On Friday, Nov. 20, Minnesota Senator Al Franken took time off from Capitol Hill to visit HHS and inform students and staff about his plans to better the Minnesotan education system.

Currently, the Senator serves on several Congressional committees, including Energy & Natural Resources; Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP); Indian Affairs; and Judiciary.

Senator Franken began his HHS visit with a tour led by students of AP US Government and Politics, taught by Mr. John Unruh-Friesen, Social Studies. The students showed the Senator various areas of the school, highlighting the school’s Art, Technical Education, and Music departments.

“It’s certainly not every day [a Senator visits],” Unruh-Friesen said. “It’s opportunities like these you need to jump on. And I think it’s great that a group of my students were able to host a tour for him.”

Senator Franken grew up in St. Louis Park, Minn. He studied government at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA, where he met his wife, Franni Bryson.

In 1975, Senator Franken began writing for the late-night sketch comedy show, Saturday Night Live (SNL). His most notable recurring sketch was Stuart Smalley, a fictional character famous for his aspirational sayings.

After working as a writer for the show for almost twenty years, Senator Franken began The Al Franken Show, a talk radio show. He used the show as a format to share and discuss liberal concerns.

In 2008, Senator Franken ran as a Democrat for the Senate against the incumbent Republican, Senator Norm Coleman. In one of the closest elections in the history of the Senate, Senator Franken won a seat in Congress by 312 votes. On July 7, 2009, Senator Franken was sworn in as the junior Senator.

During his presentation to eight various HHS classes, Senator Franken spoke about his hope to improve the “No Child Left Behind” law. One of Senator Franken’s biggest concerns is the large amount of pressure standardized testing currently places on both students and teachers.

“The stakes are high for teachers and schools,” Senator Franken said. “Testing doesn’t increase numbers. We shouldn’t measure students on their test scores.”

As of 2015, students in the elementary and secondary schools are taking the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCA) tests and the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) test to measure their academic progress. Senator Franken believes that these tests are starting to take away from other important teachings that help students grow academically.

Instead, Senator Franken emphasized the importance of student growth.

“Growth is a much better measurement [than a score]. We need less mandates and less time testing, but something that will measure kids’ growth. Measuring every child’s growth is what this should be all about,” Senator Franken said.

Senator Franken added that more funding should go towards STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education, creating more opportunities for dual enrollment, reducing the cost of college, and creating more after-school programs for students.

Senator Franken also took time during his presentation to take questions from the students in the audience. Questions concerning gun legislation, the Israel and Palestine conflict, and the presidential election were all answered.

When the topic of the Black Lives Matter movement in Minneapolis arose, Senator Franken expressed his deep condolences for the family of Jamar Clark and his own views on the conflict.

“My heart goes out to the family,” Senator Franken said. “It’s sad that we have an issue of race and law enforcement. I’m supportive of the mayor for [starting] an independent investigation.”

Senator Franken also discussed his bill, the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Act. Through the bill, Senator Franken hopes to provide additional financial support for crisis intervention training, veterans’ courts, and mental health courts.

“There is no place to put people with mental illnesses. They always end up being put in prison,” Senator Franken said.

Throughout his time at HHS, Senator Franken spread positivity and smiles throughout the audience. He took time to make jokes during his speech, interacted with students, and with six minutes left of his speech, Senator Franken drew a free-handed map of the United States from memory while simultaneously answering questions.

To conclude his visit, Senator Franken took pictures with the students and administration, and praised HHS for its students and departments.

“Keep doing what you’re doing,” Senator Franken said. “Because what your school is doing is smart.”