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ST. PAUL, Minn., April 15, 2015 -- Lily Eskelsen García, president of the National Education Association, will visit Brooklyn Center Friday to see how educators and community leaders are advancing solutions to help boost academic achievement for students of color.

One of Education Minnesota’s top priorities this legislative session is to create more full-service community schools to meet students’ needs. This concept puts social, medical and supplemental academic services and enrichment activities where they are most accessible – on the school campus.

Brooklyn Center Arts and International Baccalaureate School became Minnesota’s first full-service community school in 2009. Now, the school has more than 100 programs and partnerships that are aligned with the district’s academic goals.

Students can participate in dozens of expanded learning opportunities from sports to theater to urban gardening. More than 80 percent of middle- and high-schoolers are involved in at least one after-school activity. And family engagement is a priority. Parents can attend weekly classes to help them advocate for their child or get help with basic needs like food, clothing and housing assistance. Children have access to the school’s health resource center that provides free and reduced cost medical, dental, vision, mental health and social support services.

Brooklyn Center is seeing results. Graduation rates are up – about 87 percent of seniors graduated last year, up from 74 percent in 2010. Student absences at the secondary school have been cut by a third and districtwide behavioral references have been cut in half since 2009.

What: NEA President Lily Eskelsen García will join educators from across the state to tour Brooklyn Center Arts and International Baccalaureate School to get a firsthand look at how a full-service community school works.

When: 9:30-10:45 a.m., Friday, April 17. Media availability at 10:30 a.m.

Where: 6500 Humboldt Ave. N., Brooklyn Center, Minn.

About Education Minnesota

Education Minnesota represents 70,000 professionals working together for excellence in education for all students. Education Minnesota’s members include teachers and education support professionals in Minnesota’s public school districts, faculty members at Minnesota’s community and technical colleges and University of Minnesota campuses in Duluth and Crookston, retired educators and student teachers. Education Minnesota is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association and AFL-CIO.

About the National Education Association

The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional organization, representing more than 3 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers.

About Lily Eskelsen García

NEA President Lily Eskelsen García, the Utah Teacher of the Year, began her career in education as a school lunch lady and now leads the nation’s largest labor union and professional employee association. The daughter of an immigrant and granddaughter of a sharecropper, Lily is the first Latina ever elected to lead NEA and is one of the country’s most influential Hispanic educators. Lily is a sought-after speaker and has keynoted hundreds of education events across the country, earning her recognition by Education World in their “Best Conference Speakers” edition. She blogs about education, immigration reform and labor issues at www.lilysblackboard.org and tweets at @Lily_NEA.