ST. PAUL (AP) - Minnesota's new education commissioner wants an adopt-a-school concept her boss laid out to be a two-way street between districts and local businesses.

Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius told a gathering of superintendents Friday that they should reach out to chambers of commerce about Gov. Mark Dayton's idea.

In his inaugural address Monday, Dayton said businesses can show their commitment to public education by adopting a school and helping it out.

Cassellius is amplifying Dayton's call with remarks of her own. "If people can adopt a highway, I think they can adopt a school," she said at the Association of Metropolitan School District meeting.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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