EPIC reports

Education Minnesota's Educator Policy Innovation Center released its first paper on testing during a news conference at the Minnesota State Fair in 2015. Since then, our teacher-centered think tank has crafted research papers on equitable school funding, full-service community schools, universal pre-k, teacher recruitment and retention, student discipline, teacher training and early childhood education, with more in the works.

Disrupted learning
Disrupted Learning, COVID-19 and Public Education in Minnesota (January 2021)

• Executive summary
• One-pager

Early care and education
Minnesota's Birth-4 Care and Education System (January 2021)

• Executive summary

Equitable school funding
Building an Equitable School System for All Students and Educators (May 2019)

• Executive Summary
• Educator Compensation and Work Environments
• Teacher Induction and Mentoring
• Infrastructure: The Physical State of Minnesota's Schools
• The Need for Universal Preschool
• Interrupting Racism, Strengthening Communities and Accelerating Student Learning: The Need for Restorative Practices and Trauma-Informed Schools in Minnesota
• Teacher Preparation
• Equitably Meeting the Needs of the Whole Child: Minnesota's Critical Need for Related Service Providers and Specialized Instructional Support Personnel
• Full-Service Community Schools
• Public Higher Education in Minnesota
• Improving Special Education Services in Minnesota Schools

Teacher prep programs

• The Merits of Teaching Preparation Grounded in Equity: Critical Components for Developing and Retaining Educators Who are Responsive to Minnesota's Diverse and Complex Communities (February 2018)
• Teacher prep programs executive summary (February 2018)
• Teacher prep programs one-pager (February 2018)

Student discipline

• From Exclusionary to Restorative: An Intentional, Trauma-Sensitive Approach to Interrupting Racial Disparities, Reducing Violence, Strengthening Communities, and Accelerating Student Learning (March 2017)
• Student discipline executive summary (March 2017)
• Student discipline one-pager (March 2017)

Teacher recruitment and retention

• Smart Solutions to Minnesota's Teacher Shortage: Developing and Sustaining a Diverse & Valued Educator Workforce (March 2016)
• Teacher recruitment & retention one-pager (March 2016)
• Report shows increase in state's teacher shortage (March 2017)
• AFT Quality of Worklife Survey results (2015)
• MetLife survey: Teacher dissatisfaction at an all-time high (2020)

Universal pre-kindergarten

• The Best Start for Students: Why Minnesota Needs Universal Pre-Kindergarten (January 2016)
• Universal pre-K one-pager (January 2016)
• See the benefits of pre-K programs in Minneapolis and White Earth!

Full-service community schools

• Our Communities, Our Schools: Closing the Opportunity Gap in Minnesota With Full-Service Community Schools (December 2015)
• Community schools report one-pager (December 2015)
• See Brooklyn Center's full-service community schools in action!

Testing

• Testing Better: How to Improve Minnesota's Use of Assessments in Education (September 2015)

Find out more about EPIC and how you can be a part of this teacher-led think tank.