Minnesota
State Government
Governor
Tim Walz (D)
State Senate
33
Democrats,
33
Republicans
State House
69
Democrats,
64
Republicans
Economic well-being - Minnesota
Extreme poverty rate
0.1
Food insecurity
0.1
Minimum wage
11.1
Percent of working families under 200% of the poverty line
0.2
Poverty rate
9.3%
Unemployment rate
3.6
Number of Black or African American children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment
Number of Hispanic or Latino children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment
Percent of individuals who are uninsured
5.1
St. Cloud Times, January 27, 2013: (Op-Ed) Increase integration in schools
"Advantaged students disproportionately use open enrollment, generally because they have the resources to overcome out-of-district transportation. Low-income families often don't have the means to accommodate transferring their children, resulting in a class divide and an increase in the achievement gap between schools."
Star Tribune, December 03, 2012: (Editorial) A promising focus on achievement gap
"In fact, federal data released last week shows that Minnesota ranked dead last in four-year graduation rates for Latino and American Indian students, second to last for African American students, and near the bottom for low-income students overall. That's the case even though an estimated 500 related educational initiatives spend about $90 million annually in the metro area, mostly on top of school district budgets."
St. Paul Pioneer-Press, December 02, 2012: 'High-need' areas among changes planned to school choice
"Amid a major school-choice overhaul that targets uneven achievement across its schools, next fall the district is designating some city areas as high-need' using an uncommon combination of family income, test scores and English fluency. It will reserve seats for children from those areas in 10 schools with the lowest portion of low-income students, including six with perennial waiting lists."
Minneapolis Star Tribune, November 29, 2012: New coalition targets achievement gap in schools
"The Generation Next partnership, to be formally announced Thursday, will focus first on fostering research-based strategies for closing racial and economic achievement gaps in Minneapolis and St. Paul, both district and charter schools. But it hopes to expand to suburban districts if it demonstrates results. New federal data this week indicated that Minnesota ranked last in four-year graduation rates for Latino and American Indian students, second to last for black students and near the bottom for low-income students."
Star Tribune, October 30, 2012: Minneapolis homeless pupils lag in math
"Homelessness among Minneapolis students stunts their growth in math and can leave them behind their peers in math and reading for years, according to a long-term study released Tuesday by the University of Minnesota."
Star Tribune, August 30, 2012: Minnesota imposes new labels on schools
"All told, 213 schools are now labeled underperforming in some way, compared to more than 1,000 under No Child Left Behind. All are schools that receive federal Title I money to address higher levels of poverty. Those schools have to submit turnaround plans to the state, but unlike previous years, they no longer have to provide tutoring or transfers or face stricter penalties."