A six-year-old girl from Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine is the first student to attend a Polish school founded by an immigrant who escaped the Russian-annexed Crimea. She was waiting for social security benefits on the first day of school. She was so scared to start school because she worried other kids wouldn’t accept her, and she didn’t speak Polish. Her fear is understandable, as other students have also questioned whether she should learn Polish at school.

Ukrainian Materynka School founded by a Ukrainian immigrant who fled from Crimea after the Russian annexation.

The Crimean peninsula was briefly a part of Russia. It was subsequently transferred to Ukraine after the annexation by the Russians. Although this transfer occurred sixty years ago, it continues to haunt the Ukrainian people today. In 2004, a Ukrainian immigrant fled Crimea searching for a better life in the USSR. In response, he founded the Ukrainian Materynka School, founded by a former émigré who fled to the USSR and eventually made his way back to Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned the Provisional Principal of Russia in Ukraine to protest the annexation of Crimea. Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada has also condemned Russia’s actions, citing “gross violations.” In addition, it has asked the international community to prevent the annexation and recognition of Crimea.

The Materynka School was opened by a Ukrainian immigrant who fled the annexation of Crimea. Valkov’s children, now adults, have escaped the crisis and are safe at the school. Migrants fled Crimea with their families. Plenty of husbands died in the firefight. But, thanks to the immigrant parents who founded the school, students are now in safe places.

Ukraine’s education system is different from other countries, including the USSR. While the from Poland has a highly developed education system, its students routinely outscore Americans in reading, math, and science. However, this education system has suffered since the pandemic, and teachers are often scarce. There were 13,000 teaching vacancies in the country before the war.

About 2 million people have fled Ukraine in the past six weeks of war.

As the conflict escalated, about two million children were displaced. The majority have fled the besieged city of Mariupol. Many have been sent to eastern regions, including the Russian town of Taganrog. Some have stayed behind in their parents’ bunkers. Some have even fled to Hungary, hoping to find a better life. The vast majority of refugees are women and children. Unfortunately, Ukraine has made its policy to protect its border with Russia more than easing the humanitarian situation for the refugees.

Some children in the war zone have been killed.

The number of children displaced is likely to increase, especially in the north. The United Nations has confirmed 142 child deaths, but the actual number is likely much higher. Several attacks have crippled power and water infrastructure in the war-torn country, leaving millions without access to clean water and electricity. Some towns, including Mariupol, have gone weeks without running water, sanitation services, and regular food supplies.

World Vision has also helped by setting up Child-Friendly Spaces to help these children meet their emotional needs. These spaces allow them to play, express worries, and meet other children who have been displaced. Mihaela Nabar, national director of World Vision’s Romania office, said that these spaces help children feel normal and help them cope with the stress and suffering of their situation. This is also an excellent time to learn about their new life in a new country.

UNICEF has estimated that more than two million children have been displaced within Ukraine in the last six weeks. According to the U.N. Office, more than 100 children have died, and 134 were injured in the war. Still, the actual toll is likely much higher. Hundreds of thousands more children and families have fled the conflict zone into neighboring countries. The European Union has offered to accommodate refugees from the conflict zone for three years.

About 3% of humanitarian aid has gone toward schooling

The crisis in Ukraine has put a strain on schools and education systems. Children exposed to war and violence are often traumatized. However, schooling is one of the best ways to protect children from exploitation. Children out of school are more likely to be victims of human trafficking, abuse, and integration into armed groups. A lack of education is not the only symptom of the conflict.

Children in Ukraine have been affected by the conflict since the Russian invasion. While there have been countless reports about the devastation, only a fraction of the aid has gone towards schooling. In Ukraine, the conflict has resulted in massive displacement within the country and refugees moving across the borders. One of the greatest threats to health care is the collapse of medical services. Without adequate supplies, hospitals and clinics will become inoperable.

Among the most pressing needs are protecting human rights and adequate oversight. Most refugees are children and women. Therefore, their needs are exceptionally diverse. The World Health Organization has provided 81 metric tons of supplies and deployed staff to provide more essential health care. As of April 22, the country had received $109 million, about nine percent of the total amount requested. In addition, the Ukraine Crisis Relief Program requires $1.1 billion for humanitarian assistance inside the country.

The conflict in Ukraine has already devastated the lives and well-being of children. More than five million people have fled the country, with almost half of them children. The conflict has also forced millions of people to flee their homes, leaving behind essential infrastructure. As a result, children are especially vulnerable to human trafficking. Further, there has been a steady stream of attacks using explosive weapons against civilians and vital infrastructure.

Polish schools have better education systems than the United States.

While the U.S. education system focuses on improving basic skills and reducing poverty, Polish schools have been making significant improvements for over a decade. For example, the new lower secondary school system introduced a new curriculum that included compulsory courses in science, mathematics, and reading. This change in curriculum helped increase academic standards across the country. And the country has invested in its teachers’ professional development. Among other things, the government has created a Center for Education Development to provide teacher professional development.

The difference between the American school system and Poland’s is quite significant. American students begin school at age 5 or 6, while kids in Poland start school at age seven. Poland’s educational reform recently reduced grade school education from eight years to six. That model is similar to the one used in the USA. As a result, Polish students are typically much better prepared for standardized tests. As a result, the country has a better education system than the U.S.

The education system in Poland is based on the effect of education on children.

Therefore, it is essential to emphasize the importance of problem-solving and group activities to enhance students’ learning. According to Ewa Dudek, Poland’s undersecretary of state for education, the school curriculum emphasizes problem-solving skills and fostering peer feedback. These skills are essential for vocational training but should not be sacrificed for general education.

Poland implemented the “zero tolerance” reform in 2006. It changed the status of teachers from employees to civil servants and increased penalties for violent crimes against teachers. Headteachers can now send aggressive pupils to community service instead of to jail. If they fail to report violent incidents, the parents of the pupils can also be fined. And teachers who fail to report crimes could even face prison sentences. The Polish education system is far more progressive than the U.S.

Conflicts between Ukrainian and Polish students

Warsaw is in the middle of a refugee crisis as Ukrainians and Poles continue to clash at a Polish school. Ukrainians in Poland, who were displaced by the conflict, are trying to adapt to life in a new country. Some say that establishing a school system is essential before the world turns its attention elsewhere. In recent years, only 3% of humanitarian aid goes to education. However, a fund, education Cannot Wait, has been set up to help schools in humanitarian crises, including Ukraine. This is a good start, but some experts worry that refugees will lack language support teachers and psychological help. 

Ukrainian students, for example, often have fathers fighting in the war and relatives who have stayed behind. Some are also traumatized by the violence, some of whom have lost their families or friends.

Despite the challenges that schools face, some teachers say they are confident about their ability to deal with the situation. One school in Warsaw, for instance, had been offering bilingual classes before the conflict began. As a result, its enrollment has increased by 10 percent since February.

But there is still a shortfall in staff.

In addition, the new arrivals are not fluent in Polish, so some teachers ask them to translate. Despite the difficulties, many teachers try their best to help the new arrivals learn Polish.

Many European governments have recognized the need to educate refugees and provide assistance for them. Ireland, which hosted 5,000 Ukrainians before the Russian invasion, has already prioritized the registration of Ukrainian teachers to help refugee children adjust to life in a new country. Germany, meanwhile, is considering hiring Ukrainian teachers for its public schools. While Poland is hosting nearly 2 million Ukrainians, it has been trying to adjust its laws to increase class size. The Polish government has even created a hotline for parents and students. About half of its schools have Ukrainian children.

OEA Reports
OEA Reports

The Office of Educational Accountability publishes the Minnesota Education Yearbook, which addresses the status of education in the state of Minnesota, the OEA Briefcase, reporting on specific issues within the field of education, and the other reports listed below.
You can access these reports online by clicking on the hyperlinks below (Hypertext files provide you with the complete report, including all figures, tables, and sidebars, but in hypertext-linked format; PDF files provide a facsimile of the original published report). To access them, you will need the free Acrobat Reader software from Adobe (Acrobat Reader Download Page).
Minnesota Education Yearbook

NEW! 2003 Minnesota Education Yearbook (January 2004) Authors: Davision, M.L., Davenport, E.C., Seo, Y.S., Peterson, K.A., Ferdinand, M.L.I., Chan, C.K., Choi, J., Kang, Y.J., & Wu, Y-C.

PDF version < available now for download

2002 Minnesota Education Yearbook (April 2003) Authors: Davision, M.L., Davenport, E.C., Kwak, N., Peterson, K.A., Irish, M.L., Chan, C.K., Choi, J., Harring, J., Kang, Y.J., Seo, Y.S., & Wu, Y-C.

PDF version

The “No Child Left Behind” Act and Minnesota’s Standards, Assessments, and Accountability: 2002 Policy Brief (November 2003) Authors: Davision, M.L., Davenport, E.C., Kwak, N., Peterson, K.A., Irish, M.L., Seo, Y.S., Chan, C.K., Choi, J., Harring, J., Kang, Y.J., & Wu, Y-C.

PDF file

2001 Minnesota Education Yearbook (December 2001) Authors: Davision, M.L., Davenport, E.C., Kwak, N., Peterson, K.A., Irish, M.L., Chan, C.K., Choi, J., Harring, J., Kang, Y.J., Seo, Y.S., & Wu, Y-C.

PDF file

2000 Minnesota Education Yearbook (December 2000) This report is no longer available except through the links below, as all printed copies have been distributed. (NOTE: incorrect data was found in the 5th Grade MCA Mathematics and Writing Tables (Tables 5.3 and 5.5, on p. 52 in the PDF version) in the printed version of this publication. These errors have been corrected in both of the online versions, and an errata sheet has been sent to all recipients of the report.)
Authors: Davision, M.L., Davenport, E.C., Kwak, N., Peterson, K.A., Choi, J., Hjelseth, L., Schleisman, J., & Seo, Y.S.

PDF file

1999 Minnesota Education Yearbook (January 1999)
Authors: Davision, M.L., Erickson, R.N., Davenport, E.C., Kwak, N., Peterson, K.A., Butterbaugh, D., Choi, J., Delorme, L., Schleisman, J., & Seo, Y.S.

PDF file

1998 Minnesota Education Yearbook (January 1998)
Authors: Davision, M.L., Erickson, R.N., Davenport, E.C., Kwak, N., Bielinski, J., Danielson, H., Kim, S-K., Seo, Y.S., Smith, M.J., & Wick, S.L.

PDF file

Other OEA reports

These reports are listed by publication date, with the most recently published reports at the top of the list.

Fast Break to Learning School Breakfast Program: A Report of the Third Year Results, 2001-2002. (April 2003).
Authors: Peterson, K., Davision, M.L., Wahlstrom, K., Himes, J., Harring, J., Seo, Y.S., & Irish, M.L.

PDF file

Minnesota High Stakes High School Graduation Test and Completion Status for the Class of 2000 (September 2002).
Authors: Davenport, E.C., Davision, M.L., Kwak, N., Irish, M.L., & Chan, C-K.

PDF file

The Minnesota Basic Skills Test: Performance Gaps on the Reading and Mathematics Tests from 1996 to 2001, by Gender, Ethnicity, Limited English Proficiency, Individual Education Plans, and Socio-economic Status (July 2002).
Authors: Davenport, E.C., Davision, M.L., Chan, C-K., Choi, J., Guven, K., Harring, J., Irish, M.L., Kang, Y.J., Kwak, N., Wu, Y-C.

PDF file

Fast Break to Learning School Breakfast Program: A Report of the Second Year Results, 2000-2001. (May 2002).
Authors: Peterson, K., Davision, M.L., Wahlstrom, K., Himes, J., Irish, M., Choi, J., Harring, J., Hjelseth, L., Kang, Y-J., & Wu, Y-C.

PDF file

A Few Weeks in Summer: Post-summer School Achievement Among State-funded Students Who Do Not Initially Pass Minnesota’s High School Graduation Test. (April 2001).
Authors: Davision, M.L., Schleisman, J.L., Koeppen, L., Wu, Y-C., & Kwak, N.

PDF file

Fast Break to Learning School Breakfast Program: A Report of the First Year Results, 1999-2000. (February 2001).
Authors: Peterson, K., Davision, M.L., Wahlstrom, K., Himes, J., Hjelseth, L., Ross, J., & Tucker, M.

PDF file

Back to the Basics: An Investigation of School- and District-Level Remediation Efforts Associated with Minnesota’s Basic Standards for High School Graduation. (June 2000)
Authors: Schleisman, J., Peterson, K.A., & Davision, M.L.

PDF file

OEA Briefcase (Summer 2001) “Interpreting Results on the Fifth Grade Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments in Reading and Math: Links to Performance on the Minnesota Basics Standards Test Three Years Later”

PDF file

OEA Briefcase (Winter 1999) “Interpreting Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment Levels: A Link to National Percentile Ranks”

Education Best Practices
Education Best Practices

From this page, you can access information on current educational practices, organized under the general headings of

Educational Policy and Administration
Teaching and Instructional Practices
unutki.org offers teachers the opportunity to create an electronic component for their classes. You can post assignments, communicate with parents, give your students access to class-related discussion boards and other materials, and more! The software is in its beta version, and you have the opportunity to use it with your classes, FOR FREE. Any updates made in the course of beta testing will automatically be included in your MyClass materials, and the FAQ sheet says that your membership is perpetual (unless you terminate it). No need for any special software or computer equipment; no need for knowledge of any special programming or HTML languages. All you have to do is work with text; the MyClass software does the rest.

ALSO: Check out our Information Quality page! It links to Web sites that can help you and your students learn how to evaluate what’s on the Internet.

Many of the resources that you will find on these pages have been produced by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) and the major OERI-funded institutions (Centers, Labs, ERIC) have produced a substantial body of educational research and development information. In the last few years, there has been a concerted effort to make this information accessible in useful forms beyond the academic research community.

Education Consumer Guides and Education Research Reports are two series of publications that were produced in the past within the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI). The sites are no longer being updated, but are still available for browsing. You may find links broken, but overall you may find the sites still useful. The OERI publications are brief, research-based explanations of current concepts and topics such as school-based management and cooperative learning.

Every year, the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) produces more than 200 ERIC Digests–two-page syntheses of the best, most current research on a topic. Topics covered are determined largely by the questions most frequently asked of the sixteen subject-oriented ERIC Clearinghouses. A full-text searchable collection of 2,001 ERIC Digests is maintained at the Department of Education.

The Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) contains selected educational resources, most of which are developed and/or maintained by AskERIC. The contents include:

ERIC’s Comparative Search Engine chart shows four ERIC databases, the types of documents contained in each one, possible search operators and fields, and information on the capabilities of each database’s search engine.
AskERIC Lesson Plan Collection contains more than 1,000 unique lesson plans which have been written and submitted to AskERIC by teachers from all over the United States.
AskERIC Web Site: AskERIC has redesigned its Web site. New features include a monthly electronic newsletter, a “simple search” interface, an archive to previously asked questions, and more. In response to questions received at AskERIC, their network information specialists have compiled over 3000 resources on a variety of educational issues. This collection includes Internet sites, educational organizations, and electronic discussion groups.
Education Listserv Archive includes archives from several education-related mailing lists. Individual list archives can be searched by date or by thread. The archives may also be searched using PLWeb information retrieval software. Within each mailing list’s archive are forms to search just that archive.
Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM): The Gateway is a consortium effort to provide educators with quick and easy access to the substantial, but uncataloged, collections of educational materials found on various federal, state, university, non-profit, and commercial Internet sites. GEM is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and is a special project of the ERIC Clearinghouse on Information and Technology. The Gateway to Educational Materials, the ultimate online catalog of Internet-based lesson plans, curriculum units, and other educational materials, was recently expanded.
Resource Guides Online: These resource lists are provided as a complement to ERIC’s Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section. They include information on free relevant ERIC/CLL publications, publications from other sources, Web sites, organizations of interest, and conferences. The guides also offer useful searches of the ERIC database with information on ordering ERIC documents. The ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics recently added three new guides: Linguistics, Second Language Proficiency Assessment, and Dialects in Education.
Searchable Online Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors: The ERIC Processing and Reference Facility has added a searchable version of the Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors to the “Resources” section of its Web site. Search by keyword, category, or a combination of both, or browse the more than 10,000 descriptors in the Thesaurus. Bookmark the Thesaurus today!
(To our visitors: please note that these pages are being reviewed and added to on an ongoing basis. Please visit often, and use the Feedback form to contribute your comments and suggestions for this section of the OEA’s web!)

The following list includes selected education-related mailing lists along with information on how to subscribe.

AERA Listserv

This mailing list announces positions in educational research.

Instructions for Subscribing:
To subscribe, send an email message to:
Leave the subject line blank. Put your typing cursor in the message window of your e-mail program, and, at the top left of the message window, type:

Mailing Lists
Mailing Lists

Make sure that the above message is the ONLY thing in the body of your message. (The listserv computer will automatically record your e-mail address to use in subscribing you.)

DTS-L Dead Teacher’s Society List

This mailing list offers general support for K-12 teachers. It is
an excellent resource for gaining insight on ways to approach classroom
management issues such as overcrowding. The volume of messages is light to moderate.

Instructions for Subscribing:
To subscribe, send an email message to:
Leave the subject line blank. Put your typing cursor in the message window of your e-mail program, and, at the top left of the message window, type:

subscribe DTS-L your firstname your lastname

Make sure that the above message is the ONLY thing in the body of your message. (The listserv computer will automatically record your e-mail address to use in subscribing you.)

THE ERIC Listserv Archive

The ERIC Education Listserv Archive gives topic and subscription information as well as links to each listserv included in ERIC’s list. All of these lists are education-related. There is also an old archive of Listservs that contains links that are not in the new Archives. You can also Search the Listserv Archive.

LRN-ED Providing support and information to K-12 teachers

This mailing list is an excellent forum for the exchange of ideas,
resources, and information on issues affecting K-12 teachers. The volume of messages is light.

Instructions for Subscribing:
To subscribe, send an email message to:
Leave the subject line blank. Put your typing cursor in the message window of your e-mail program, and, at the top left of the message window, type:

subscribe LRN-ED yourfirstname your lastname

Make sure that the above message is the ONLY thing in the body of your message. (The listserv computer will automatically record your e-mail address to use in subscribing you.)

Office of Educational Accountability
Office of Educational Accountabilit

Office of Educational Accountability

Here you’ll find:

OEA Reports

The Minnesota Education Yearbooks for 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003 (released 1/30/04) on the status of K-12 education in the State of Minnesota.

Fast Break to Learning School Breakfast Program: A Report of the First Year Results, 1999-2000. (February 2001).
Authors: Peterson, K., Davison, M.L., Wahlstrom, K., Himes, J., Hjelseth, L., Ross, J., & Tucker, M.

A Few Weeks in Summer: Post-summer School Achievement Among State-funded Students Who Do Not Initially Pass Minnesota’s High School Graduation Test.
(April 2001).
Authors: Davison, M.L., Schleisman, J.L., Koeppen, L., Wu, Y-C., & Kwak, N.

“Interpreting Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment Levels: A Link to National Percentile Ranks” (OEA Briefcase)

(Most OEA reports are available in PDF (electronic facsimile of the original published report) format. To get the PDF version, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader version 4.0 or later. If you don’t have the most recent Adobe Acrobat Reader, visit Adobe’s Acrobat Reader download page to get a free copy.)

The Best Practices pages, which contain information on current educational practices throughout the State of Minnesota and the nation.

A page listing electronic mailing lists.

Higher Education Resource Group information and contacts. The primary responsibility of the higher education resource group will be to serve as advisors and consultants to Minnesota K-12 schools on issues having to do with educational assessment and accountability.

Links to Minnesota Department of Education Web pages: Data Center, which contains links to data files on enrollments, fall populations, graduates, dropouts, completion studies, teaching staff, student mobility, attendance, nonpublic enrollments, average daily membership, and languages. Other district-level information is also available, relating to district funding and payment reports.

Links to websites where you can find current listings for teaching positions and administrative positions.
Please also take a look at the OEA’s mission, goals, and functions.

We hope that you will find this Web site useful, whether you are a parent, a teacher, an administrator, a policymaker, or a concerned individual. We welcome your comments, and hope that you will use our Feedback Form to communicate with us.