Photos: As summer ends, Minnesota students head back to school
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The first day of school for many Minnesotans took place on Tuesday. MPR News visited Duluth, Mankato, Coon Rapids and St. Paul to check in on how things were starting off.
At Benjamin E. Mays Afrocentric Magnet School in St. Paul, district superintendent Stacie L. Stanley greeted students with high-fives as they exited their buses. Photos of civil rights leaders in the building decorated the walls as teachers and other staff members showed them the way to their classrooms.
Rain showers welcomed students at Duluth’s morning drop-off. Arne Lindelolf Ponshock, 10, rode his bike to school with his parent, Perry Ponshock.
Sandy Anderson, 6, hugged her parent, Darrian Moose, outside with her pink bows and pink backpack as students with rain boots and jackets walk indoors at Myers-Wilkins Elementary School.
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Gov. Tim Walz visited an elementary school in Coon Rapids, where he said Minnesota had served 450 million school meals since he signed into law an initiative providing universal school meals statewide in 2023.
“I’m just really proud that it has a real impact. It has an impact on families,” Walz said. “We know that the research shows that kids are learning better because they have full stomachs. So it's smart from an educational science perspective.”
Experts say Minnesota’s universal school meals program has given nutrition programs the steady funding they need to invest in higher-quality local meals.
In Mankato, About 320 freshmen stepped inside Mankato East High School for their first day Tuesday.
Principal Akram Osman greeted students as they were dropped off by their parents, arrived on buses or walked themselves to the school on Tuesday morning.
“I missed all of them throughout the summer,” Osman said. “And so these days are just full of excitement and getting connected back with all of them in this important school year.”
The district uses a staggered start to the school year, so instead of all students starting on the same day, freshmen start on their own day to help them get acclimated to a new building and different learning environment without the older students present.
Some parents said it was a bittersweet moment to see their children starting high school.
“It feels like just yesterday he was getting dropped off at kindergarten. So I can't believe it's already starting high school,” said Keir Carstensen, 50, of Mankato, as he dropped off his son Keiren Carstensen, 14.
“I just want him to know how proud of him I am,” Carstensen said. “He always does way better than I do on days like this. So, I’m the one nervous and worried, and he does great. So, I just want him to know how proud of him I am [and] how far he’s come.”
Students had breakfast and attended an assembly in the gymnasium to kick off their first day. Leaders of LINK Crew, a high school transition program that helps freshmen feel comfortable through their first year of high school, guided them through an orientation.
Freshman William Diede, 14, said he was nervous, but excited to begin high school with the rest of his friends, and he’s looking forward to playing on different sports teams.
“It feels pretty good to have friends here,” Diede said. “Because you know you can go through [high school] with them, and you can always turn to them if you need something too.”
MPR News education reporter Elizabeth Shockman contributed to this story.
