Jerry Holt jgholt@startribune.com<\/a> A 2003 research project concluded that for every $1 the state invests in the life of a child, it gets back $8 in value. Within months of that reports release, Minnesota Business for Early Learning was founded as a resource to fight for the cause. It was backed by leading businesses and various chambers of commerce. <\/p>\n It was in the early 2000s that the Minnesota business community began getting serious about a most unlikely education cause. <\/p>\n Businesses and their various foundations and employee giving programs had long sponsored college scholarships for those most in need. In the mid-1980s, the business community began a serious effort at reforming the K-12 system under the leadership of 3M CEO Lewis Lehr and his colleagues at the Minnesota Business Partnership. <\/p>\n Forming an unusual alliance with DFL Gov. Rudy Perpich, such reform ideas as postsecondary enrollment options for high school students (earning college credits along the way), open enrollment, student\/parent choice of schools and careful measurement of student performance were the result of several years of significant policy advocacy. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read the original here: <\/p>\n The evolution of Minnesota businesses' agenda for effective early learning - Minneapolis Star Tribune<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jerry Holt jgholt@startribune.com<\/a> A 2003 research project concluded that for every $1 the state invests in the life of a child, it gets back $8 in value. Within months of that reports release, Minnesota Business for Early Learning was founded as a resource to fight for the cause. Continue reading