Thousands of miles separate the White House from the Ethiopian and Kenyan refugee camps where Hashim Yonis once lived. He was in Washington to help promote Minneapolis' jobs and mentoring program, called STEP-UP. The program, which operates in partnership with AchieveMpls, brings together businesses, nonprofit groups and public agencies to find jobs and professional role models for poor young people at risk of dropping out of school or struggling to find employment.
South High, which draws many middle class students to its open and liberal arts programs, led the city in 2010 figures with 70 percent of students entering college the fall after graduation. It also had help from an award-winning counseling staff, including AchieveMpls Career & College Coordinator Anne Erickson.
That sudden shift in the barometric pressure you might have felt at about 11:37 this morning? That was the achievement gap narrowing perceptibly in one swift moment. In Minnesota to talk college and career readiness with a host of notables, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan hosted a town hall meeting at Minneapolis' South High School.
