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Beth Hawkins

Beth Hawkins writes Learning Curve, a blog about education, for MinnPost and also covers a variety of other public policy topics. She loves writing for an audience that’s hungry for context and analysis and willing to indulge her many curiosities. Hawkins is the recipient of numerous national and regional awards, including several first-place Society of Professional Journalists Page One awards for investigative reporting and feature writing. Her work has appeared in More, Mother Jones, Minnesota Monthly and many other publications.

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Beth Hawkins
Learning Curve

Some reflections on covering education in Minnesota

By Beth Hawkins | 10/06/15

As reporter Beth Hawkins gets ready to take a new job, she reflects on her time covering education in Minnesota.

Como Elementary
Learning Curve

Race, equity and the lessons of St. Paul's Como Elementary

By Beth Hawkins | 10/05/15

Half of the school's students are English language learners, and almost 90 percent qualify for free meals. Yet over the last two years, test scores at Como have gone up 20 percent.

Learning Curve

Minnesota's new teacher equity plan: 'It needs to be a living thing'

By Beth Hawkins | 09/28/15

NCLB required states to develop plans for giving impoverished students “equitable access” to highly qualified teachers.

Eshay Brantley
Learning Curve

TPT's 'Black Brilliance' follows Twin Cities students in weeks before graduation

By Beth Hawkins | 09/21/15

We meet their families and the educators who have invested in them, and we hear about their plans for the future. All without stereotypes.

Learning Curve

Education innovator Joe Nathan seeks to replace himself

By Beth Hawkins | 09/18/15

After 26 years at the helm of the Center for School Change, Joe Nathan has announced that he's ready to pass the baton.

Why some educators have serious problems with Minnesota’s school accountability
Learning Curve

Why some educators have serious problems with Minnesota’s school accountability system

By Beth Hawkins | 09/14/15

Four years after it was launched, the MMR doesn't accurately and fairly reflect all students’ academic growth, critics say.

Kent Pekel: Why the MMR is a misleading way to measure schools
Education

Kent Pekel: Why the MMR is a misleading way to measure schools

By Beth Hawkins | 09/14/15

Those of us who served on the advisory committee that led to the creation of the MMR were repeatedly told that the system would be a transitional one.

The 'Lazy Lucy' controversy
Learning Curve

The 'Lazy Lucy' controversy is about more than some really terrible books

By Beth Hawkins | 09/11/15

The episode represents a proxy war being waged over the strategic direction of Minneapolis Public Schools.

Learning Curve

Macalester prof's book incites conservatives, months before being published

By Beth Hawkins | 08/31/15

The book, written by Macalester College Professor Duchess Harris for sixth- to 12th-graders, traces the roots of Black Lives Matter as far back as the 1700s.

Learning Curve

What do Americans think of Common Core standards? It depends on how you ask.

By Beth Hawkins | 08/27/15

“When you break down the components ... people are in favor,” says Morgan Polikoff of USC. “It’s just when you call it Common Core people don’t like it."