process designed to increase the cultural competence and racism recovery skills of pre-service teachers enabling them to create racism-free classrooms and learning.

Presenters:

Sally Baas, director, Southeast Asian Teacher Program and Hmong Culture and Language Program; and director, Special Education and English as a Second Language Program at Concordia University in St. Paul, Minn.

Sara Taylor, principal, Sentient Consultants

Suspension in Hennepin County Public Schools: Data and policy strategies

Room 326

11:00 a.m.-Noon

Suspension is a disciplinary measure enforced in schools as a consequence of problem behavior. Yet, suspension can be detrimental to education success and may produce life-long negative effects on students. Data for this study was obtained as aggregates from the Minnesota Department of Education. This presentation will acquaint the audience with the results of our analysis of suspensions by grade, gender, race/ethnicity, and special education status. The analysis also looks at the type and seriousness of infractions that precipitate suspensions and compares these results with results reported in the research literature on school suspensions. Promising strategies for policy changes for reducing suspensions identified in extensive literature review of articles from peer-reviewed publication that examined various aspects of school suspensions will also be presented.

Milica Mitterhauser, Ph.D., M.P.H., principal planning analyst, Hennepin County Research,

                 Planning, and Development Department

Afternoon Sessions 2:15 p.m.-3:15 p.m.

Access to college success

Room 325

2:15 p.m.-3:15 p.m.

This presentation will explain the origin, structures design, and outcomes of the Minnesota State University, Mankato College Access Program which is designed for underrepresented senior high school and newly entering students. This interactive session has been structured to allow participants to engage in lecture-discussion format and cover program components including: college academic readiness, social-cultural concerns of students of color, English language skills development for academic success, and managing college expenses.

Presenters:

Dr. Michael T. Fagin, vice president of institutional diversity, Minnesota State University,

     Mankato

Dr. Jayne M. Larsen, assistant to the vice president for Institutional Diversity, Minnesota

     State University, Mankato

Tonya Phillips, director, College Access Programs; Minnesota State University, Mankato

Walter Wolff, interim vice president for student affairs, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Advisory Task Force Report on Minnesota American Indian Tribes and Communities

Room 324

2:15 p.m.-3:15 p.m.

This task force was created by Minnesota statute to develop legislative recommendations about state assessments, standards, technical assistance, teacher training, and other areas. A report has been completed and members of the task force will share some of the findings. The recommendations inspired by these findings will be formally presented during the next legislative session.

Presenters:

Jacqueline Fraedrich, program director, Robbinsdale Area Schools

Task Force members from various tribes, and communities, K-12 education, higher

     education, Minnesota Department of Education, Education Minnesota, the Board of

     Teaching, and Minnesota Indian Affairs Council

Engaging community leaders to improve academic achievement

President’s Room, Third Floor

2:15 p.m.-3:15 p.m.

The Transitions Initiative is a collaborative and community-wide response developed to effectively integrate a broad array of community and district-wide resources and knowledge to develop a comprehensive community action plan to increase student academic achievement. The desired outcomes of the five-year strategic plan include lower rates of absenteeism, increased on-time graduation rates, increased achievement scores on standardized tests, fewer disciplinary incidences, and increased participation in advanced courses and college enrollment. Community outcomes include lower gang activity and violence in St. Paul, lower teen pregnancy, increased education of students and resulting education of the workforce. The work of this community partnership is aligned with the Saint Paul Public Schools 2006-2011 Strategic Plan for Continued Excellence.

Presenters:

Jeremiah Ellis, special assistant to the superintendent, Saint Paul Public Schools

Engaging underrepresented youth in STEM learning and action

Room 303ABC

2:15 p.m.-3:15 p.m.

The Kitty Andersen Youth Science Center (KAYSC) of the Science Museum of Minnesota provides underrepresented youth with engaging, exciting, and encouraging science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) experiences that motivate youth to take action and address community and environmental issues. Through this interactive, youth-directed workshop we will share best practices of engaging underrepresented youth in out-of-school time STEM learning focused on behaviors and characteristics that develop young people into strong leaders.

Youth presenters will be from the Park Crew, a team that engages in Earth-systems science learning and creates hands-on activities to share with museum visitors and young people in St. Paul Public Schools and the Twin Cities community. The Park Youth Crew will share their leadership experiences, challenges, and successes, through hands-on group activities and interactive discussion.

Robby Callahan Schreiber, youth program manager, Kitty Andersen Youth Science Center;

                  Science Museum of Minnesota

            Jermaine Burts, KAYSC Park Crew Member

            Joyceann Crump, KAYSC Park Crew Member

            A.J. Zamora, KAYSC Park Crew Member

Making PSEO Accessible: A cohort model for immigrant students

Room 302

2:15 p.m.-3:15 p.m.

Post-Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) offers talented high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to enroll in college courses and earn college credit and valuable higher education experience while still in high school. However, a multilingual student is less likely than their White peers to be steered toward advanced coursework in high school. To address this gap, the University of Minnesota Commanding English Program, in partnership with Minneapolis Public Schools, has a 17-year history of offering PSEO courses to groups of multilingual students beginning at Edison, and then expanding to Roosevelt and Washburn high schools. This cohort model offers support for first-generation students as they study immigration history, cultural anthropology, and college reading and writing. This session will describe the cohort model, presenting data from a 2007 study of the programs. A panel of students recently enrolled in PSEO-Commanding English will share stories of their challenges and experiences.

Presenters:

Margaret Delehanty Kelly, teaching specialist, Commanding English Program;

                University of Minnesota

Robin Murie, director, Commanding English Program; University of Minnesota

Minnesota Principals’ Academy: Creating great schools by supporting great leaders

Room 323

2:15 p.m.-3:15 p.m.

A growing body of research underscores the critical role that principals play in creating great schools and helping all students succeed. The Minnesota Principals’ Academy is an executive development program for school leaders which provides them with strategies and tools to raise the achievement of all students. It combines multidisciplinary content with interactive learning strategies to assure immediate application to schools. The core program was developed over two years of intensive research and planning by the National Institute for School Leadership, and has been adapted for use in Minnesota. Principals are trained to focus their time on improving instructional outcomes for each student; that means being in classrooms, sharing responsibility with staff, aligning standards and instruction, coaching, building support among families, and managing for results. Urban principals, suburban and rural principals learn from, as well as with each other, enhancing and spreading their knowledge and experience in educating Minnesota’s increasingly diverse student population. The program is supported by legislative funding, in partnership with the University of Minnesota, Minnesota Elementary Schools Principals’ Association, Minnesota Association of Secondary Schools Principals, Minnesota Association of School Administrators, and the Minnesota Department of Education.

Julie Sweitzer, director of leadership initiatives, College Readiness Consortium;

                   University of Minnesota

Universal Instructional Design in multicultural education

Room 326

2:15 p.m.-3:15 p.m.

This session will begin by providing a brief introduction to Universal Instructional Design (UID) within a multicultural education framework. Participants will aid in “unpacking” commonly used words such as diversity and multiculturalism. In sharing and discussing these definitions, the presenters’ aim is to facilitate an ongoing discussion of the ways in which UID can positively impact multicultural education. In addition, a brief video clip followed by a group discussion will help participants consider how UID can provide an inclusive framework that can greatly reduce barriers to learning. Handouts for this session will include a recently-published book outlining the use of UID in a variety of higher education settings and a list of online and other resources as well as copies of publications that illustrate the implementation of UID.

Emily Goff, coordinator, Postsecondary Teaching and Learning; University of Minnesota