Author: Sarah Cooke

New standards for teaching social studies, approved by an administrative law judge Tuesday, will prepare the next generations of Minnesotans to understand our shared history and help them avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.

Reversing the pervasive shortage of educators in Minnesota’s public education systems should be a top priority for the 2024 Legislature as lawmakers consider how to spend a small budget surplus forecasted on Wednesday, said Denise Specht, president of Education Minnesota. 

Minnesota voters overwhelmingly elected school board candidates on Tuesday who rejected book bans and supported students’ freedom to learn in safe, welcoming public schools. 

Education Minnesota has increased its outreach to school board voters through a digital advertising campaign in response to a sprawling effort to restrict what Minnesota students may learn and educators may teach. 

Darci Brown, a bus driver from St. Francis, was named Education Minnesota’s 2023-24 Education Support Professional of the Year at an awards ceremony on Saturday. 

Thousands of educators from across Minnesota will attend the annual MEA conference on Thursday, where they will hear from various speakers and choose from dozens of classes intended to help them meet the needs of their students. The Minnesota Educator Academy conference is an annual tradition since 1861.

Nominations for 2024 Minnesota Teacher of the Year opened on Monday and run through Nov. 15, 2023. A winner will be named at a banquet in May 2024.

Advocates for safe and welcoming schools for all students – no matter where they live, what they look like, who they love, or how they pray – will address the rise of dog-whistle politics in Minnesota school board races this fall.

The state of Minnesota must remedy the shortage of trained, professional educators in order to improve the academic achievement of students, who continue to post scores on standardized tests below pre-pandemic levels.