In nine of the state's 50 largest school districts, the 2020 school year started virtually for Minnesota students, but now in several of those districts, students are physically heading back to school for in-person instruction. ...
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The U.S. Department of Education recognized eight Minnesota elementary schools as National Blue Ribbon Schools for their work in closing achievement gaps between student groups and all students. No Minnesota school was recognized in the high performing category. ...
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The 2020 school year is underway, but not all public school parents are pleased with district schools' choice of learning model, causing support for school choice to surge....
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Given that many students were struggling and behind academically pre-COVID, measuring student achievement and academic progress through state assessments during a pandemic—even if it's challenging—matters....
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Despite the 2020 school year underway, much uncertainty remains. Will your child have to do distance learning for the entire school year? Will your child's school move from in-person to distance learning? For parents who are uncomfortable with the uncertainty, many have turned to learning pods....
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According to Williamson Evers with the Independent Institute, there are similarities between school reopening efforts in post-Saddam Iraq and reopening schools in the United States during COVID-19. Hint: Both countries have faced opposition from special interests. ...
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The Minnesota State High School League has reversed course, finally falling into line with neighboring states by reinstating the fall seasons for football and volleyball. Now if schools could only convince the MSHSL to overturn an unprecedented rate increase the league directly attributes to COVID-19 that will raise rates by 300 percent at some schools in the midst of the pandemic. The non-profit league's timing couldn't be worse with schools forced to figure out whether to make cuts to raise the funds or stick it to parents, according to the St. Cloud Times. Area schools are searching for the money to pay...
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In an unlisted YouTube video discovered by Choice Media, Lily Eskelsen Garcia (former president of the national teachers' union) tells Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden that charter schools are "very misguided school reforms." She then continues by saying, "You know how we feel about charter schools." To which Biden quickly interjects, "Same way I feel." ...
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The union fought to be the exclusive representative over the workers it organizes, regardless of their membership status, and has a monopoly over negotiating the contract with the employer. Therefore, the contract's provisions, which include salary schedules, seniority, tenure terms, etc., cover all employees....
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Research has shown that continued school closures will have long-term detrimental educational consequences that decrease academic readiness, exacerbate academic disparities, and impact socio-emotional and motivational development. School closures will also negatively impact the economy for the rest of the 21st century, according to new research by the international Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development....
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