Posted inEDUCATION ‘It’s going to be a really good year, InshaAllah!’: The first day of school in the Twin Cities brings excitement, fear, and new locker combinations. by Becky Z. Dernbach September 6, 2022September 7, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Worried about teacher shortages in Minnesota? School districts have an answer: Come apply for a job. by Becky Z. Dernbach September 2, 2022September 7, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION What you need to know to register your Minnesota K–12 student for free school meals by Becky Z. Dernbach September 1, 2022September 1, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Black girl magic is real. Meet the St. Paul educator who has discovered the secret to unlocking student ‘superpowers’ in the classroom. by Becky Z. Dernbach August 29, 2022August 30, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION ‘People are in tears about all the new possibilities’: Ilhan Omar reflects on the historic fight to cancel student loans and what it means for people like her. by Becky Z. Dernbach August 24, 2022August 24, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Lawsuit alleges that new policy protecting Minneapolis Public Schools teachers of color from layoffs discriminates against white teachers. by Joey Peters August 24, 2022August 24, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION President Biden announced a historic student loan forgiveness plan on Wednesday. Here’s what you need to know to relieve your student debt. by Becky Z. Dernbach August 24, 2022September 29, 2023
Posted inEDUCATION Ryn Alicia lived in her car during college; a new program for foster youth could give her and others stability and success. by Farrah Mina August 16, 2022August 18, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION New Minneapolis summer school program helps immigrant high-schoolers. by Mara Klecker August 15, 2022August 15, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Drums explode and saxophones wail at a north Minneapolis band camp paying homage to the high-energy stylings of Black colleges and universities. by Becky Z. Dernbach August 2, 2022August 3, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION We asked three teachers of color in Minnesota why they’re leaving their jobs. Their answers are personal—and surprising. by Becky Z. Dernbach July 11, 2022July 11, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Two years ago, Qorsho Hassan became the first Somali American to win Minnesota Teacher of the Year. In June, Qorsho announced she’s leaving the classroom. What happened? by Becky Z. Dernbach July 11, 2022December 21, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION The University of Minnesota fails to deliver on making Juneteenth a university holiday. by Noor Adwan June 16, 2022June 16, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION The Class of 2022 expected a lot of hard work, but not a pandemic, a nationwide racial reckoning, major mental health challenges, or a teachers strike. Still, many of them found a way to flourish. by Becky Z. Dernbach June 8, 2022June 8, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION High school senior Laichia Vang wants to change how English language learners are taught. That starts with listening to students’ stories, which Laichia compiled into a new book. by Becky Z. Dernbach June 7, 2022June 7, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Is ‘ethnic studies’ an attempt to indoctrinate Minnesota’s schools with anti-American values? We visited a classroom in Rochester to find out. by Becky Z. Dernbach June 6, 2022June 6, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION ‘We shouldn’t have to separate being Black from our profession’: A Minneapolis teacher weighs the cost of battling the white education hierarchy—and her own union. by Becky Z. Dernbach May 20, 2022May 20, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Sarah Lancaster becomes first educator of Asian/Pacific Islander heritage to win Minnesota Teacher of the Year by Becky Z. Dernbach May 1, 2022May 1, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Flora Yang is ready to lead. When she becomes student-body president at the University of Minnesota on July 1, she’ll focus on making sure students’ voices are heard in administration offices. by Katelyn Vue April 29, 2022April 29, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Parents and students rallied to save Newport Elementary. Then, in a packed meeting, the South Washington County school board voted 6–1 to close the school and proceed with a massive building plan. by Becky Z. Dernbach April 22, 2022August 9, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION South Washington County Schools wants to spend $462 million to accommodate its booming enrollment. The district also plans to close its most diverse elementary school. by Becky Z. Dernbach April 20, 2022April 21, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Why don’t Minnesota schools ever seem to have enough money? We asked House education-committee chair Jim Davnie how we got here and how to fix it. by Becky Z. Dernbach April 12, 2022April 12, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION ‘They’ve got to be able to speak Dakota at the Mall of America’: Prairie Island sends its first student team to the Dakota language bowl. by Catharine Richert April 7, 2022April 7, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Ed Graff, superintendent of Minneapolis Public Schools, announces plan to leave the district in June by Becky Z. Dernbach March 30, 2022March 30, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Minneapolis teachers and district reach tentative deal to end strike after three weeks. Agreement includes raises, class-size caps, mental-health spending—and a lot of unfinished business. by Becky Z. Dernbach March 25, 2022March 26, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Minneapolis school board chair Kim Ellison expects a deal with educators Thursday night or Friday morning to end a 13-day strike. by Becky Z. Dernbach March 24, 2022March 24, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Minneapolis Public Schools and educators resume mediation Thursday to resolve stalled contract talks. Educators say they’re hopeful they can settle their differences today. by Becky Z. Dernbach March 24, 2022March 24, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION As Minneapolis educators’ strike stretches on, even parents and kids who support striking teachers long to return to school. by Becky Z. Dernbach March 22, 2022March 22, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION What’s the biggest obstacle to ending the Minneapolis teachers strike? The district says it’s increased spending requests for mental-health services. by Becky Z. Dernbach March 22, 2022March 22, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Strikeblog Week 3: Minneapolis educators say the district is getting close to an acceptable contract offer. The district says it’s made a final offer to support staff. The Minneapolis teachers strike continues. by Becky Z. Dernbach March 21, 2022March 22, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Food service workers reach tentative contract agreement with Minneapolis Public Schools, averting a strike planned for March 28 by Becky Z. Dernbach March 17, 2022March 18, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION An open gym, Legos, a church drop-in center, and a sit-in at district headquarters: how North High students are staying busy during the Minneapolis educator strike by Becky Z. Dernbach March 15, 2022March 18, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Strikeblog Week Two: Striking educators and Minneapolis Public Schools describe (limited, halting) progress in contract negotiations. by Becky Z. Dernbach March 14, 2022March 14, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Minneapolis Public Schools outline strike’s effects on school calendar by Becky Z. Dernbach March 11, 2022March 11, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Teachers in Minneapolis’ adult English literacy and GED program earn less than their K–12 counterparts. They say the low pay is causing an “exodus” of teachers and reducing available classes. by Becky Z. Dernbach March 11, 2022March 12, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Kim Ellison, the Minneapolis school board chair, shares her approach to union negotiations by Becky Z. Dernbach March 10, 2022March 11, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Strikeblog! All the latest news on the Minneapolis teacher strike: rallies, negotiations, and another day without classes by Becky Z. Dernbach March 9, 2022March 11, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Minneapolis educators hit the picket line for the second day. “Stability on the Northside is a question of racial justice,” one striking teacher said. by Becky Z. Dernbach March 9, 2022March 11, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Minneapolis Public Schools and educators union resumed talks for first time in two days—and broke them off 90 minutes later. by Becky Z. Dernbach March 9, 2022March 11, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Striking Minneapolis educators rallied at the Capitol, called for education funding, and sang “Purple Rain.” Some non-unionized educators, and their students, joined them. by Becky Z. Dernbach March 9, 2022March 10, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Minneapolis teacher salaries have fallen behind pay in other big Minnesota districts, nonpartisan researcher says. by Becky Z. Dernbach March 9, 2022March 11, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Strikeblog Day Four: Negotiations continue, educators canvass, and district outlines school makeup day policy. by Becky Z. Dernbach March 7, 2022March 11, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Classroom duties are piling up. Mental health needs are skyrocketing. But pay hasn’t budged. Why Minneapolis and St. Paul educational assistants are ready to strike. by Becky Z. Dernbach February 25, 2022December 22, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Minneapolis and St. Paul educators plan to strike March 8 if no agreements are reached before then. What you need to know. by Becky Z. Dernbach February 18, 2022March 10, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION ‘A joyful moment’: For the first time, some Minnesota school districts add Eid to the calendar by Becky Z. Dernbach February 11, 2022April 14, 2023
Posted inEDUCATION Half of all Minnesota community college students struggle to pay for housing. And now, a pandemic rental-assistance program is ending. Students of color and college administrators say they need solutions. by Becky Z. Dernbach February 7, 2022February 7, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Burnsville charter school director takes leave of absence following fraud allegations in Feeding Our Future investigation. by Becky Z. Dernbach February 3, 2022February 23, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION With the Omicron variant, teacher absences are way up. But what’s happening with students is… interesting. by Becky Z. Dernbach January 21, 2022January 21, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Teach in person? COVID causes chaos. Teach remotely? Kids suffer. Minnesota’s teachers of color say that Omicron presents schools with bad options and impossible choices. by Becky Z. Dernbach January 13, 2022January 13, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Moriah Stephens, special education teacher: ‘We just had a staff member die of COVID that was contact-traced to school.’ by Becky Z. Dernbach January 13, 2022January 14, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Averi M. Turner, second-grade teacher: ‘Seven students showed up yesterday. I’m hoping for better tomorrow’ by Becky Z. Dernbach January 13, 2022January 14, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Grisel Vidal, English language development teacher: ‘I woke up on Monday and I thought it was 2020’ by Becky Z. Dernbach January 13, 2022January 14, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Jeff Garcia, special education teacher: ‘We don’t need to spend the rest of the year in distance, and I don’t want to.’ by Becky Z. Dernbach January 13, 2022January 14, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Omicron will hit Minnesota schools like a ‘viral blizzard.’ We need to prepare for mass absences, building closures, and more. by Becky Z. Dernbach January 7, 2022December 21, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION St. Paul Public Schools is one of the most diverse districts in the state. Increasingly, parents prefer segregation. by Becky Z. Dernbach January 6, 2022January 7, 2022
Posted inEDUCATION Students of color know that having diverse teachers can make a huge difference. Last year, Minnesota finally took real steps to expand its teaching corps. by Becky Z. Dernbach January 5, 2022March 10, 2023
Posted inEDUCATION Midwestern community colleges work to lure, and keep, students struggling with poverty and other barriers by Becky Z. Dernbach, Mario Koran / Wisconsin Watch and WPR, Olivia Lewis / Bridge Detroit and Ata Younan / Borderless Magazine December 21, 2021December 21, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION Hunger on campus isn’t a joke about ramen: How unmet needs keep Minnesota students from enrolling in community college. by Becky Z. Dernbach December 16, 2021December 20, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION Native American students want the University of Minnesota Morris to search for lost burial sites. It may be even harder to recover generations of missing Indigenous culture and family history. by Tiffany Bui December 6, 2021December 8, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION Native American students want the University of Minnesota Morris to search for lost burial sites. It may be even harder to recover generations of missing Indigenous culture and family history. by Tiffany Bui December 5, 2021December 6, 2021
Posted inHEALTH Minnesota’s healthcare industry is short of workers. A gap persists in racial health outcomes. The University of St. Thomas thinks it can help solve both problems. by Joey Peters December 3, 2021December 3, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION St. Paul school board spares three schools from closure after outcry from immigrant families. Six other schools will close in district consolidation plan. by Becky Z. Dernbach December 2, 2021December 2, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION St. Paul has a plan to pursue more equitable education by closing and merging schools. But immigrant parents say it would hurt their communities. by Becky Z. Dernbach November 24, 2021November 24, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION Fights, depression, substance abuse: Mental health of Minnesota students suffers during COVID pandemic. by Elizabeth Shockman November 23, 2021November 23, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION Immigrant students rally to save a small St. Paul high school from closing. ‘It feels like you belong in this country,’ a recent graduate says of the program. by Becky Z. Dernbach November 15, 2021November 16, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION ‘Horrific, hateful, racist’ video stirs protest at Prior Lake High School by Elizabeth Shockman, Tim Nelson and Matt Sepic November 11, 2021November 15, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION This year, Minnesota school-board meetings endured a backlash against diversity. On Election Day, three suburban districts elected Somali Americans for the first time. by Becky Z. Dernbach November 10, 2021November 10, 2021
Posted inDEMOCRACY & POLITICS With St. Paul school board win, Halla Henderson becomes first Eritrean American elected to office in Minnesota by Becky Z. Dernbach November 3, 2021November 4, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION In White House visit, Minnesota’s top teachers bring President Biden a message from second graders in Burnsville by Becky Z. Dernbach October 18, 2021October 20, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION Peggy Flanagan hails $1.3 million investment to teach K–12 students the ‘full true history’ of Minnesota’s Indigenous people. by Becky Z. Dernbach October 8, 2021October 8, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION Somali American youth in St. Cloud sign up for new class in school: Reading and writing Somali. by Kirsti Marohn October 7, 2021October 7, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION University of Minnesota appoints its first immigrant, person of color as dean at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs by Hibah Ansari September 22, 2021September 22, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION Less than 30 percent of Minnesota’s people of color believe schools offer equal opportunities to all students, survey says. by Elizabeth Shockman September 20, 2021September 24, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION On the first day of school, Minneapolis students say they’re happy—and only slightly confuzzled—to get back to in-person learning. by Becky Z. Dernbach September 9, 2021September 10, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION Everything you need to know about the COVID safety plans in Minneapolis and St. Paul public schools by Becky Z. Dernbach September 8, 2021September 9, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION Minnesotans battle over how to update school social studies standards. Out: ‘derogatory references’ to whiteness. In: the Pledge of Allegiance. by Becky Z. Dernbach September 6, 2021September 7, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION ‘There is nothing safe about Delta in schools’: How parents can plan for the pandemic this fall by Becky Z. Dernbach September 1, 2021September 1, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION Natalia Benjamin becomes first educator of Latin American heritage to win Minnesota Teacher of the Year by Becky Z. Dernbach August 11, 2021August 20, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION Back to the future: As a new academic year approaches, schools are once again being forced to make decisions about whether to require masks. by Joey Peters August 6, 2021August 6, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION English is important, but so is Somali: Minneapolis Public Schools are launching a Somali Heritage Language Program. by Hana Ikramuddin August 3, 2021August 3, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION Robots, skateboards, bike rides: Summer school helps Twin Cities kids switch back to the classroom by Becky Z. Dernbach July 30, 2021July 29, 2021
Posted inArts Beyond stereotypes: Daybreak Press aims to broaden depiction of Muslims in Minneapolis school books by Hana Ikramuddin July 27, 2021July 27, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION The diverse teachers Minnesota needs may already be working in schools—as classroom aides. New state funding promises to help them level up. by Becky Z. Dernbach July 16, 2021July 16, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION As a child, Abdulaziz Mohamed looked to Barack Obama for proof he could be president. On July 1, he became the first Somali American student-body president at the University of Minnesota. by Becky Z. Dernbach July 6, 2021July 7, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION Inside one Minnesota school district’s battle over an equity training program. by Elizabeth Shockman June 30, 2021June 30, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION Minnesota pioneered the movement for charter schools 30 years ago. Since then, one in every three statewide has closed. by Becky Z. Dernbach June 24, 2021June 24, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION Cedar Riverside Community School is closing. The first big step in replacing it is understanding why it failed. Here’s what we found over a year of reporting. by Becky Z. Dernbach June 17, 2021June 17, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION ‘We were able to achieve what we thought was impossible’: In a senior year like no other, these graduates found a way to thrive by Becky Z. Dernbach and Aala Abdullahi June 14, 2021June 11, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION Too hot for school: Minneapolis and St. Paul close school buildings during June heat wave by Becky Z. Dernbach June 7, 2021June 10, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION Many immigrant kids deal with layers of trauma. This teacher’s answer: ‘I love you, and I trust you.’ by Logan Carroll May 24, 2021May 24, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION ‘I want to wear the gown, I want the cap, I want tassels’: Minneapolis high school seniors want to walk the graduation stage—even if they’re missing credits. by Becky Z. Dernbach May 18, 2021May 18, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION For almost three decades, Somali children in Minneapolis’ Riverside Plaza could attend school in their apartment complex. The historic school will close permanently June 30. by Becky Z. Dernbach May 13, 2021May 14, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION Showdown at school board meeting: Elk River alumni of color say they ‘never felt safe,’ parents decry ‘woke mob’ by Becky Z. Dernbach May 12, 2021May 12, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION A landmark Minneapolis charter school may close forever in June. Its leadership debated the school’s fate in a meeting without Somali parents, community politicians, or the press. by Becky Z. Dernbach May 7, 2021May 7, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION Students in Elk River asked the school’s equity specialist to explain looting. Now their parents want him fired. by Becky Z. Dernbach May 6, 2021May 6, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION Mass protests against racism spur statewide student walkout by Becky Z. Dernbach April 19, 2021April 19, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION Asian American history is rarely taught in schools. Educators say that fuels anti-Asian violence—and are pushing for change. by Becky Z. Dernbach April 16, 2021April 16, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION Minneapolis nonprofit may face ‘corrective action’ for flawed supervision of 21 charter schools. by Becky Z. Dernbach April 6, 2021April 6, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION Pillsbury United announces intent to close landmark Cedar Riverside Community School by Becky Z. Dernbach April 1, 2021April 1, 2021
Posted inEDUCATION Students of color disproportionately choosing distance learning. by Elizabeth Shockman April 1, 2021April 1, 2021
