Pawlenty touting new 3Rs

Calling Minnesota high schools "obsolete," Gov Tim Pawlenty Wednesday laid out a plan to transform some high schools into rigorous academies.

Students in such schools -- called "3Rs" for "rigor, relevance and results" -- would have to complete the equivalent of a full year of college before getting their high school diplomas.

Beyond that, Pawlenty proposed that all high schools do other new things: require students to take four years of a foreign language and boost the emphasis on math, science, technology and engineering. He also wants schools to set up individual graduation plans for eighth-graders on up.

In his fifth State of the State speech the governor also spoke about energy, taxes, and health care.

But education -- and high schools in particular -- stole the show. The reason? Too many students are going through the motions, he said.

"Too many of our high school students today are engaged in academic loitering for much of their high-school career," Pawlenty told a joint House-Senate assembly. "In too many cases our high school students are bored, checked-out, coasting, not even vaguely aware of their post-high school plans, if they have any, and are just marking time."

DFL legislators criticized the speech even before it was given.

House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, DFL-Minneapolis, anticipating that Pawlenty would call for a high school overhaul, said at a pre-speech news conference that Pawlenty might be overstating problems in a state that has among the highest graduation rates and college entrance scores in the nation.

High schools "probably need a tune-up more than they need an overhaul. ... Everything needs a periodic tune-up," Kelliher said, adding that a large gap in achievement needs to be addressed and more should be done to prepare students for jobs that don't require a college education.

And there are some students who would differ with Pawlenty's description of high school as obsolete.

"That's kind of shocking," said Coon Rapids High School senior Alyssa Anttila. "It makes it sound like all high schools are outdated and not with the times, when I think high schools are doing a very good job keeping students educated."

'A little bit offended'

After looking up the speech online, Anttila and fellow senior Margaret Baudino took issue with Pawlenty's use of the word "obsolete."I personally felt a little bit offended," Baudino said. "He was saying that the way we are learning isn't good enough anymore. It seems like he's focused on coming up to par with technology, but we already use that in our schools."

But some educators say schools could use updating -- and they're doing it.

"The type of school the governor described is our school," said Paul Simone, director of the Minnesota Math and Science Academy charter school, in Woodbury. "The things he talked about will work, but not in the traditional system."

Other features of the Pawlenty schools plan include a 2 percent, no-strings-attached annual funding bump for schools over the next two years, another 2 percent increase for schools that post sterling math and reading test results, and more money for high tech, online learning opportunities.

He also reiterated his support for a plan to give high-achieving students two years of free college. Added to that now would be college scholarships for students who tackle college-level classes in high school.

Pawlenty has pushed high school reform in the past, but most of the efforts have been restricted to more money for college credit and advanced placement options.

His focus on the upper end of the K-12 spectrum could well put him at odds with most of the Legislature's DFLers, who want big funding boosts for pre-school and kindergarten programs.

House K-12 finance division committee chairwoman Mindy Greiling, DFL-Roseville, noted the difference. But, she added that "there wasn't anything terrible about what he had to say; in fact, much of what he had to say was pretty darned good."

"High schools need to evolve'

As for the "3R" schools idea, Charlie Kyte, executive director of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators, expressed qualified support.

"Minnesota schools right now are pretty darned good," he said. "And there's a kind of tone that makes them sound as if they aren't good. At the same time, we recognize that high schools need to evolve, and students are going to need the "3R" skills.

More details on his funding proposals will be released when Pawlently announces his budget next Tuesday.

In additional to his education plan, Pawlenty called for "better government, better energy, better education and better health-care," and summarized previous proposals to move Minnesota toward using more renewable energy, expanding access to health-care coverage and reducing costs, along with tax reductions for military households and a limit to local property tax increases.

Pawlenty, a Republican who was reelected by just 1 percentage point in November, also advised the DFL majorities in the Senate and House that he would oppose any general tax increases.

Budget projections allow for a $1 billion spending increase, and the state also has a $2 billion projected surplus on top of that, Pawlenty said. This would allow the state to increase total spending by about 10 percent on a $30 billion budget base for the next two years, he said.

"3R" tab: $75 million

The Pawlenty "3R" school plan would cost $75 million. Schools would volunteer to participate. But how many schools would be able to ramp up on college credits and get all students to complete one year of college before even leaving high school?

"We want to make it available," said Dennis Holt, interim director of secondary curriculum for Anoka-Hennepin schools. "I'm not sure we're at a point where we can require it."

Barbara Mersy, a social worker at Cooper High School, in New Hope, said schools can meet the needs of average students, who have educational resources at home. But what about those who don't have such advantages?

"Some students might come from families where no one has graduated before from high school," she said. And while college for them "might be achievable, it is not necessarily appropriate."

Staff writers Dan Wascoe and Charlie Bruce contributed to this report. rdsmith@startribune.com • 651-292-0164 ndraperstartribune.com • 612-673-4547