January 28, 1997 - State education officials say they want more students out of classrooms learning about life in the real world. The Minnesota Department of Children, Families and Learning is preparing to launch a 23-million dollar school-to-work project. It's aimed at creating new educational experiences relevant to life and work...and giving students the skills needed to enter the workforce. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports... --------------------------------------------------------- | D-CART ITEM: 0626 | TIME: 6:05 | OUTCUE: s.o.c. --------------------------------------------------------- It's an ageold problem...and an age old childhood excuse... students lose interest in learning when the subject seems irrelavant. The school-to-work movement tries to spark interest
January 29, 1997 - Minnesota teenager's have a much higher rate of vehicle accidents than other drivers. State officials say the young drivers need more training. So, beginning the first of February, Minnesotan's 18 or younger will need to wait six months between getting their permit and their drivers license. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports. There's no waiting period for Minnesota fifteen year olds right now. The minute they get their permit and reach their 16th birthday, they can head for the nearest testing site and try for their license. Wayne Jerrow, a spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety says the new law requires a six month waiting period in an attempt to give the teens more experience. tape . . . the purpose is to give the young adults more practice time, and practice with their parents, with less risk.
January 29, 1997 - MPR's Laura McCallum reports on the The Minnesota Twins nearing the end of a statewide road trip to more than 70 communities across the state. The Twins' Winter Caravan has been around for years as a way to thank fans and stir up support, but this year it's much larger than in the past…and with it concerns over the possibility of pitching a proposed new Twins stadium to captive student audiences during a school visit.
January 29, 1997 - The ANTI-smoking lobby at the state capitol believes THIS is the year to get the support needed to pass a bill designed to help keep cigarettes out of the hands of children. The bill gets a hearing tomorrow (today-thurs) in the House Commerce Committee. Minnesota Public Radio's Karen-Louise Boothe reports from the capitol: The bill establishes a system of licensing and compliance checks for retailers who sell tobacco and it provides for PENALITIES for stoes which sell tobacco to minors. The bill ALSO prohibits self-service tobacco displays in places accessible to minors. Under the legislation cities would not be preempted from passing local ordinances that are even MORE restrictive than state law.
January 31, 1997 - Many Minnesota school districts are wondering how to make up for missed "snow days." There's a lot of winter still to come, and while it's common for schools to build two or three extra days into the educational calendar, two or three extra WEEKs are another matter. Leif Enger of Mainstreet Radio reports. Any school superintendent will tell you, you can't win. Call off school on a stormy day, and parents will complain the weather's
February 3, 1997 - Many children growing up in the sixties assumed that by the time they were adults they would all be travelling in spaceships and making regular trips to the stars. Of course it hasn't quite worked out that way..... but in central Minnesota, the children of some of those wanna-be intergalactic explorers ARE getting a practical lessons in outer space. One teacher in Sauk Rapids has teamed up with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration--NASA--to teach students about space and aeronautics, but also about how to learn. . . . Minnesota Public Radio's Gretchen Lehmann (lay-mun) reports:
February 4, 1997 - A new elementary magnet school in Maplewood might be one of the most complex educational operations in the state. The school is supported financially by three districts, yet the school has its own district number and school board. The school is a voluntary desegregation project involving urban and suburban students. The curriculum has a duel focus of multicultural education and environmental studies. On top all this, the school is operating year-round. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire takes a look at what could be a model for the future of elementary schools... The seeds for Tri-District school were planted seven years ago when Saint Paul school district officials began talking to neighboring suburban districts
February 4, 1997 - Democrats in the state House of Representatives are still reeling from the Senate's surprise passage yesterday of mandatory standardized testing for all public schools. House DFLers wanted to take their time with the testing issue, but now they're feeling pressure to meet the Senate's challenge. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports from the Capitol: It's not just the timing of the Senate's action that's caught House DFLers off guard. They're also suprised by how close the Senate's plan is to what Governor ARne Carlson wants. The Senate legislation, introduced by DFL leader Roger Moe, would impose state-wide achievement tests for 3rd, 5th, 8th and 11th graders. The Governor likes the Senate legislation so much, he's offered to sign it immediately -- if and when the House goes
February 4, 1997 - A Minnesota House higher education panel took its meeting on the road last night to the University of Minnesota-Duluth campus. Legislators were greeted by students, educators and community members pleading for more support. Minnesota Public Radio's Hope Deutscher reports.
February 5, 1997 - Many Minnesota educators are embracing President Clinton's call to make college-level education available for everyone. In his State of the Union address Tuesday night, Clinton said at least two years of college should become as universal as a high school education is now. Local educators say it's an achievable goal.... as long as the funding is there. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports... President Clinton says his number one priority for the next four years is to ensure all Americans have the best education in the world. His goals include enabling every 18-year-old to go to college, and every adult