Officials with the U.S. Department of Education announced that Minnesota and four other states had been awarded four-year waivers to No Child Left Behind. More are likely to be granted as No Child Left Behind, which expired in 2007, continues to be debated. Federal education officials said states need stability now.
First awarded in 2012, Minnesota's waiver established a new accountability system for schools known as the Multiple Measurement Ratings system. For the most part, schools prefer the new rating system over the old one, which branded more than half of the school districts in the state as "failures."
The waiver also established state Regional Centers of Excellence, teams of content specialists who work with struggling schools.
Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius lauded the progress that Minnesota schools have made under the waiver, particularly in closing the achievement gap between white and minority students.
Minnesota education officials have pledged to cut the achievement gap in half by 2017.
Kim McGuire
South Washington, Minnetonka, Hopkins are tops in school lunch
According to Pittsburgh-based website Niche's 2015 rankings, South Washington County ranked 48th among school districts nationwide for the quality of its lunch program — good for third in the state behind the Minnetonka and Hopkins districts, which placed sixth and 20th nationally.
The ratings are based on student and parent surveys, and on district spending, with the greatest weight given to what parents and students have to say.
