Minnesota students are using winter break to reflect on whether college is still worth the cost, debt, and uncertainty surrounding career outcomes.
Education
A space for local and national stories about issues surrounding education, especially as they relate to African Americans.
Posted inEducation
Minneapolis parents, teachers demand ICE leave after targeting schools
ICE at Minneapolis schools has prompted educators and families to demand federal agents leave the city after the killing of Renee Good.
Posted inEducation
In search of opportunity, young Black Minnesotans are leaving the state
Young Black Minnesotans are leaving the state for college and careers, seeking cultural access, professional growth, and creative opportunity they say is limited at home.
Posted inEducation
Minneapolis School Finder Fair Helps Families Navigate School Choices for 2026 and Beyond
The Minneapolis School Finder Fair on January 10 offers families a one-stop opportunity to explore public, charter, magnet, and private school options ahead of key 2026–27 enrollment deadlines.
Posted inEducation
Monkey Sounds, “White Power” and the N-Word: Racial Harassment Against Black Students Ignored Under Trump
A ProPublica investigation finds federal civil rights enforcement has stalled as racial harassment of Black students continues unchecked in U.S. schools.
Posted inMetro
Our Most-Read, Most-Shared, Most-Impactful Stories of 2025
s we enter 2026, the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder reflects on the 15 stories that defined 2025, from urgent breaking news to culture, community, and accountability reporting.
Posted inLet them Rise
Going back to ‘the village’
Black boys succeed when surrounded by a strong village of care. This column explores why rebuilding community support remains essential to education, healing, and long-term success.
Posted inEducation
Alternative schools offer learners a second chance — and more
Minnesota alternative education programs offer flexible, personalized pathways that help students recover credits, stay engaged, and work toward high school graduation.
Posted inNothing but the Truth
Resist MAGA’s efforts to disempower Black women
The rising unemployment rate for Black women reveals deeper political forces shaping labor, power, and leadership in 2025, with clear implications for Minnesota and beyond.
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Benjamin E. Mays school adopts Afrocentric focus
Benjamin E. Mays School will launch an Afrocentric education program in 2026, centering culture, identity, and the historic legacy of Saint Paul’s Rondo community.
Posted inEducation
Rondo elder urges action on literacy
Rondo community elder Mary K. Boyd has dedicated her life to education and child development, drawing on decades of experience as a teacher, administrator and community advocate. Born and raised in the historic Rondo neighborhood, Boyd built a career shaped by connection, mentorship and a belief that every adult has the power to help children […]
Posted inEducation
A system under strain Minnesota parents wait months for child care support
Minnesota families are waiting months for child care assistance as scholarship and CCAP waitlists surge. Delayed support leaves parents without affordable, stable early learning options.
Posted inEducation
Minneapolis schools avoid strike, but staff wages still lag
Minneapolis teachers have voted to ratify a new contract and avert a strike, bringing relief to families worried about classroom disruptions. The agreement includes gains for adult education teachers and modest raises for some education support professionals, but ESPs say pay still lags far behind the cost of living. Educators warn that Black students and Black staff remain concentrated in under resourced roles and schools, and say the contract is only a first step toward real equity.
Posted inFirst Educator
Making a difference: Key strategies for community-based adaptation
Minnesota families are feeling the impacts of climate change through hotter summers, unpredictable storms and rising energy bills. Community based adaptation gives residents the power to respond with practical strategies such as planting trees for cooling, creating rain gardens to reduce flooding and using energy efficient appliances at home. These actions strengthen neighborhoods and build leadership skills in children who will shape the future.
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Benjamin E. Mays to Become Afrocentric School by Fall 2026
Saint Paul Public Schools will launch an Afrocentric program at Benjamin E. Mays in fall 2026, centering African American culture and improving student outcomes while keeping core academic instruction in place.
Posted inLet them Rise
Disabling the ‘school-to-prison pipeline’
Richard D. Terrell breaks down how the school to prison pipeline impacts Black boys and offers real strategies for schools, families and communities to disable the system. His column calls for shifting from punishment to restoration so Black boys can rise.
Posted inNothing but the Truth
Where history meets the future
Black Minnesota as a source of inspiration worldwide Most 50-year-olds do not move to a new state with their nearly adult children. The vast majority of Minnesotans over 50 would never consider it. Both facts require some explanation about my presence in the Twin Cities. As the DeWitt Wallace Professor of History at Macalester College, […]
Posted inEducation
Deaf and hard-of-hearing Black men face steep graduation challenges
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — When Antonio “Toni” Heckstall arrived at Gallaudet University as a freshman in 2016, he quickly realized the transition would be challenging. The word “turbulent” best described his experience as he adjusted to the dynamics of a predominantly Deaf university. As a hard-of-hearing student with partial hearing loss, he was transitioning from mainstream […]
Posted inEducation
Ta‑Nehisi Coates talks race, power, global justice
At St. Catherine University, author Ta-Nehisi Coates called for courage in confronting racism, authoritarian power, and global injustice. He challenged institutions that stay silent under pressure and urged communities to recognize connected struggles for freedom from the U.S. to Palestine.
Posted inEducation
‘Why Teach’ event asks who’s missing from teacher pipeline, and why
North Hennepin Community College’s annual “Why Teach” event in a packed campus hall took place October 9 with students, educators, and community partners talking plainly about Minnesota’s teacher pipeline and the urgent need for more Black educators. The Why Teach event, now a biennial NHCC tradition, combines keynote speakers, networking, and mentorship opportunities for students […]