SEMCOL Releases Report on Local Learning Systems in S.E. Minneapolis

Written by Dr. Jerry Stein

The Southeast Minneapolis Council on Learning (SEMCOL) presented a report in partnership with Learning Dreams describing the variety of people, places and organizations making up the local learning system of Southeast Minneapolis.

The findings of the report present new and compelling data demonstrating that education and learning is spread widely throughout the Southeast Minneapolis community, and that investments and financial support devoted to learning outside of schools, such as libraries, museums, parks, music stores, arts organizations and bookstores is much greater than that spent within schools. 

Policies reflecting this economic — that education is something broader than schooling — is necessary if we hope to strengthen and support communities, schools, families and individuals. In doing so, we may make progress in solving social problems such as the achievement gap.

The report also suggests the need for an intergenerational perspective, with attention focused on families in communities rather than just children in schools, or youth in programs. The report introduces the concept of a “local learning ecosystem” to describe this wider understanding of learning. 

Education policy could be deeply affected by a perspective informed by the findings of the report, and SEMCOL and Learning Dreams hope to make the case for such a foundational shift in understanding through further research, field work and continued updates to their data.

The Report on the Local Learning System of Southeast Minneapolis will be available online at the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs’ (CURA) website, in early 2012.

This report was sponsored by CURA and Hennepin County. The report is dedicated to Kris Nelson of CURA, who, as our grant supervisor, helped develop the questions and approach used in this report.