Education

A new survey finds 15 percent of respondents who are Black say Minnesota K-12 schools offer their students the same education as white children. But 48 percent of white respondents said the opportunities are the same regardless of race or ethnicity.

Soap dispensers and mirrors ripped from walls; damaged sinks, partitions and ceiling panels; clogged toilets: Students record themselves vandalizing their schools for social media notoriety.

Experts say taking care of your own well-being first will allow you to help your kids and students. You should also listen to their concerns and teach them tools to manage their anxieties.

Jason Reynolds is an award-winning author and National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. This hour, Jason speaks with Manoush about reaching kids through stories that let them feel understood.

Experts say there's no scientific evidence showing that masks cause harm to kids' health despite claims to the contrary on social media and elsewhere. Among the unfounded arguments: Masks can foster germs if they become moist or cause unhealthy levels of carbon dioxide. But experts say washing masks routinely keeps them safe and clean.

Minneapolis online classrooms had a new visitor over the past year: Gaggle. Reporter Mark Keierleber spoke with MPR News about the new AI system that Minneapolis Public Schools implemented to watch for students that may be in crisis.

The pandemic has contributed to a shortage in bus drivers, so Gov. Charlie Baker says 250 Guard members with commercial driver's licenses will be brought in to help.

The third year of pandemic schooling is now well underway in districts across the state. This year is already shaping up to be markedly different than last year. MPR News education reporter Elizabeth Shockman checked in with families and school leaders to learn more about the start of classes.

The longshot legal challenge sought to force Gov. Tim Walz to declare a new peacetime emergency around COVID-19 for the purpose of requiring face coverings in school buildings.

"He said he slept there to make sure the building didn't flood since school starts next week and the kids need a building to come to," Principal Anibal Galiana said of custodian Peter Hemans.