Five non-pandemic education stories to watch in 2021
These stories from 2020 — including the St. Paul teacher strike and anti-racist reform efforts — are worth keeping an eye on into the new year.
Erin Hinrichs
Erin Hinrichs is MinnPost’s education reporter. She can be reached at ehinrichs@minnpost.com, and you can follow her on twitter at @Erin_Hinrichs.
What does a COVID-19 vaccine mean for schools in Minnesota? Here’s what we know so far.
In Minnesota, a vaccine allocation workgroup will begin to iron out the details for the next phase the week after Christmas.
Why Minnesota high school students fought so hard to win pandemic unemployment benefits
The onset of COVID-19 and corresponding job loss has disrupted plans for high school workers just as it has for adults.
How Minnesota colleges are keeping study abroad programs afloat amid the pandemic
Some schools have cancelled their programs, while others are considering virtual options. At least one school has continued sending students abroad.
Why one Minnesota district decided to keep elementary students in school, even as COVID-19 cases climb across the state
Many school district leaders across Minnesota have decided to shift all students to distance learning. But St. Michael-Albertville has not for its elementary students. Here’s why.
What the widespread shift to distance learning means for Minnesota schools’ support staff
The Minnesota Department of Education has said the expectation is that districts find a way to keep staff on payroll, which in many cases means reassigning people.
Minnesota voters largely say ‘no’ to school referendums this fall
Across the state, only 17 of 33 operating levies and only one of the five bond requests passed this fall.
Twin Cities results: Minneapolis passes ballot questions; new members elected to Hennepin County Board
Plus: Kim Ellison retains seat and newcomer Sharon El-Amin wins one on Minneapolis Public Schools board.
It’s a big election year for Minnesota schools. Here’s why you should be paying close attention.
The impact of school boards has never felt more immediate as 301 school districts hold school board elections.
Doing school from home, without a home: An aspiring graduate shares her experience
For live class meetings, she has a Zoom app on her phone. But she’s hesitant to engage fully on that platform. “I prefer not putting the camera on,” she said, adding she doesn’t “want people seeing where I’m staying.”
Minnesota schools try to balance accountability, flexibility in tracking attendance amid pandemic
How school districts across the state are sorting out the ins and outs of tracking student attendance.
Denied unemployment benefits, Minnesota high schoolers push for reforms
Youthprise, a local nonprofit, has filed a lawsuit in federal court against DEED for barring high school students in Minnesota from receiving CARES Act funding designed for workers otherwise ineligible for unemployment benefits.
From iPads to floor tape: How Minnesota schools are putting federal CARES Act dollars to use
Minnesota schools have received access to three main buckets of federal funding to help get students back to school safely.
Distance learning while homeless in the Twin Cities: It’s complicated and challenging
How Minneapolis and St. Paul districts are supporting their homeless and highly mobile populations during the outset of this school year.
How Minnesota school leaders are advancing equity work in a shaky back-to-school environment
While anti-racism efforts have been taking shape in districts for a while now, many called for a renewed sense of urgency around it in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
‘There was a positive energy in our building today’: Farmington, Hastings districts hold student orientations
This week a handful of Minnesota districts kicked off their new formats of part in-person, part-distanced learning.
As they head back into school buildings, some Minnesota teachers are questioning districts’ COVID-19 protocol
School administrators in several metro districts are hoping a COVID-19 information dump will offer teachers some added assurances about staying safe. In some instances, though, it’s having the opposite effect.
Bloomington Public Schools swapped out hybrid plans for distance learning to start the school year. Here’s why.
COVID-19 rates weren’t the driving factor in Bloomington. Rather, district leaders flagged staffing limitations as a deal breaker for the hybrid model.
These five Minnesota school districts have items on the primary ballot
Both the Minneapolis Public Schools district and the Red Lake School District are holding school board races.
‘It’s an ever-moving target’: Minnesota’s rural school districts make plans — and prepare to pivot
In-person learning, a hybrid or distance learning? Districts are carefully watching county coronavirus numbers as they get ready to be nimble.
