Alright – so, the Minnesota office of legislative auditor (OLA) released a report that many of us have been waiting for that was about education gap in this state and what the education department has been doing about it. To no one’s surprise, MDE sucks in this area and in so many others. The auditor shared their report with the House education finance committee this week. I listened and thought it was really good. I am sad they did not add suspension to the reasons education gap exists. They said they only looked at the four areas that are in the law which I guess makes sense.
The commissioner of the state education department spoke after the OLA office and as usual, was defensive and refused to take any ownership of MDE’s failure in addressing the state’s horrible education disparities. This was the best opportunity to own mistakes, come up with corrective actions and apologize to the thousands of Minnesota families who have endured education gap.
What was interesting in this report was that there is not a definition of what an education gap is in law. Interesting. I guess one could say by third grade all children black, white and brown should be able to read, write and do basic math is a good way to measure.
I hope legislatures come up with some laws and policies to not just define what the heck education gap is but to decrease and eliminate it. Education is the key to life’s success and/or failures. If we are failing our kids then we are failing our success and future.
You can read the full report here if you like.
The above words do not reflect any candidate, agency, or committee.
Idil – Somali Autism Mom & Advocate