Explore funded research, reports, and evaluations addressing some of education's most pressing issues. This special collection of literature is made possible through IssueLab, a service of Foundation Center. Sign up for updates to find out about new publications added to the collection.
read more
Receive the latest updates by e-mail
Showing 44 reports filtered by "Minnesota" sorted by date added . Show All Reports
Aging, Children and Youth, Education and Literacy
By tracking and analyzing trends in areas that affect quality of life, Compass gives everyone in Minnesota-- policymakers, business and community leaders, and concerned individuals who live and work in the area-- a common foundation to act on issues to improve their communities
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America-United States (Midwestern)-Minnesota
Education and Literacy
The goals of The McKnight Foundation's Education and Learning (E&L) Program are "to increase the percentage of students reading at grade level by the end of third grade and to increase access to high quality learning beyond the classroom so that all Minnesota's youth thrive."
For this work, McKnight formed strategic partnerships with seven grantee schools in the Twin Cities:
* Andersen United Community School, Minneapolis Public Schools
* Jefferson Community School , Minneapolis Public Schools
* Saint Paul Music Academy, Saint Paul Public Schools
* Wellstone Elementary School, Saint Paul Public Schools
* Earle Brown Elementary School, Brooklyn Center Community Schools
* Academia Cesar Chavez, independent charter school
* Community of Peace Academy, independent charter school
Each school is focused on dramatically improving results for readers across the PreK-3 continuum. The schools first received a one-year planning grant before submitting a three-year proposal to implement their plans to improve PreK -- 3 literacy outcomes. All seven schools are now in the implementation phase.
The McKnight Foundation hired SRI International (SRI) and the Center for Applied Research and Education Improvement (CAREI) at the University of Minnesota to evaluate the E&L Program in the grantee schools. The evaluation included only the grantee schools from Minneapolis Public Schools, Saint Paul Public Schools, and Brooklyn Center Community Schools. The charter school grantees are not included in the evaluation.
The key purposes of the evaluation are (1) to inform internal stakeholders of the successes and challenges of the work as it is under way so that adjustments can be made and (2) to share lessons learned from implementation with others working to improve the PreK -- 3 continuum and literacy outcomes for students. The evaluation team is collecting and analyzing data on teacher practice and on children's early literacy skills and third-grade reading achievement to assess improvements associated with the initiative.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America / United States (Midwestern) / Minnesota (Twin Cities)
Arts and Culture, Education and Literacy
In the early 2000s, there was considerable discussion about the role of the arts in public education, but little data about the status of arts education in all schools in Minnesota. To answer this need, the Perpich Center for Arts Education launched The Minnesota Arts Education Research Project during the 2010/2011 school year with funding provided by the Minnesota State Legislature through its Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund of the Clean Water, Land, and Legacy Amendment.
The purpose of this project was to gather, evaluate and disseminate quantitative data regarding arts education in the state. The Research Project was designed to document arts education in every school through a statewide voluntary survey, and combine the survey findings with other information to create a 360-degree view of arts education in the state.
This report is a summary of the status of arts education, education policy and delivery. The intent is to provide decision makers and the public with a clear picture of the status of arts education in Minnesota.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America-United States (Midwestern)-Minnesota
Community and Economic Development, Education and Literacy, Employment and Labor
How are rural Minnesotans experiencing their communities? What are their priorities? How are they weathering storms? We conduct the Rural Pulse periodically to find out.
The 2013 Rural Pulse is the largest and deepest poll we have ever undertaken. For the first time, we also tapped the opinions of urban residents and looked deeper for racial and cultural perspectives.
The bottom line? Minnesotans across the board remain very optimistic about their futures. We also share a belief that rural communities offer tremendous quality of life and that Minnesota is stronger when rural voices are heard and differences are appreciated. Threatening optimism, however, are very real concerns -- still -- about the economy.
Minnesota communities are not unlike the ecosystem of the state itself -- a network of mutual interdependence in which even the smallest towns play their own vital role. Cities, suburbs and exurbs are linked to the communities, villages and townships of rural Minnesota in complex and profound ways.
Blandin Foundation stands with rural community leaders as they design and claim ambitious, hopeful futures that benefit all residents. Rural Pulse 2013 helps us to see where Minnesota still has some work to do.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America-United States (Midwestern)-Minnesota
Community and Economic Development, Education and Literacy, Employment and Labor
Rural Pulse™ is a research study that has been commissioned by the Blandin Foundation since 1998 to gain a real-timesnapshot of the concerns, perceptions and priorities of rural Minnesota residents. This initiative was last conducted in 2010and served to identify trends within significant, complex subject areas such as the economy, education, employment andquality of life.
Past studies have also included canvassing opinions within the Foundation's "home" geographical area as well as among Blandin Community Leadership and Blandin Reservation Community Leadership Program alumni. The Foundation chose to undertake this effort again in 2013 to accomplish the following objectives: Understand the issues rural residents and leaders prioritize within their communities; Learn if community needs are being adequately addressed; Compare and contrast issue movement in comparison to past Rural Pulse studies; and, new for 2013, Gain an understanding of how the opinions of urban Minnesotans and those of ethnic and cultural differences compare to at-large findings. The Blandin Foundation also is providing an urban dimension to this year's study, made possible through support from the Minnesota Community Foundation.
This document is the executive summary of this research study
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America-United States (Midwestern)-Minnesota
Community and Economic Development, Education and Literacy, Employment and Labor
Rural Pulse™ is a research study that has been commissioned by the Blandin Foundation since 1998 to gain a real-time snapshot of the concerns, perceptions and priorities of rural Minnesota residents. This initiative was last conducted in 2010 and served to identify trends within significant, complex subject areas including the economy, education, employment and quality of life.
Past studies have also included canvassing opinions within the Foundation's "home" area as well as among Blandin Community Leadership and Blandin Reservation Community Leadership Program alumni. The Foundation chose to undertake this effort again in 2013 to accomplish the following objectives:Understand the issues rural residents and leaders prioritize within their communities; Learn if community needs are being adequately addressed; Compare and contrast issue movement in comparison to past Rural Pulse studies; and, new for 2013, Gain an understanding of how the opinions of urban Minnesotans and those of ethnic and cultural differences compare to at-large findings.
This particular document concerns the difference in attitudes between rural Minnesotans and those in the Foundation's "home area" - defined as the Grand Rapids and Itasca County area, including the communities of Blackduck, Hill City, Northome and Remer.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America-United States (Midwestern)-Minnesota
Education and Literacy, Employment and Labor
Minnesota is one of a handful of states that requires decisions about who to hire, promote or even lay off in public schools to be made solely based on years on the job. This executive summary highlights survey results that show voters overwhelmingly want performance, not seniority, to drive public school staffing decisions.
Researchers conducted the survey in December 2011. Respondents included registered voters in Minnesota and the total sample size was 1,000, stratified by age and gender to correspond with state population estimates.
Major findings include:
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America-United States (Midwestern)-Minnesota
Education and Literacy, Employment and Labor
Rural Pulse™ is a research study that has been commissioned by the Blandin Foundation since 1998 to gain a real-time snapshot of the concerns, perceptions and priorities of rural Minnesota residents. This initiative was last conducted in 2010 and served to identify trends within significant, complex subject areas including the economy, education, employment and quality of life. Past studies have also included canvassing opinions within the Foundation's "home" area as well as among Blandin Community Leadership and Blandin Reservation Community Leadership Program alumni.
The Foundation chose to undertake this effort again in 2013 to accomplish the following objectives: Understand the issues rural residents and leaders prioritize within their communities; Learn if community needs are being adequately addressed;Compare and contrast issue movement in comparison to past Rural Pulse studies; and, new for 2013, Gain an understanding of how the opinions of urban Minnesotans and those of ethnic and cultural differences compare to at-large findings.
This particular documents compares the attitudes of rural Minnesotans versus those who live in Minnesota's urban areas.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America-United States (Midwestern)-Minnesota
See More Reports
