School & Sports | Southwest Connector

David Walcher of Urban Boatbuilders instructs Masyn May to lace ribs to the frame of a canoe. Urban Boatbuilders teaches youth how to build boats through paid internships. Gretchen Wilbrandt of Urban Boatbuilders says they seek to let companies know they have employable youth. She cites COVID, global wars, and a mental health crisis as stressors that can make youth feel hopeless.

How can the community help youth succeed?

What are the biggest barriers to young people succeeding in the Twin Cities? Are there enough resources to assist youth facing overwhelming challenges? Are those resources readily accessible? And … more

By Jan Willms | 9/18/24

Campaign for school board heats up

Southwest voters will be choosing a new District 6 school board member this fall. Ira Jourdain announced early this year that he would not being seeking re-election as Minneapolis Public School (MPS) … more

By Cam Gordon | 8/21/24

BUSINESS FOR THE YOUTH

Positive impacts on a community don’t always need an adult to start change. Business for the Youth, founded in April 2023, developed from the mind of Sam Vahhaji during his sophomore year at … more

By Evan Vezmar | 8/21/24

Ericsson resident Jessica Wyn Miller (right), an entomologist, leads a Bug Club adventure into the world of bugs near her Minnehaha Creek-side home. She has found that her work as an artist intersects with insects.“I got excited for aquatic insects when I found out they reflect the health of a water," she recalled.

She hated bugs – so she decided to become an entomologist

Jessica Miller still shrieks sometimes when a spider jumps on her, but the south Minneapolis environmental entomologist has found that makes her more approachable when she’s teaching classes on … more

By Tesha M. Christensen | 7/24/24

Longfellow resident Eliza Washington said that Red Lake Nation College “gave me a place to find myself and learn about myself, my history and where I come from. They don’t teach you that stuff in mainstream schools.”

First tribal college opens in Twin Cities

The newly open Red Lake Nation College in downtown Minneapolis is one of the first tribal colleges in a major U.S. city and is reaching a “never-served” community,” according to Dan … more

By Tesha M. Christensen | 7/24/24

Lisa Sayles-Adams, Minneapolis Public School Superintendent

Rising costs, declining revenue bring trouble to public school budget

Lisa Sayles-Adams, the new Minneapolis Public School (MPS) Superintendent, has been on the job for less than three months and has already participated in two major contract negotiations. Plus, she is … more

By Cam Gordon | 5/15/24 | 1 comment

Running for Special Olympics

Two Southwest runners are making a difference one step at a time. On May 19, 2024, Jake Lepak and Patrick Larson will run 50 miles around Lake Harriet to raise money and awareness for Special … more

By Tesha M. Christensen | 5/15/24

Youth and elders brainstorm ideas during a community solutions workshop at Walker Library on Feb. 3.

A solution for school disengagement

T he world has changed. Our education system has not. As a result, school is broken . It's so bad that many kids don't go to school anymore. Chronic absenteeism was an issue before the pandemic. … more

By Eric Ortiz | 2/14/24

Hear from Mark Rivard, creator of Do Rad Things, at 'Let's Connect' event in February

Every artist has an interesting origin story. But nothing compares with how Mark Rivard got started. Rivard began illustrating skateboards with Sharpie markers in the early 2000s. That led to an … more

by Eric Ortiz | 1/25/24

(Left to right) Seventh grader Kaia Bursell, Yinghua Academy Director Dr. Luyi Lien, and sixth grader Sage Houdek hold their certificates and awards from Chinese Bridge.

‘We were celebrities’

In the fall of 2023, two students from Yinghua Academy Chinese immersion school in northeast Minneapolis went on the trip of a lifetime. Keewaydin resident and sixth grader Sage Houdek and seventh … more

By Jill Boogren | 1/18/24

Sydney Johnson and Eli Anleu demonstrate their dance skills. (Photo submitted)

Fifth graders show off moves

Sure, you’ve seen fifth graders do the “griddy” dance, but have you seen them tango, waltz, rumba and foxtrot? More than 70 students at Barton Elementary School, 4237 Colfax Ave. … more

1/18/24

County Recycling Grants

Hennepin county is offering grants for preschools, K-12 schools and colleges in Hennepin County to start or improve waste reduction programs. The money can be spent on staff time, equipment and … more

1/18/24

Change in school board leadership

At its first meeting of the year, on Jan. 2, the Minneapolis Public School Board unanimously elected Collin Beachy for the position of board chair for the year. Last year he was vice chair. Kim … more

1/18/24

The two final candidates were Dr. Lisa Sayles-Adams (shown here) and Dr. Sonia Stewart.

MPS names new superintendent

Minneapolis will be welcoming a new superintendent on Feb. 5, 2024. On Dec. 1, 2023, with opposition from two southwest board members, the Minneapolis Public School (MPS) Board of Education … more

By Cam Gordon | 12/14/23

Nature play

“At Lake Harriet Lower Elementary, we believe that learning extends beyond the classroom walls,” said Lake Harriet Lower Elementary Principal Angie Ness. “Our new outdoor learning … more

10/5/23

An Ella Baker student and her mom working together in class.

Calling all lifelong learners back to school

Learn something new every day. This isn't a new concept. Many smart people have espoused the virtues of learning. "Education begins at the level of the learner," said Aristotle, who believed … more

By Eric Ortiz | 9/9/23

Talking healthy school lunches with U of M

All students in the state of Minnesota will get free breakfast and lunch starting this next school year. With more children now likely to eat two meals a day at school, many parents are … more

7/26/23

Washburn Racing Drone Team member Alex Pasdo maneuvers his eight-centimeter-wide Tiny Whoops drone through a course after school, learning skills he can apply to real-world jobs.

Learning stem on the fly

Teens at Washburn High School are learning STEM on the fly. At their after school meet-ups for the Tiny Whoops drone team, they are learning programming for robotics, electronics, aerodynamics, and … more

By Tesha M. Christensen | 6/14/23

I had the opportunity to join a fencing club in Rennes and I participated in two tournaments in the semester. My fencing coach took a photo of me before my first tournament, which was a national tournament in Dax. I placed 25th out of 204 fencers in the two-day competition, and I had a wonderful experience receiving advice and support from my French teammates.

A study abroad

Traveling around the world always requires a sense of curiosity and adventure. More often than not, travel demands a willingness to be uncertain, confused, and bewildered. Studying abroad holds … more

By Evan Vezmar | 4/19/23

Inspired

Nine months before Rosa Parks, Claudette Colvin refused to give up her seat on the bus to a White passenger. She was 15. Youth Performance Company (YPC)’s “Inspired by Claudette & … more

By Jill Boogren | 2/17/23