August 26, 2004 - Mainstreet Radio’s Bob Reha reports that while schools aren't open yet, report cards are being released nonetheless. The reports won't go to students, but to their schools.
September 7, 2004 - After months of planning, three St. Paul elementary schools today are set to welcome hundreds of new immigrant students.
September 7, 2004 - The start of the new school year today in St. Paul marks the opening of three Transitional Learning Centers. District officials created the centers in response to the latest wave of Hmong immigrants moving to the city. Como Park, Hayden Heights and Phalen Lake will serve up to 125 students each in the short-term program. But the district still doesn't doesn't know how many kids will show up. Superintendent Pat Harvey says some of the students who lived in a Thailand refugee camp have little formal education. She says they need a program that provides basic information.
September 23, 2004 - MPR’s Toni Randoplh looks into a Minnesota Public Radio-Pioneer Press poll that shows many state residents believe that the cost of helping immigrants get established here outweighs their contribution.
September 28, 2004 - All Thing’s Considered’s David Molpus interviews Pat Harvey, St. Paul School District Superintendent, about incoming Hmong students. School officials are asking the state for more time to enroll new Hmong students coming from a refugee camp in Thailand.
October 20, 2004 - More than 14-hundred Hmong refugees arrived in Minnesota last month. That's the largest monthly total since the resettlement program began in 1975. Local resettlement agencies say the Hmong are arriving so quickly that, in some cases, they're over-burdening the relatives who are sponsoring them. John Borden of the International Institute, says one relative in Minnesota may agree to sponsor three families. He says the problem arises when all of those families arrive within a short time period.
October 25, 2004 - English language classes are packed in the Twin Cities and other parts of the state. Some programs are so full they now have long waiting lists. Much of the increase is attributed to the growing number of immigrants moving to Minnesota, including Hmong and other refugees. Jean Hanslin is with Lao Family English, says classes are three times the normal size at a time when she's already had to lay off one teacher because of a funding crunch.
October 25, 2004 - Many new immigrants to Minnesota are having a tough time finding a place to learn English. English language classes for adults are filled in the Twin Cities and across most of the state. Barry Shaffer, state director of Adult Basic Education, says there's been an dramatic upturn in enrollment.
October 25, 2004 - MPR’s Toni Randolph reports that English language classes are bursting at the seams in the Twin Cities. New arrivals to the United States have been packing the classes, eager to learn the primary language of their new homeland.
November 15, 2004 - St. Paul school district officials say they're ready to add more bilingual classrooms to accommodate the latest wave of new immigrants.