MG2010 Midwest: Minnesota Humanities Center

What is March Goodness? In conjunction with the "March Madness" collegiate basketball tournament, Razoo is launching a March Goodness giving campaign where a select group of nonprofits will compete for grants based on fundraising through the Razoo network.

This year, 64 nonprofits (16 in each of four regions) were chosen by Razoo's Selection Committee to participate in the main tournament called the "Big Dance".

The winner of the Big Dance Regional is the non-profit with the most individual donations.

Help us advance our mission and increase our chances in the tournament by donating $10 today!

"The current educational systems do not work for a large percentage of Minnesotans-mostly minority and low income students..." (Citizens League, 2004)

The Achievement Gap in Minnesota
In Minnesota there is a serious gap in academic achievement between underserved students (primarily students of color) and their peers. This gap translates into low graduation rates and can heavily influence the ability for these students to acquire and maintain a place in the workforce. This gap has serious consequences for our communities, our economy, and our children as they grow into adulthood.

Minnesota Humanities Center Approach
The Humanities Center builds the knowledge of teachers by creating professional development workshops and programs that deepen education awareness and knowledge about the cultural lives and lived experiences of their students. The 21st century classroom is not the classroom of the 20th. Minnesota classrooms contain immigrant and refugee students from across the globe. Additionally, educational research has established that a key contributor to the achievement gap of African American students is educator ignorance about the lived experiences and cultural lives of these students. Humanities Center programs give educators the knowledge and skills they need to teach students in the 21st century in the most effective way possible. Early evaluation by the Wilder Research Center is showing that this work is making a difference in the achievement of these students in a number of Twin Cities metropolitan area schools.