Findings from a recent Mn BOT study on Minnesota Teachers

Jim Robinson shared this article from the Star Tribune: State can learn much from new study on teachers.

The article includes critical information about current teacher/student diversity statistics:
·         Of 58,000 teachers in MN, only 4% are people of color
·         Of 830,00 students,  25% are students of color
·         The population of minority students grows about 1% each year

The article also points out areas where there are shortages of qualified teachers:
·         School psychologists
·         Middle/High school math, chemistry, and physics
·         Special education
·         English as a second language

As a P-12 and higher education partnership, it is especially critical to reach out to students of color who have considered teaching, and educate all students about positions which are currently experiencing shortages.

Academic Achievement of Children who Speak English as a Second Language

Jim Robinson, TESL Professor and Facilitator of the Prepare Working Group at St. Cloud State University shared the following link regarding the academic achievement of children who speak English as a second language in England.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10676475/Pupils-with-English-as-a-second-language-outperform-native-speakers.html

The article shared the following data:

·      Non-english speaking pupils outperformed English speaking pupils on the English Baccalaureate.  This measure looks at achievement in English, math science, foreign language and either history or geography.

·      The number of pupils across England with English as a second language has risen to 1.1 million in the past five years.

·     The minister of education agreed that “the presence in schools of children who are bilingual or have English as an additional language tends, in fact, to raise overall school performance, not damage it.”