Minneapolis Teens Help Classmates Prep For City Buses

This fall, Minneapolis Public Schools send high schoolers to class on Metro Transit.

This fall, high schoolers across Minneapolis will take public transit to school instead of yellow buses.  But as any first-time Metro Transit rider can tell you, the experience can be pretty disorienting, if not outright scary. How can you tell which stop to get off at if the bus doesn't run in front of your destination? How do you find the right line if you have to transfer in the middle of a strange neighborhood? How do you even use a Go-To Card? To help their classmates get ready for the big switchover, students from the Minneapolis Youth Congress are filming a video guide for first-timers, according to think-tank Minnesota 2020. The Congress is a citywide body that represents young people in the halls of power. Like Minneapolis Public …

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Anna Schier

2:36 pm on Friday, August 24, 2012

Thanks for sharing this information, Nainsai!   more ›

Washburn Softball Back To Winning Ways

Washburn returned to their winning ways against a Minnehaha Academy team that made them earn it in Tuesday's 8-6 win.

Millers Beat St Paul's Como 9-0

The Millers showed sound defense and solid hitting to extended their unbeaten record with a 9-0 win over the Cougars at Parade Stadium.

Washburn Students Serving As District Guinea Pigs

Students are testing out food served at high schools next year.

Move over, Chairman Kaga. There's a new judge in town. Or rather, judges. Every Thursday for the last several weeks, hundreds of Washburn High School students have filed down to the cafeteria for what they've reportedly begun dubbing "Real Food Thursday." They're there to test out different recipes Minneapolis will be rolling out at every high school next year, along with revamped kitchens that will let schools cook most of their own meals on-site. "We did a test about a month ago on a homemade pizza," Minneapolis Public Schools nutrition head Bertrand Webber told Patch. "We served it with a Caesar salad, and the kids absolutely fell in love with it." With urging from principal Carol Markham-Cousins, Webber turned that one-time test into a…

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Jesse Lykken

4:32 pm on Saturday, May 5, 2012

Thanks for the tip. Webber is an impressive fellow. Our kids are lucky to have him. I have long been hyper- critical of Superintendent Johnson, but if she can manage get the menus improved and the time to eat this good food extended, then I will gladly tip my Twins cap to her for a job well done!   more ›

PHOTOS: Southwest Baseball Falls to Washburn

The Millers extended their unbeaten record with a 2-0 win over the Lakers on 4/30.

Schools Sing Their Hearts Out

Viva City festival draws student performers from all over the city.

Thursday night, 600 Minneapolis Public Schools students from every high school in the city gathered in the auditorium at Patrick Henry High School for the 2012 Viva City performance.  In this photo, John Jamison from Southwest High School belts out a solo. Were you at the performance? Add your photos to this gallery!

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Superintendent Speaks Out In Washburn Honors Classes Controversy

At Tuesday's school board meeting, Bernadeia Johnson pledged "to support students(...)who need acceleration."

In between the pleading and declamations over the teachers' contract during Tuesday night's school board meeting, a little piece of news slipped out of Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson's mouth, seemingly unnoticed. "I'm pledging we will provide support for students to take (non-honors) courses," Johnson said after the school board had voted on the contracts. "And students who need acceleration, we need to work individually with those families to identify opportunities for those students." Washburn High School parents have been waiting on tenterhooks to see how the district would respond to their peers' demands for more challenging classes. The school currently groups students of different ability levels in the same class in a system called…

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James Sanna

3:08 pm on Friday, April 20, 2012

Hold on a minute, though. MPS is running on razor-thin budget margins, though. The added days next school year are having to be paid by non-classroom cuts, not extra money that's just lying around. Not arguing for or against the validity of Johnson's reasoning, but money worries are part of the mix, too.   more ›

Local Sports Fans: Help Patch!

Help Patch cover local sports this spring!

With the spring sports season getting underway, we're calling on all Minneapolis City Conference fans to help us provide the best coverage possible of Washburn High School's and Southwest High School's games. How can you help? If you're at a game, email a quick recap to local editor James Sanna at James.Sanna@Patch.com. You can also email photos you snapped, as well as feature story ideas. Speaking of photos, you can skip the whole email thing and upload them directly to Patch right here. We'll make sure to feature the best ones we get. You can also interact with us via Facebook and Twitter, if that's more your style. We just want to know what's going on in the Southwest Minneapolis sports world, and we want to get it from the source—you! …

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Give Superintendant a Piece of Your Mind

The head of Minneapolis Public Schools is coming to Kingfield today.

Minneapolis Public Schools Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson is coming to Martin Luther King Park for lunch with the community today. In between controversy over Washburn High School's academic program and a new school calendar that cuts into traditional summer vacation time, Johnson and attendees will likely have a lot to talk about. Johnson, her cabinet, and MPS employees will serve a soup lunch to parents and students as part of Johnson's regular "Soup with the Supe" listening sessions. Johnson is holding a total of seven such events across the city this school year. Field Community School Jazz Combo will welcome attendees. Spanish and Somali interpretation, plus childcare for ages three and up, will be provided at no charge. The event …

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PHOTOS: Southwest, Washburn Give Jeremy Lin A Run For His Money

FIRST Robotics held two metro-wide tournaments during the weekend.

The four- and five-foot tall players raced around the court at the University of Minnesota's Williams Arena, shooting baskets as the clock winds down. Only these Muggsy Bogues-sized players weren't human at all. They were robots. Aspiring engineers from across the Twin Cities metro area came together to compete in two regional high school FIRST Robotics tournaments from March 29-31. Both Washburn High School and Southwest High School took part in the attempt to give Jeremy Lin a run for his money. Washburn finished seventh out of 63 teams, while Southwest finished 48 out of 63 teams. The robotics season begins in January, when FIRST Robotics sends out information about the task the robots must complete in the competitive meets and a kit of…

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