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.
Education
‘Don’t get Gaggled’: Minneapolis School District spends big on student surveillance tool
Gaggle is used in hundreds of districts across the U.S., relying on artificial intelligence and a team of moderators to scan billions of student emails, chat messages and files each year in search of references to sex, drugs and violence.
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.”
Remote learning has been a disaster for many students, but some kids have thrived
Educators are now wondering how the experiences of kids who have done better during remote learning can be applied to improve in-person learning in the future.
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.
With move to Division I, St. Thomas coaches will have a very different job description
In Division III, coaches mainly choose lifestyle and security over notoriety. For coaches of St. Thomas’ 22 sports, that’s all changing.
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.
‘Painful and seemingly endless’: How the University of St. Thomas made the jump to Division I
Meet Tom Douple, commissioner of the Summit League, one of the key players in St. Thomas’ unlikely ascension to big-time college athletics.
How higher education’s own choices left it vulnerable to the pandemic crisis
Hiring sprees, low endowment returns, generous benefits continued as enrollment fell.
‘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.
After ending police contract, Minneapolis schools consider former cops for revamped school safety role — and activists fear a ‘dangerous’ national trend
District officials are interviewing finalists for its revamped school safety beat — and more than half have backgrounds in law enforcement.
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.
England is launching a national tutoring program. Could the U.S. follow suit?
There are signs of growing interest in the U.S. A bill that would double the size of AmeriCorps has attracted bipartisan support.
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.
