Minnesota students look back at a year of school during the pandemic

A year ago this week, Gov. Tim Walz ordered schools closed across Minnesota to slow the spread of COVID-19. Within days, hundreds of thousands of students across the state were navigating online classes from home. A year later, some districts still haven’t returned all students to in-person school. 

We’ve heard a lot from teachers and parents. But, what has this tumultuous year been like for the students? 

MPR News host Angela Davis talked with three high school journalists about how they experienced the year and checked in with two groups of younger students. 

They talked about masks, frozen Google Meet screens, what it was like to listen to video classes at home surrounded by five siblings and how dance moves from Macarena helped some fifth graders keep their social distance. They also talked about missing friends, wanting to talk about racial justice in school and the joy of returning to classrooms in person.

Guests 

• High school students from ThreeSixty Journalism. 

• Middle school students from Detroit Lakes Middle School in Detroit Lakes, Minn.

• Elementary school students from Maxfield Elementary School in St. Paul. 

Use the audio player above to listen to the program.

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