While the COVID pandemic has changed the way schools have operated for the past two years, a new school year starts throughout most of the state with a hopeful outlook.
Aside from a visit from Governor Tim Walz, the first day of school at Zayn Wood Community school in Brooklyn Park looked mostly normal, with parents hugging their kids and teachers gathering students outside the school doors.
While the pandemic changed the way teaching was done, Minnesota Education Commissioner Dr. Heather Mueller says schools remain a place of hope in Minnesota.
"We know that every single day our families send their best in their brightest to us and we appreciate their willingness to put their trust in what we do every single day and what our staff does every day doesn't just start when they walk into the classroom. This work started when the last school year
ended."
Just last month, the Osteo Public School District reported that 52 teaching positions remained open in Brooklyn Park. This is a wide-ranging problem throughout the state as there are shortages in educators, school bus drivers and more.