Commissioner Cassellius Announces Visit to Lincoln - Thursday, December 8

The Minnesota Commissioner of Education, Dr. Brenda Cassellius, will visit Lincoln K-8 Choice School from 12:00 – 12:45 p.m. on Thursday, December 8. Dr. Cassellius will tour Lincoln, including the Zebrafish STEM Lab and the microscope suite. Students will share their extension projects in the areas of tissue regeneration, genetics and behavior, bone density, and sleep deprivation; and students will share an exciting school-wide chemistry and animal husbandry pilot project in preparation for partnership with new schools. Staff will share the partnership paradigm that allows Lincoln and InSciEd Out to build STEM partnerships locally, regionally, and nationally.

Later in the day, Dr. Cassellius will attend a town hall event in Rochester to talk about the NCLB (No Child Left Behind) waiver application to the federal government. Dr. Cassellius will give an overview of the waiver process and then speak directly with audience members who have questions or comments about the waiver. The town hall gathering will be held on Thursday, December 8, 2011 from 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. at the International Event Center in Rochester (7333 Airport View Drive Southwest).

This visit to Rochester is part of a series of statewide public meetings to provide information about Minnesota’s No Child Left Behind (NCLB) waiver request. Commissioner Brenda Cassellius and MDE staff will embark on a statewide tour to present information about Minnesota’s waiver request and plans for a new accountability system that will more accurately and fairly measure progress. Cassellius says, “these meetings will provide the public an opportunity to hear about Minnesota's waiver request, ask questions and offer feedback.”