Committee Reports.  The two education committees that met today--the House E-12 Finance Committee and the Senate E-12 Funding Division--heard reports from various stakeholders in Minnesota's education arena.

The House Education Finance Committee listened to an overview of Minnesota's charter school network; what differentiates them from traditional public schools in terms of requirements and organization.

The Senate E-12 Finance Committee held a joint committee meeting with the Senate Committee on Human Services Reform Finance and Policy.  The meeting was dedicated to areas where the health and human services system and education systems work together.  Much of this work comes in the area where childcare and early education intersect.  The committees heard from several sites where the two systems are working together well to meet the needs of students and their families.

Lifelong Learning.  The Economist put together a great special report on lifelong learning in its latest issue.  One of the challenges for workers in the modern workforce is to keep their skills sharp and relevant in an ever-changing economy.  This set of articles has a lot of very good insight (we wouldn't expect less from The Economist?)  With President-elect Trump talking about the need for career and technical education and state policymakers also looking to find ways to enhance applied learning opportunities, this material couldn't come at a more opportune time.

I have linked the six articles that comprise the report below:

Lifelong Learning Has Become and Economic Imperative

What Employers Can Do to Encourage Their Workers to Retrain

How Older Employees Perform in the Workplace

Established Education Providers v. New Contenders

Turning Qualifications into Jobs

Retraining Low-Skilled Workers