***SPPS IN THE NEWS:
Back to school: Harder when you're homeless
As another school year begins, some kids are filled with nervous anticipation or dragged by their parents kicking and screaming to the bus stop, but others are worried about where they are going to sleep tonight. In the past year, the Twin Cities public school system has seen an increase in homeless students, due to housing foreclosures, evictions, and the recession.
9/9/2009
Twin Cities Daily Planet
http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2009/09/06/back-school-harder-when-youre-homeless

***OTHER DISTRICTS IN THE NEWS:
Issues abound as school starts across Minnesota
St. Paul, Minn. — Summer ended Tuesday for thousands of students across Minnesota, as they headed back to school.
9/9/2009
Minnesota Public Radio
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/09/08/new-school-year-issues/

Obama Stresses Responsibility In School Pep Talk
President Obama speaks Tuesday at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Va. Obama spoke to students across the country about the importance of personal accountability, working hard, staying in school and taking responsibility
9/9/2009
National Public Radio
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112640773&ft=1&f=1013

Battles brew for Dakota County school board seats
A crowd of contenders has emerged to challenge incumbents for contested seats in four Dakota County school districts on Nov. 3.
9/9/2009
Pioneer Press
http://www.twincities.com/education/ci_13296238.html

Two Washington County school board races draw 18 contenders
10 vie for 4 seats in South Washington
9/9/2009
Pioneer Press
http://www.twincities.com/education/ci_13296225.html

'A special day' at new East Ridge High School
As excited as any of the students, Harper was a blur of activity as principal of sparkling new East Ridge High School in Woodbury, some three years and $90 million after South Washington County School District voters approved a bond referendum.
9/9/2009
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/local/east/57802152.html?elr=KArks:DCiUHc3E7_V_nDaycUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUr

Eden Prairie teachers, support staff agree to wage freeze
The concessions are a move to save jobs and help the school district solve a $10 million budget crisis while minimizing cuts to programs essential for students.
9/9/2009
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/local/west/57900337.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDiO7aiU

For some, school they’re back to is brand new
Four new metro-area high schools open to rave reviews.
9/9/2009
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/local/57904007.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDiO7aiU

Osseo schools detail plan for stimulus funds
Federal aid will be used to hire about 20 teachers and aides, and to bolster programs for special-ed and low-income students.
9/9/2009
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/local/north/57614347.html?elr=KArks:DCiUHc3E7_V_nDaycUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUr

School finishes big overhaul in Spring Lake Park
Spring Lake Park High School is putting the final touches on a mammoth renovation.
9/9/2009
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/local/north/57612982.html?elr=KArks:DCiUHc3E7_V_nDaycUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUr

Tech students’ green home to hit market
A "green'' house on a quiet lot overlooking Minnetonka's Purgatory Park will be put up for sale this fall by an unusual owner -- the city.
9/9/2009
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/local/west/57571822.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDiO7aiU

Anthony’s first day of school
When the new school year started for students in Minneapolis on September 1, 2009, it was Anthony Turner's very first day in school.
9/9/2009
Twin Cities Daily Planet
http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2009/09/06/anthonys-first-day-school

Back to school, talking about teachers
As we begin school this fall, my thoughts turn to our Minneapolis teachers who are at the heart of our student performance.
9/9/2009
Twin Cities Daily Planet
http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/blog/learning/back-school-talking-about-teachers

***MISC. NEWS:
Work Hard—No Excuses—Obama Tells Nation’s Students
President Barack Obama, accompanied by U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, talks to students prior to delivering a speech on education at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Va., on Sept. 8.
9/9/2009
Edweek.org
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/09/08/03obama.h29.html?tkn=XLQFR0C9dzmOaoepRCLDTa6fwwtjhhLggW%2BU

Minnesota students head back to school
As students all over the state head back to school, Midday features President Barack Obama's remarks to school children and a discussion about current education issues in Minnesota.
9/9/2009
Minnesota Public Radio
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/09/08/midday1/

Obama's back to school message sparks a battle
President Obama is expected to tell students to study hard and stay in school in an address that some schools will carry live, others taped and some might not show students at all, unless their parents approve. A look at why the idea of the speech flared into controversy across the country.
9/9/2009
Minnesota Public Radio
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/09/08/midmorning1/

Q & A: How schools are preparing for H1N1 flu
St. Paul, Minn. — The start of the new school year is expected to cause a surge in the number of H1N1 influenza cases. Already there's evidence of outbreaks on some college campuses, where classes have been in session for a few weeks.
9/9/2009
Minnesota Public Radio
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/09/08/schoolflu-qanda/

Why is it so hard to learn how to read?
Three education experts -- a brain scientist, a former U.S. secretary of education, and the head of a reading institute -- discuss why it's so difficult to learn to read, and how we can help kids master the skill.
9/9/2009
Minnesota Public Radio
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/09/08/midday2/

Presidential Pep Talk Kicks Off Year for Students
Millions of American schoolchildren, oblivious to the uproar that preceded a back-to-school speech by President Obama, heard him exhort them to greatness on Tuesday, watching, applauding and in some classrooms cheering a nationally broadcast address that urged them to set high goals, knuckle down in their studies and persevere through failure.
9/9/2009
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/education/09educ.html?_r=1&ref=us

A presidential pep talk - for most
Some students and districts avoided Obama's speech, in which he urged kids to succeed
9/9/2009
Pioneer Press
http://www.twincities.com/ci_13295442.html

For some, a really big day
The majority of Minnesota's approximately 800,000 public school students returned to class Tuesday as the summer vacation period came to an end.
9/9/2009
Pioneer Press
http://www.twincities.com/ci_13294298.html

Obama advises caution in what kids put on Facebook
In a pep talk that kept clear of politics, President Barack Obama today challenged the nation's students to take pride and ownership in their education — and stick with it even if they don't like every class or must overcome tough circumstances at home.
9/9/2009
Pioneer Press
http://www.twincities.com/education/ci_13291358.html

Obama tells students to ‘get serious’
Students said they were inspired by Obama's message. "I'm thinking that I can go farther than what I'm doing right now," said one eighth-grader.
9/9/2009
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/local/57719452.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDiO7aiU

Readers write for Wednesday, Sept. 9
9/9/2009
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/opinion/letters/57824062.html?elr=KArksc8P:Pc:UHDaaDyiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUr

Minneapolis schools on Obama speech: "Motivating students is not controversial"
Some Minnesota superintendents have banned the live airing of President Obama’s back-to-school speech next week, but the Minneapolis school district is telling parents that teachers will be allowed to show the address.
9/9/2009
Twin Cities Daily Planet
http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2009/09/04/minneapolis-schools-obama-speech-%E2%80%98motivating-students-not-controversial%E2%80%99

Minnesota's education investment is abysmal
Since 1995, Minnesota has gone from being 15th among the states in what it spends on K-12 education to 42nd, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
9/9/2009
Twin Cities Daily Planet
http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2009/09/03/minnesotas-education-investment-abysmal

What the fuss was all about: Text of Obama’s speech to students
The White House has released the text of the president’s speech, as well as a guide, produced by the Department of Education, that teachers can use for classroom discussion (pdf). His radical message? “We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don’t do that – if you quit on school – you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country.”
9/9/2009
Twin Cities Daily Planet
http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2009/09/07/what-fuss-was-all-about-text-obama%E2%80%99s-speech-students