June 6, 2012 — Our May installment of the Bright Ideas series features Jim McCorkell, CEO and founder of College Possible, where he put into action his life-long passion to make college admission and success possible for low-income students.
April 16, 2012 — The world of emergency medical services remains largely a white male profession across the country and in Minnesota. On Monday, St. Paul graduates its fifth class of emergency-medical technicians, most of them young people of color from low-income neighborhoods. The idea is to diversify the pipeline to medical professions and to the St. Paul Fire Department, which has a history of racial exclusion. It's also a way to give inner-city minorities, including young parents, a shot at meaningful careers in the healthcare field.
June 16, 2011 — As students in the St. Paul school district begin their summer vacation this week, two elementary schools near the state Capitol are preparing for some changes when students return in the fall. The schools sit in the footprint of the federal Promise Neighborhoods initiative, a program that aims to help children in high-poverty areas make it to college.
June 9, 2011 — If something's broken, do you fix it -- or get rid of it? That's the question surrounding almost 100-million dollars a year in state money for school integration. There's widespread agreement that the current program for funding integration efforts is flawed. The Republican-led Legislature approved an education budget this spring that eliminates the funding altogether. But Governor Dayton vetoed that bill, leaving the money's fate uncertain.
May 23, 2011 — At least 16 schools in north Minneapolis and Fridley are closed after yesterday's tornado.
May 12, 2011 — Students at the Perpich Center for the Arts were treated to an appearance by theater royalty, Dame Julie Andrews. She spoke to the students about the vital role the arts play in our culture. Following speech, MPR’s Marianne Combs interviews Julie Andrews. Andrews mentions how family played the most formative role in her career, and what brings her satisfaction in her work.
May 3, 2011 — Several dozen young people today signed up for an Emergency Medical Technician training program in St. Paul. The city launched the program to increase diversity in the city's emergency responder pool, which is mostly white. The program trains young people to work alongside professional firefighters, paramedics and hospital staff, and then helps them find jobs. St. Paul mayor Chris Coleman says the city needs a more diverse workforce of emergency responders.
March 16, 2011 — After weeks of public discussion, the St. Paul School Board has approved a plan that will reconfigure several schools and overhaul busing operations. It's a plan officials say will help close the district's achievement gap, in part, by re-focusing instruction on community, or neighborhood schools - instead of magnet schools that draw students from anywhere in the city.
January 17, 2011 — Families in the Hawthorne neighborhood of north Minneapolis got a chance today to mark Martin Luther King Junior's birthday in a 21st century fashion - with technology. The Digital Divide Initiative is trying to get computers into the homes of low-income families with young children, to help close the technology gap between rich and poor.
January 13, 2011 — The St. Paul School Board has narrowed the field of candidates who applied for an open seat on the board. There are now 10 finalists remaining from the 41 who originally applied.