The pandemic has forced some of Minnesota's youngest and oldest learners with Down syndrome to miss out on in-person education and programs vital to their progress
The challenges and stresses experienced by students and teachers have been well documented, and more recently, education leaders have turned their attention to principals.
The sudden challenges and pre-pandemic problems causing today's teacher shortages will require both immediate actions and long-term solutions from K-12 leaders.
COVID is a big factor in the school staffing crunch but there may be a bigger culprit, particularly when it comes to teachers, bus drivers and custodians.
Here's an idea for preventing staff shortages that you should steal: Hold an "unconference" to determine how you can lighten teacher workloads so they can put their students first.
Some experts warn there are longer-term problems with the teacher pipeline that cannot be solved with emergency substitutes, bonuses and loosened qualifications.
