FINALLY, I need Chamber members, family and friends to attend the event and support the 11 student businesses as they compete for $6,000 in investor funds.  The Lakeville Area Chamber is the the first organization in Minnesota to sponsor a YEA! and we could not have done it without our organization's support.  Please mark your calendar and make time to come to the event.

Please call the Chamber office at 952-469-2020 if you are willing to help me out next Wednesday.  I promise it will be worth your time and energy.

Congratulations to Patty Ruedy the new Recreation Program Coordinator at the Heritage Center! 

This feature provides updates on new and expanding business developments in Lakeville. If you have questions on business development in the City, please call Adam Kienberger, Economic Development Specialist at 952-985-4425.

More than 250 individuals gathered in February at the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce's Education Summit. The participants represented a diverse cross-section of Minnesotans from business leaders, parents, students, teachers, school administrators and leading education advocates for school change at the state and national levels.

By introducing high-caliber national figures with ideas for common-sense reforms in Minnesota, and highlighting several promising local initiatives, our goal was to ignite a greater urgency for changes to the education system. The summit served as a springboard for the Minnesota Chamber and our local partners across the state to advance common-sense solutions at the 2014 Legislature to ensure a world-class workforce.

Minnesota has a tradition of exceptional schools and exceptional students. We boast high scores on national and international tests. Some of our kids are doing great. But if you look a little deeper, as The Education Trust's Kati Haycock showed us at the event, there is trouble. The gaps in academic achievement are narrowing in the elementary schools, but any traction there is being lost as students advance in the high schools.

Addressing Minnesota's distressing achievement gap between white students and students of color has been something the community has been talking about for a long time, but so far we've only made slight gains. We have a long way to go to ensure that all students have opportunities for lifelong success.

The summit had its detractors - those who charged that this was just another attempt by big corporations to run schools. It's disappointing that the rocks were thrown before the first speaker stepped to our podium. In truth, the ideas advanced echoed exactly what we are hearing from citizens across the state.

A poll recently conducted by the Minnesota Chamber showed strong support to: Provide opportunities for students to earn college credit while in high school; give parents easy-to-understand data on how their students are doing; evaluate teacher performance, and use the results as a key factor in determining teacher tenure and pay; improve the performance of the college programs preparing teachers.

The collective message from speakers at the summit was clear: Put politics aside and do what's best for the children.  The 2014 Legislature is about to begin, and we're ready to move forward again with common-sense ideas like staffing flexibility that will keep "rising star" teachers in the classroom and expanded dual credit options to lower college costs.  

Improving the strength and effectiveness of our education system so that all Minnesotans are prepared for success will strengthen our workforce and strengthen Minnesota's economy.  As we heard clearly at our summit, it's time to stop talking about the problem, and put a full-court press on embracing solutions that are good for all our children.