November 25, 2003 - Parents of students at Stillwater Area High School met last night (MONDAY) to discuss recent problems at the school. Last week, 16 students were suspended after a fight between an Asian student and a white student led to an exchange of racial slurs and two larger fights. Stillwater Area High School is located in Washington County, about 15 miles east of St. Paul. Census Bureau estimates show the number of minorities has almost tripled in that county since 1990, outpacing the overall population growth. In 2002, Asians were the single largest minority group in the county. Chris Lennox is the principal of Stillwater Area High School. He was at the meeting last night, and he joins us now.
December 1, 2003 - A gubernatorial task force is working to put new ideas on education funding before the Legislature early next year. The goals include determining the exact cost of providing a basic public school education in Minnesota. The panel wants to define the elements of an adequate instructional program before developing a plan to overhaul the state's complex funding system for schools. Task force members met today (Monday) in Roseville to discuss their latest findings. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports...
December 1, 2003 - The Minneapolis NAACP has begun a program called the "411 on the five- 0" , slang for the 'information on the police.' It's aimed at educating community members about how the police do their jobs. But the program is also designed to help people of color avoid contentious situations with police. Minnesota Public Radio's Brandt Williams reports
December 2, 2003 - It's been two months since two students were killed in a school shooting in Cold Spring. Now officials at Rocori High School are asking the community for ideas on how to prevent future violence. A group of Rocori school district residents got together last night Monday to discuss the issue. They say the key to school safety isn't increased security, but increased involvement by parents and teachers in the lives of students. Mainstreet Radio's Tim Post reports.
December 4, 2003 - Searchers went back out today looking for Dru Sjodin. Law enforcement officers went out alone after a massive effort by 17-hundred volunteers in recent days came up empty. Michael Campion is the Superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in St. Paul, and a former street police officer. He says investigators never know just what exactly constitutes a clue.
December 4, 2003 - A new survey from research and consulting firm Grunwald and Associates says that amounts to about ten percent of all kids age 6-17 who are online. And that's 3 times more kids who have their own sites since 2000. And the number is expected to keep growing rapidly.
December 4, 2003 - The citizens committee working on the proposed Social Studies standards for Minnesota public schools is facing a December 15th deadline to finish its second draft. The revised document is expected to look much different than the earlier version, which generated widespread criticism. But the pending changes might not be enough to satisfy some critics. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports...
December 5, 2003 - University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks will launch a commission today to study the role that time outside of school plays in young peoples' learning and development.
December 5, 2003 - Mainstreet Radio's Tom Robertson reports on the concerns over charter schools outside of the metro. There are 88 charter schools in Minnesota. While about two-thirds of those are in the Twin Cities, a growing number of charter schools are popping up in greater Minnesota. Supporters say starting charter schools in rural Minnesota is tough and they face resistance from school districts afraid of losing students.
December 9, 2003 - The University of Minnesota is moving forward with plans to build a new football stadium without the help of T. Denny Stanford. Stanford had pledged to contribute 35 million dollars of the cost, but negotiations with him fell apart. Meanwhile, Governor Tim Pawlenty's Stadium Steering Committee meets for the first time today. The governor formed the committee to evaluate stadium proposals for the Minnesota Twins and Vikings. MPR Sports Commentator and Star Tribune writer Jay Weiner has followed the stadium debate for years and he joins us this morning with an update.