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Joe Nathan

joe_2's picture
St. Paul, Minnesota
Commenter for
49 weeks 19 hours

Recent Comments

Posted on 05/14/13 at 04:53 am in response to A blueprint to end poverty

Thanks for involving your students in efforts to help improve the city, Jim. Great to see you helping them think about what they can do, and using their insights and energy in this constructive effort.

Posted on 05/01/13 at 11:47 pm in response to Education-reform debate puts spotlight on institutional racism

Yes, parents have a big impact on how youngsters view schools.
At the same time, Joyce Epstein of Johns Hopkins has shown for more that 2 decades that the biggest impact on family involvement is not the income, race or marital status of the parent. The biggest impact is what the school does to promote it.
Schools can do a great deal to encourage and assist families, as well as students. That's part of what the most effective schools do.

Posted on 05/01/13 at 03:11 pm in response to Open World Learning vindicated in latest rankings

Beth, thanks for noticing and sharing this award. It's a tribute to the students, faculty and families. It's also a recognition that organizing schools only in one way won't serve all students well There are some who gain from a more project based, applied approach.

Posted on 05/01/13 at 11:43 pm in response to Open World Learning vindicated in latest rankings

Thanks for this column, Beth. Nice to see recognition that there is no one best way to organize learning/teaching for all students. Some youngsters do much better in the more flexible environment with projects that Open World uses.

Posted on 04/30/13 at 05:34 pm in response to Legislators consider financial aid for undocumented immigrant students

Ms. Boyd, would you care to explain what happened in the Minnesota House? Why did it not pass out of the Higher Ed (or whatever committee)?

This would be a great opportunity for MinnPost reporting (I mean that sincerely).

THank you.

Posted on 04/29/13 at 06:54 pm in response to Public charter BlueSky Online achieves kudos and formal accreditation

Thanks for this. I have no first hand knowledge of the accreditation team. I do know that a new director and the staff have worked hard to earn the public's trust, as well as the dollars that go with being a pubic school.

Posted on 04/26/13 at 11:47 am in response to Joyce Foundation makes a grant to MinnPost and the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism

Congratulations on this grant.

Posted on 04/26/13 at 12:51 pm in response to Speaker Steve Perry provokes heated exchange on education reform

Actually, there are places where urban public schools have closed (hs graduation) achievement gaps. Here's an example - in Cincinnati. This was accomplished with strong support from the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers and great collaborations among district teachers, administrators, community and business groups.
More info here:
...

Posted on 04/29/13 at 07:18 pm in response to Speaker Steve Perry provokes heated exchange on education reform

Thanks to Mary for looking at updated data. Ohio Dept of Ed data shows that the 4 year grad rate for 2011, for white students in Cincy is 63.9% and 63% for African American students. (This after the data was revised to reflect a new method of counting graduates).

HS graduation is more difficult in Ohio - students have to pass statewide tests in reading, writing, math, science and social studies, for example. Students in Mn only have to pass reading and writing tests to graduate....

Posted on 04/29/13 at 05:36 am in response to Immigration scholar at U worries Boston bombings will derail reform plans

Well done column. Thanks.
Prof Fennelly has done excellent research on immigration. Hope policy-makers pay attention.