My commitment to closing the achievement gap in Minnesota is rooted in two aspects of my personal experience. First, I am a product of Minnesota public schools. Second, during my time in the corps, I became deeply familiar with the massive disparities that divide people along racial and socioeconomic lines and I developed an unwavering belief that all kids can achieve at high levels. Any lesser expectation is totally unacceptable.

There’s a long-held belief all students are succeeding in Minnesota, and even though there is a difference between Caucasian and students of color, that they are both exceeding national standards. In reality, that’s just not true. In Minneapolis just 18% of eleventh grade Hispanics, 17% of Native Americans, and 13% of African Americans reach proficiency in math standards.

In many states, students of color outperform their peers in Minnesota. How can Minnesota take pride in itself as a state which provides a great education to all of its students when we’ve blinded ourselves to the realities at play in classrooms across the state?

I was thrilled to help launch Teach For America • Twin Cities in 2009. Our corps members, supported by alumni and staff who have made their home in the area, have earned a strong reputation for achieving great results with their students. But this is just the beginning of our work in Twin Cities. Our goal is for our corps members to be recognized as life-changing classroom and community leaders. By growing our corps, our transformational teachers will reach more students and we will produce more alumni who are gaining the insight and conviction to be the leaders in closing the achievement gap.