July 23, 1999 - The Department of Children, Families and Learning is offering school districts a way to get around the requirements of the Profile of Learning, but so far there are few takers. The state's top education official says the lack of interest might mean schools are learning to live with the complex system of graduation standards.
July 27, 1999 - The St. Paul School district is dropping its lawsuit against the state of Minnesota claiming lawmakers were not providing enough funding to meet the specific needs of St. Paul students. More than half the district's students are eligible for free and reduced lunch and many do not speak English. The agreement comes after a series of mediation sessions that began after Governor Ventura was elected last November. Mary Thorthon Phillips is Chairwoman of the St. Paul School Board. She says the district was able to find some common ground with the Ventura administration.
July 29, 1999 - Minneapolis school officials say they're hoping the district's largest ever summer school will also be the most successful. They won't know for sure until test scores are tallied this fall. Summer school classes ended today for many Minnesota schools.
July 30, 1999 - An independent structural engineer says the 90 year old high school in Pipestone is deteriorating and will only get worse. But he says for now, the school is not in danger of immediate collapse.
August 6, 1999 - A reorganized district administration has begun its task of improving Saint Paul public schools. Superintendent Patricia Harvey has promised big reforms in the district and says the new leadership team will help her make the changes. The new administrators began their jobs this week and were echoing their boss's goal of raising student achievement.
August 6, 1999 - The head of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system says he wants to stay on the job another two years. But Chancellor Morrie Anderson says there are some MNSCU board members who want him removed. The board held an emergency, closed-door meeting today discuss Anderson's future, but made no decisions.
August 30, 1999 - To close out the millennium, Minnesota Public Radio's All Things Considered presents a look back at Minnesota life in 1900 via a 12-part series, entitled “A Minnesota Century.” This segment is the the story of Rhoda Emery, a young woman who thought she would never make it as a schoolteacher, but ended up dedicating 50 years to the profession.
August 30, 1999 - The comfort level in many schools changed forever last April when 14 students and a teacher died in Colorado's Columbine High School. The school year ended last spring under a cloud of fear and confusion. Threats and rumors of violence disrupted the routines in many Minnesota schools. Most Minnesota students return to school this week, and school administrators say they're trying hard to assure parents their children will be safe.
August 31, 1999 - Minnesota schools are having an increasingly hard time hiring good principals. Superintendents say fewer people are applying for principal jobs, and many of those applicants lack the experience needed to meet the growing demands of the job. It's a nationwide trend that some predict is reaching crisis proportions.
September 1, 1999 - Minnesota schools begin a second year of classes this week under the graduation standards system, known as the Profile of Learning. The complex system of applied-learning requirements was expected to be dumped or dramatically altered during the legislative session, but neither happened. Now, school districts and teachers are expected to push ahead and make the Profile work. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire looked at how one district is coping and filed this report.