Black, female education leaders in Minnesota find affirmation and support
While working in a predominantly white, male landscape, this group of female African-American Ph.D. holders have all prioritized spending time together.
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Education
It’s getting harder for low-income students to afford college, though Minnesota shows hopeful trends
Minnesota is one of about a dozen states trending in a positive direction. But the price tag is still too high for low-income students at most of the state’s two- and four-year schools.
On ways to boost student success in Minnesota: A Q&A with Commissioner Mary Cathryn Ricker
Now that she’s had a few months to settle into her new role — a whirlwind that included a number of listening sessions in school districts across the state — MinnPost sat down with Ricker at the Department of Education to hear about her vision for Minnesota students and schools.
Rural students often go unnoticed by colleges. Can virtual counseling put them on the map?
In rural high schools, college guidance is often inadequate or non-existent. But new programs — such as one being used by Red Wing High School — are popping up to help.
All in: When Jason Chavez-Cruz went to college in Duluth, his family followed
Chavez-Cruz, a first-generation American, left the Twin Cities for the College of St. Scholastica. As a Latino, he felt different in Duluth and missed his extended family, but soon five of his siblings and cousins took the leap as well.
Minneapolis school leaders extend deadline for the district’s new strategic plan. Here’s what led to it.
The district is in the midst of re-evaluating its strategies for driving up academic achievement, boosting enrollment, and creating more equitable access to programming, districtwide.
Local nonprofit outfits more than 4,300 Minneapolis students with books
Outfitting low-income students in first, second and third grade with their own home library ensures that young readers have access to grade-level reading material outside of school.
How schools struggle to serve gifted students with disabilities
Parents say it’s often impossible to find schools to educate bright kids who have disabilities. Now some are fighting to change that.
Incremental change, ‘lackluster’ year: Compromises all around in final Minnesota education budget
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle held up the four of the biggest funding areas – general and special education aid, preschool, and school safety grants – as victories, even though each made significant concessions to reach a deal.
Minnesota education spending: A tale of two budget bills
Lawmakers dealt with education funding in two different ways. The higher-ed bill was the only finance bill to finish before the regular session ended.
Legislators keep debating early learning programs. How do we know what works best?
House DFLers and Gov. Tim Walz propose renewing funding for 4,000 volunteer preschool slots in public school districts. Senate Republicans want to use those funds for early learning scholarships instead.
Sending your boy to preschool is great for your grandson, new research shows
Children of parents who attended a high-quality preschool program in the 1960s were better educated, healthier, better employed and more likely to stay stably married, especially if they were boys born to preschool-educated fathers.
How bad is Minnesota’s student-debt situation?
Minnesota ranks highly among states for student debt per-capita, but the details matter.
Legislature chooses four new University of Minnesota regents
House DFL delayed the process for months while they wrangled votes, and it paid off: They voted together on a slate of candidates and filled three of the four seats with their selections.
‘Help us’: Minnesota school officials plead with lawmakers to fix special education cross-subsidy
Special education costs a lot more than what either the state or federal government has been willing to pay for it.
It’s looking more likely that lawmakers will select U of M regents after all
DFL leaders had refused to schedule a joint convention, when all 201 legislators would elect regents, because of disagreement among caucus members about whom to elect.
Minnesota State has two big needs. It’s probably only going to get enough money from the Legislature to address one of them.
Minnesota State is in the midst of a big project to upgrade its technological infrastructure. It also needs money to keep the lights on.
A lot of Minnesota lawmakers agree on the need to recruit and retain teachers of color. There’s a lot less agreement on how much the state should spend on it.
It’s estimated that a third of Minnesota students are now children of color, and advocates say the lack of teacher diversity impacts outcomes and contributes to achievement gaps between students of color and their white classmates.
As small private colleges keep closing, some are fighting back
The first step to a survival strategy: acknowledging that there’s a problem.
Competing priorities: Comparing the DFL, GOP and Walz education budgets
Proposals for new education spending range from $206 million to $900 million. Here’s how the House, Senate and governor’s budgets differ on plans for school funding, student mental health, school safety and early education.
