Rosemount district buys land for 20th elementary school
Minnesota’s fourth-largest school district is planning to add yet another elementary school to handle ongoing residential growth. The Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan school board agreed Aug. 13 to buy 34...
View ArticleFaces from the first day of school, from our archives
It was almost 30 years ago when the Pioneer Press photographed Cyrena Jones setting up her first classroom at Farnsworth Elementary School in St. Paul. “This is a challenge,” said the then-25-year-old...
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How the cost of substitute teachers in St. Paul rose $2.7M in four years
Since hiring a temp agency to find substitute teachers in 2014, St. Paul Public Schools has seen a sharp increase in absences from its full-time teachers. Teachers are taking more sick and personal...
View ArticleMinnesota’s math standards need revision, national school reform group says
Minnesota’s mathematics standards have been around longer than any other state’s, and a national education reform group says they need to be updated sooner rather than later. The state’s math...
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No more late fines at the library? St. Paul mayor says dropping fines is overdue
It’s a penalty almost as old as the American public library system itself. You check a book out from your local library, and return it a few days — or weeks — past due. Then the fines accrue. “If...
View ArticleSt. Paul, Minneapolis account for half of Minnesota’s lowest performing...
St. Paul and Minneapolis are home to half of the worst low-income schools in the state, according to Minnesota’s new accountability system. Of the 47 low-performing Title I schools identified for three...
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Will a new school accountability system finally close Minnesota’s achievement...
No matter how the state measures school performance, one thing remains clear — Minnesota has one of the nation’s largest academic achievement gaps. The Minnesota Department of Education will unveil a...
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New Cottage Grove school a modern showcase, with locker swipe cards,...
Principal Joni Hagebock, right, steps off a starting block after checking it out at the new pool at Oltman Middle School in Cottage Grove on Friday, Aug. 31, 2018. She said she swam the backstroke in...
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Deep dive into MN student test scores shows progress not shared by all
Minnesota has made incremental progress the past four years closing some of the state’s most troubling achievement gaps, but stagnant and worsening academic performance by several groups is raising...
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New buildings, fewer students as St. Paul goes back to school
First-grade teacher Qiong Qin hangs up the daily classroom schedule at the Jie Ming Mandarin Immersion School in St. Paul on Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2018. The K-5 school has moved into the former RiverEast...
View ArticleSleep in before high school? Mounds View is the latest district to push back...
Students at the two Mounds View district high schools will get to do something new this year — sleep in. The district is one of the latest in the Twin Cities to push back high school start times in...
View ArticleFarmington HS marching band leaders say ‘Dystopia’ show not about Trump’s...
Farmington High School marching band leaders are making changes to their football halftime show in response to complaints from supporters of President Donald Trump. The performance of “Dystopia” during...
View ArticleLawsuit: St. Paul teacher brought up ‘achievement gap’ when black students...
A former student’s father is suing St. Paul Public Schools after an elementary science teacher referenced the achievement gap in response to student misbehavior in his classroom. Dennis Verrett Jr....
View ArticleMounds View district eyes eminent domain for private land to expand high school
Mounds View Public Schools wants a judge to force the sale of a school bus garage to make room for a Mounds View High School expansion. The school district filed papers initiating eminent domain...
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St. Paul parks scramble to arrange kids’ activities around later school times
With the St. Paul school district slated to alter its start times, one city department is scrambling to tackle dramatic shifts in nearly all its programs. And they’ve got less than a year to do it....
View ArticleSt. Paul schools calculate effects of proposed levy on property taxes
The average St. Paul homeowner can expect to pay $185 more in school taxes next year if the Nov. 6 referendum passes. The levy, which would increase annual St. Paul Public Schools funding by $18.6...
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E-cigarettes blamed as Minnesota high school students reverse 17-year trend...
Tobacco use among Minnesota high school students has increased for the first time in 17 years, and state health officials attribute the rise to the popularity of e-cigarettes. In 2017, Minnesota high...
View ArticleJust one-third of St. Paul schools are ‘organized for improvement,’ survey finds
Only about one-third of St. Paul public district schools are well positioned to improve student outcomes, according to an annual survey of staff and students. The district began administering the...
View ArticleUMN wish list for Legislature: $87M increase to base plus $232M for facilities
University of Minnesota leaders plan to ask the Legislature for an additional $87 million next biennium with no promises for how they’ll spend it. That would represent a 6.7 percent increase to the...
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Hotel, brewpub in place of family-friendly housing? UMN wants to liven St....
The University of Minnesota’s St. Paul Campus, photographed on July 20, 2017. (John Autey / Pioneer Press) University of Minnesota leaders want to inject some life into their sleepy St. Paul campus...
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