Several key publications document the history of private sector involvement in early learning reform in Minnesota. This long-term commitment has been on an evolutionary path that started with research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis recognizing the incredible potential of high quality early education. Continued through initiatives such as the Itasca Project and others, which helped to document how Minnesota was doing with regard to school readiness. That led to the founding of the Minnesota Early Learning Foundation (MELF), which operated from 2006–2011 with the mission of finding and recommending cost-effective ways to prepare kids for kindergarten. Next, PASR will take a turn supporting the implementation of the reforms recommended by MELF.
Early Education Reform Blueprint, Minnesota Early Learning Foundation, Fall 2011
A Proposal for Achieving High Returns on Early Childhood Development, Rob Grunewald and Arthur Rolnick, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, March 2006
The Economics of Early Childhood Care and Education in Minnesota – Report of the Itasca Project Task Force on Early Childhood Development, McKinsey and Company, 2005
Ready for School (otherwise known as the "Pumpkin Report" due to its memorable title page), the Minnesota School Readiness Business Advisory Council, October 2004
Early Childhood Development: Economic Development with a High Public Return, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, March 2003
Early Childhood Education Programs, Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor, January 2001