Urban and suburban … young and old …  neighbors and business leaders … all coming together with a shared intent to put those legislative issues which will make a difference for the Northside, the city and the state … front and center with the people who hold power.

Metaphorically speaking, the healthy development of any child from the womb to adulthood rests on a four-legged stool. The likelihood that a child will have academic and life success is significantly improved if each leg of his/or her stool is strong.  If any of the legs are weak, the others must be strong enough to take up the slack. When this doesn’t happen, the life outcomes of the child are comprised. The legs of this stool are a healthy community, a healthy family, great schools, and great public policy. At NAZ we believe that in order to really create a culture of achievement in the Zone where all kids graduate high school college-ready, our work must be in all of these areas. 

Through our family and community engagement, Education Pipeline and whole family support system, we are working on three of the four legs of the stool. Just like we need your help in those, whether you are a Northside neighbor, a volunteer, or a community ally, we need your help on the fourth leg of the stool: public policy.

Elsewhere on this site, we have shown you that although Minnesota continues to be one of the most prosperous states in the nation, not all Minnesotans benefits from this prosperity. Communities throughout the state face a large achievement gap, high rates of poverty, inadequate health and employment, and high rates of youth and gun violence. As you know, the Northside of Minneapolis in particular is disproportionately impacted by these issues, exacerbated by pronounced race and class disparities. While NAZ believes that its collaborative work to improve academic achievement in the Zone will ripple out to address these issues and strengthen the community overall, we need public policy that supports our work.

While the policy agenda of NAZ will continue to evolve as the organization continues its work, the following is the 2011 policy agenda for the Northside Achievement Zone:

Early Childhood- All Children Learning Early and Ready for K

Studies have shown that the achievement gap starts long before kindergarten, resulting in 50% of Minnesota kids not ready for school. The disparities are great: in Minneapolis, whereas 80% of white children met at least two pre-literacy benchmarks when they entered kindergarten, only 50% of African Americans did.  Studies of high quality, center based, pre-school programs provide evidence that such programs can help close the school-readiness gap.

Suggested Support for:

1.  The expansion of a statewide Parent Aware Rating System so that parents can make the right choice for their child.

2.  The establishment of pathways for increasing access to early childhood development for low-income children in the Zone through scholarships and other resources.

3.  The creation of a single State Cabinet-level Office of Early Childhood.

Teacher Effectiveness- A Great Teacher for Every Student- Now!

Research shows that the number one school-based factor in improving academic outcomes for students and closing the achievement gap is the quality of the classroom teacher.  Students with highly effective teachers progress up to three times faster than students with low performing ones, an effect that is only multiplied as the distribution of effective teachers remains unequal, with highly effective teachers concentrated in some schools and highly ineffective teachers concentrated in others, causing students to repeatedly experience teachers of the same caliber year after year.

Suggested Support for:

1.  Putting the best teachers in the schools in which they are most needed.

2.   Standardized statewide teacher evaluation system that measures effectiveness on student progress and drives classroom improvements and staffing decisions.

3.  Granting tenure only to teachers who consistently demonstrate effectiveness based on these evaluations.  A probationary period should be implemented that protects effective teachers from unfair tenure decisions based on too little data and prevents ineffective teachers from earning tenure.

Learn more about the NAZ approach under the About NAZ link at the top of the page, the context in which NAZ works, become a volunteer, donate, become a community ally, or follow us on Facebook.