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Student progress to be featured at national conference

Aron Kahn, Pioneer Press

The graduation rate of Hmong children in St. Paul Public Schools has pulled even with the rate of white children, a school researcher will tell a Hmong convention in Minneapolis this weekend.

According to the latest school figures, 83 percent of Hmong students are graduating from St. Paul public high schools, the same percentage as white students, says Tom Watkins, the district's director of research, evaluation and assessment.

Educators from around the nation will attend Watkins' session on Hmong student achievement at the 11th Hmong National Conference today through Sunday in the Minneapolis Hilton Hotel.

The student achievement workshop, from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Saturday, is one of 26 sessions that cover the experiences of Hmong people in the United States. Other subjects include home ownership, early literacy in day care, Hmong activism and Hmong women in America.

Watkins said many educators have expressed interest in learning about the progress of Hmong students in St. Paul schools, where there has been a strong focus on improving reading and writing skills, starting in elementary school.

"One of the clear findings we have is that we are narrowing the achievement gap between Asian and Caucasian students in each of the grade levels and subject areas on the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments,'' Watkins said. And after lagging behind their white counterparts in graduation rates in recent years, Hmong students have pulled even.

Hmong students comprise 90 percent of the Asian students in the school system, he said.

The emphasis on reading and writing is a focus of the Project for Academic Excellence, a program unique to the St. Paul school district and developed in partnership with professor Lauren Resnick and others at the University of Pittsburgh, he said.

Aron Kahn can be reached at akahn@pioneerpress.com or 612-338-6516.

IF YOU GO

What: 11th Hmong National Conference
When: Today through Sunday
Where: Minneapolis Hilton Hotel, 1001 Marquette Ave.
Registration: $200

More information: Cha Lee, 1-202-607-3129

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/local/14117192.htm