Dear Friends,
It’s been another busy week and I’d like to update you on a few things that have been going on, both locally and at the Capitol. Things are ramping up with session only a little over a week away!
Glenville-Emmons Senior High School Visit
I want to thank Sarah Gehring for inviting me to speak at her civics class at the Glenville-Emmons High School earlier this week. I really enjoyed speaking to those young people about the election process in Minnesota, and the importance of being involved in the caucuses.
Speaking of caucuses, I hope everyone one, no matter your party affiliation, will get involved this Super Tuesday. Caucuses are grassroots politics at its core, and it’s our opportunity as citizens to have a say concerning issues and who we would like to see represent our party. Government cannot run on “autopilot.” We have to be involved!
Childcare Issues
According to data from the Department of Human Services, Minnesota has lost over 3,000 child care providers in the last decade. The lack of affordable and accessible childcare in Greater Minnesota has become an economic issue, as well as a family issue, often causing parents these regions to decline jobs. We are working with parents and providers to craft solutions that will bring more choice and options for affordable childcare.
I want to thank Rep. Mary Franson, Chair of the Select Committee for Affordable Childcare, for coming to the Albert Lea Children's Center on Tuesday to discuss our local childcare issues, and for hosting a childcare listening session for our region in Faribault that evening. We got a lot of good input from both providers and parents. Thank you, also, to Kim Nelson of the Children's Center for taking the time to meet with us and show us around that wonderful childcare center!
Child Protection Task Force
This week, the Child Protection Task Force met to get an update from counties on their progress with 24/7 coverage. We also heard from the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare, and from county attorneys and others about the impact new child protection laws are having on the courts. Serving on this committee has been both heart wrenching, and very fulfilling at the same time. It is such a serious and, at times, tragic subject; it has been a real honor to help address such an important issue for the children of our state.
K-12 Education Innovation Policy Committee Hearing
Also this week, our Ed Policy committee held an informational hearing on the Minnesota Department of Education’s student data practices and data sharing. School districts collect vast and varying information on students, such as health records, test scores, comments by school counselors and teachers, and much more. During the hearing, we asked a lot of questions of Dept. of Ed personnel as to the procedures they use to keep this data secure, and how the data is shared and used.
We also heard parents testify about their concerns for the security of student data, most of which is now stored online. They stated that there have been a number of instances where Minnesota school districts’ private student data has been inadvertently made available to the public online. My colleagues and I on the Ed Policy Committee will continue to monitor this issue and address these concerns.
Sibley Elementary School Reward School Visit
This morning, I joined Education Commissioner Cassellius for her Reward School visit to Sibley School in Albert Lea. Reward schools are the highest performing schools around the state under our Multiple Measurement Rating (MMR) System. We toured some classrooms and also sat down with school administration and data staff to delve into data practices that work best, and those that don’t work as well. Sibley School staff and families are especially near and dear to my heart. I spent all but two of my 33 years of teaching at Sibley, teaching first grade there up until two years ago. I am so proud of the staff and students there, and I congratulate them on their excellent work!
I can’t close this newsletter without sharing a picture of some of my “kids.” I ran into a number of my former first graders in the music room while I was at Sibley today. So fun to see them, as well as my former teaching colleagues!
Have a great weekend. I look forward to seeing people at the upcoming caucuses!
-Peggy