October’s great free educational opportunities
The following column originally appeared in several APG of East Central Minnesota newspapers during October, 2024.
October’s great free educational opportunities
Along with beautiful fall colors, this is a terrific month for free opportunities for Minnesota youngsters and adults. Whether learning about many ways to explore elementary-high school youngsters’ interests and talents or checking out free college and university options and deadlines, this is a perfect time for families to explore possibilities.
Let’s start with the free “Reach for the Stars” catalog, which lists more than 130 academic enrichment programs, activities, challenges, competitions, events and opportunities. If you have youngsters in your family, or you work with youngsters, download a free copy of this remarkable publication. A partial list of the 130+ options includes agriculture, art, chess, chemistry, duck stamp, geography, history, Lego and many other competitions, environmental activism, math league, MAAP (Minnesota Association of Alternative Programs) STARS, personal finance, poetry, robotics, science, unsung heroes’ documentary and Minnesota Zoo challenge. Some of these take place as part of schoolwork, and some are after school, online or out of school.
It’s available for free, here.
“Reach for the Stars” has been produced for more than 30 years, according to Barb Bergseth, program administrator of Synergy & Leadership Exchange in the Mankato area. It’s a terrific example of cooperation among many education and community groups. I give it 11 stars on a 1-10 scale.
Other new, valuable opportunities focus on youngsters seeking free college credit. For example, the 2024 Minnesota Legislature changed the Post-Secondary Enrollment Options law. Now 10th-12th graders who want to take free PSEO courses during the second semester have until Oct. 30 to notify their school. Previously students had to notify their school by May 30 if they wanted to take a course the following school year.
The Minnesota Department of Education also describes how PSEO students can get free meals if they attend their high school campus during hours when food is being distributed. More information is available on page 6 of this FAQ sheet from the Minnesota Dept. of Education.
More information about the new PSEO application deadline and other valuable information is available here. Thanks to Anna Arkin, assistant director of communications at MDE, for providing this information. MDE has been holding workshops with educators to share changes in the PSEO law, but not every school may be aware of these revisions.
Minnesota legislators decided that for families whose adjusted gross annual income is less than $80,000, tuition would be free at the state’s public two-year colleges and four-year universities. This applies to people of ALL ages, so it’s an opportunity for low- and moderate-income adults and teens. More information about this North Star Promise is here.
Doug Anderson, director of communications and media at the Minnesota State System of Colleges and Universities shared research showing that at least in part because of the North Star Promise, fall 2024 enrollment system-wide is up 7.7% compared to fall of 2023. This includes enrollment increases of 8.4% at Anoka Technical College, 8.8% at Anoka-Ramsey College, 11.5% at Dakota County Technical College, 15.8% at Hennepin Technical, 4.1% at Inver Hills Community College, 14.3% at Minnesota State College Southeast, 14.9% at Normandale Community College, 8.1% at North Hennepin Community College, 2.9% at Pine Technical and Community College, 10.4% at Rochester Community and Technical College, and 1.% at St Cloud State University, and a decline of 0.2% at Winona State University.
MnSCU has planned a variety of activities for October. These coincide with state-teacher conferences, but are not limited to those days. For example, there’s no application fee for anyone, regardless of income, this month. More info here.
There’s never been a better time to explore your interests and talents, regardless of age.
Joe Nathan PhD, formerly a Minnesota public school educator and PTA president, is founder and now senior fellow at the Center for School Change. Reactions welcome, joe@centerforschoolchange.org