Breakfast Club Webinars

January 2022 – The Future of Rural Public Education

The Future of Rural Public Education

Breakfast Club Webinars
100 Rural Women Breakfast Club Logo

The Future of Rural Public Education:

A Conversation with the Page Amendment Team

Held on Thursday January, 20th at 8:30 am CST

Register Here

Nevada Littlewolf, Executive Director of Our Children MN led a conversation around the future of public education in rural Minnesota and the impact of the Page Amendment. Sharing that Educational disparities exist in all 87 Minnesota counties of Minnesota and rural women are at the center of this critical issue, as mothers, educators, community leaders and advocates.

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Nevada Littlewolf
Executive Director and Campaign Manager, Page Amendment

Nevada Littlewolf is the Page Amendment Campaign Manager & Executive Director. Before joining the team, Nevada served as Minnesota’s state Political Director for the 2020 Biden Presidential Campaign. Nevada also serves as a Trustee and Board chair of the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota.  She brings years of experience to the team, having worked across sectors of community, government, philanthropy, non-profit, and business. Nevada served on the Virginia City Council for ten years from 2008-2018. Nevada is a citizen of Leech Lake nation and has two children.

A picture of a woman with long brunette hair smiling.

Melissa Bakker Roach
executive director of Iron Range Partnership for Sustainability

‘Missy’ lives on a small farm in the Bear River/Togo area of St. Louis County and is the executive director of Iron Range Partnership for Sustainability; a small nonprofit that facilitates conversations, collaborations, projects, and events toward a sustainable and thriving Iron Range and beyond.  She is also a market farmer and food justice advocate, serving as chapter president of St. Louis County Minnesota Farmers Union, as well as a board director for Lake Superior Sustainable Farming Association.  She is a community organizer and a mom to two amazing teenagers.

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Beth Peterson
Planning and Development Director, KOOTASCA Community Action

Beth Peterson is passionate about reducing poverty in rural, Northeast Minnesota. Currently she is the Planning and Development Director for KOOTASCA Community Action in Grand Rapids and serves as Senior Strategist for Minnesota with Vote Run Lead. She has successfully advocated for policy changes that directly affect the ability of women and girls to move to self-sufficiency, from early childhood education and access to non-traditional career pathways. Beth holds a bachelor’s degree in applied psychology from the University of Minnesota–Duluth and is a founding Board member of Rural and American Indigenous Leadership (RAIL). Beth also sits on the Apple Tree Learning Center Board and the Aurora Food Shelf Board. As a wife and mother to three, Beth enjoys volunteering in the community with her family. Her children provide her daily occasions to learn about the human condition.

The Page Amendment is a proposed change to Minnesota’s state constitution that would deem access to quality public education a fundamental right to all children. It is designed to be a catalyst for much-needed change in Minnesota to improve our persistent education gaps.

Our Children MN is an organization working to inform Minnesotans of the state’s education gaps and to build support to pass the Page Amendment. Learn more about the Page Amendment at https://ourchildrenmn.com/.

Resources and Recording from the Webinar

Resources Contributed

The Page Amendment Website: LINK

Presenter organizational links:

 IRON RANGE PARTNERSHIP FOR SUSTAINABILITY – https://www.irpsmn.org/what-we-do

KOOTASCA COMMUNITY ACTION – https://www.kootasca.org  

General Resource links:

 MINNPost Article:  Why a new push for the ‘Page Amendment’ could end up being one of the 2022 Legislature’s biggest fights

The amendment — which would make it the “paramount duty” of the state to provide all children in Minnesota with a quality public education — will require a majority vote of the state House and Senate to get on the ballot this fall.

https://www.minnpost.com/state-government/2022/01/why-a-new-push-for-the-page-amendment-could-end-up-being-one-of-the-2022-legislatures-biggest-fights/

How to get involved with the Page amendment:

Email:  Liz@ourchildrenMN.com if you are interested in attending events. 

Week of Action 

  • Advocacy Training, Thursday, January 27th, 6:00 – 7:30 
  • Precinct Caucus / Resolutions! Tuesday, February 1st, 7:00pm some in-person/ some virtual
  • Livestream Press Briefing with Page Partners, Wednesday February 2nd, 1:00 PM
  • Livestream Youth Voices for the Page Amendment, Wednesday, February 2nd, 2:30 – 4:00
  • Livestream Education Panel for the Page Amendment, Thursday, February 3rd time TBD
Webinar Recording

Video from  Webinar

Introduction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDCPVzW7UrU