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Keeping the Promise
As the African proverb says, “It takes a whole village to raise a child. We are the village and these are our children.” Our children are the promise for the future and our promise to them is to identify and support an educational system that prepares all of its students for success in the global economy. The Minnesota’s Promise project began in 2005 when 27 past and present school administrators came together to share strategies and build relationships across rural, urban, and suburban lines. Since that time, more than 500 Minnesotans and a broad array of organizations have converged in large summits, small group meetings and countless conversations to provide input into what a successful system may look like and how we can achieve it. Here is what they discovered:

The following two trends are major influences on what successful systems look like:
  1. The first is the emergence of the global knowledge economy which demands that all citizens have high-level knowledge and skills to earn a living wage and to take advantage of the opportunities available to well-educated Americans.
  2. The second significant trend is changing demographics including the increased number of students of color, students whose language is not English, and students living in poverty.
The challenge to schools is twofold:
  1. The first is to close the achievement gaps between Minnesota’s students and other students in the highest-performing nations in the world.
  2. The second is to close the gaps that exist among our students right here in Minnesota.
After many meetings, conversations, and a whole lot of research, 28 organizations whose work is related to children, families, schools, communities and post secondary education agreed to work toward the following ten strategies as part of Minnesota’s Promise.
  1. Early Childhood Education: This means investing in kids early in their lives so they are ready for school and eager to learn.
  2. Educator Quality: Accomplishing the mission of Minnesota’s Promise will require that we have great teachers, principals, and superintendents who are prepared, supported and retained.
  3. Academic Rigor: We need our schools and curriculums to challenge each student to learn at his or her highest possible level. Expectations, opportunities and instruction must be in place for that to happen.
  4. Family and Community Involvement: Families and communities are very important in the success of students and learners. We need to make sure they participate as full partners in education.
  5. Multicultural Community: No matter what a child’s background, language, ethnicity, capacity, or family income, schools must ensure that all cultures are included and supported. We must reach across local and global cultural divisions to connect our learners to others.
  6. Data and Research: Educators at all levels must make use of the information that is available to improve teaching and learning every day.
  7. Funding: Schools need funding they can count on. Schools need funding that is equal to the quality of schools Minnesotans want.
  8. Time: Schedules and calendars should be designed in ways that help kids to reach high standards.
  9. Special Education: Services for students with disabilities should be proactive, effective, efficient, and adequately funded.
  10. Health: Parents and other stakeholders are important to student success. Parents and others need to do what they can to make sure that students come to school physically and mentally ready to learn.
Minnesota’s Promise is a clear vision for public education: preparing all of our students for success in the global economy in world-class schools and a world-class state. It is the opportunity for all of us to come together to meet the needs of all learners and to help them become all that they can be.

Just like it will take all of us together to impact energy consumption, the economy, or the environment, if will take all of us together to improve our schools and our outlook for the future.

 Minnesota’s_Promise_2.ppt  
PowerPoint (slide) presentation to use in presenting the above concepts to your school community.
Get Acrobat Reader  Keeping_the_Promise__Talking_Points_2.pdf  
Keeping the Promise article formatted for copying (printing).




Mission: The Minnesota Elementary School Principals' Association is dedicated to promoting and improving education for children and youth, strengthening the role as educational leader for elementary and middle level principals, and collaborating with partners in education to assist in achieving these goals.

Leading schools toward excellence through the MESPA vision to be the premiere resource for preparing today's principals for tomorrow and a strong leading voice for public education.

Minnesota Elementary School Principals' Association
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