Latest news with #KentPekel
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Rochester Public Schools appeals loss of federal grant, pledges not to factor in race for program selection
May 28—ROCHESTER — Rochester Public Schools has submitted a two-page appeal to the U.S. Department of Education regarding the discontinuation of a $1.9 million grant originally meant to increase the number of mental health workers in the school district, particularly those from "underrepresented backgrounds." RPS was originally awarded the grant in 2023. The Department of Education notified RPS earlier this month that it would discontinue the grant because of the priorities of the new administration. In its appeal, RPS said it will no longer make decisions based on race if it is allowed to keep the grant. "We agree to not use any factors related to race, gender or sexual orientation to select or support candidates for the grant program," Superintendent Kent Pekel wrote in the letter. "Our focus is on merit, excellence, and meeting the urgent mental health needs of our students." RPS Communications Director Mamisoa Knutson said the district is unaware when or if it will receive a response to the appeal. The grant was part of a partnership between Rochester Public Schools and Winona State University. When it was first awarded to RPS, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar visited Rochester to mark the occasion. In an earlier statement about the grant cancellation, Pekel wrote that the program was helping "fill a gap that Rochester Public Schools cannot fill on its own: enabling talented people who are already working in our school system to earn the licenses and degrees that they need to provide students with counseling and other forms of mental health support." In the original notice about the grant's discontinuation, the Department of Education gave a handful of possible reasons for discontinuing the grant without directly saying what the reason was. "The Department has undertaken a review of grants and determined that the grant specified above provides funding for programs that reflect the prior Administration's priorities and policy preferences and conflict with those of the current Administration, in that the programs: violate the letter or purpose of Federal civil rights law; conflict with the Department's policy of prioritizing merit, fairness, and excellence in education; undermine the well-being of the students these programs are intended to help; or constitute an inappropriate use of federal funds." Since the inauguration of President Donald Trump, the federal government has moved to reverse many existing policies aimed at diversity, equity and inclusion. Although Pekel indicated in the appeal that the district would not take racial factors into account when administering the grant, he also explained that it was partially meant to be a way to support individuals from minority groups. "While the original grant guidelines encouraged consideration of applicants from underrepresented backgrounds, RPS has implemented the program in a balanced manner," Pekel wrote. "Two-thirds of participants are people of color or Indigenous individuals, while one-third are white. This reflects our commitment to both diversity and merit-based selection." The district's response to the letter also criticized the Department of Education's decision to discontinue the grant, saying that the "premature termination of this grant" would waste the funding that has already been invested in the mental health initiative. "This program represents exactly the type of innovative, merit-based approach needed to address the critical mental health needs of our students," Pekel wrote in the letter. "The termination of this grant sends a troubling message about the federal government's commitment to student mental health and efficient use of taxpayer resources."
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Rochester Public Schools sees highest graduation rate since 2018, including 10% gain among Black students
May 7—ROCHESTER — In 2024, Rochester Public Schools recorded its highest graduation rate since 2018, which included a 10% increase among Black students. The Minnesota Department of Education released statewide 2024 graduation rates on Wednesday, May 7. RPS' graduation rate among Black students reached 84.13%, up from 74.04% in 2023. That gain for Black students in 2024 came after the group experienced a 10% drop the year before , meaning the 2024 rate essentially gained back the ground that had been lost between 2022 and 2023. "That has been a real focus over the course of this year," Superintendent Kent Pekel said, explaining that the district made a point to work with the high schools to make sure their Black student populations stayed on track to graduate. "There was a pretty explicit focus on making sure those kids were not falling through the cracks." The overall graduation rate at Rochester Public Schools for the class of 2024 was 85.9%, representing a 2% increase over the year before. The RPS graduation rate was higher than the statewide rate, which was 84.2%. The RPS graduation rate among white students was 89.7%, a figure that is mostly unchanged from the 2023 class, which was at 90.7% The graduation rate among Asian students was 89.2%, which was an increase from the 82.39% recorded in 2023. Students of "two or more races" had a graduation rate of 86.3%, which was down nearly 4 points from the 90.1% recorded in 2023. Although Hispanic students recorded the lowest graduation rate among racial demographics at 71.0%, that was an increase from the 64.5% recorded in the class of 2023. When asked about the rate among Hispanic students, Pekel explained a reason for it being lower than for other cohorts is because it's a more mobile demographic. "The challenge there is having a program that provides them with educational continuity over time," Pekel said. "That's the work that really lies ahead of us in a lot of ways." Among Rochester's three high schools, Mayo had the highest graduation rate, at 92.6%, followed by Century at 91.7%, and John Marshall at 89.4%. Although Mayo and John Marshall's graduation rates were within a percentage point of the year before, Century recorded a gain of 3.1%. The largest single-school gain was at the Alternative Learning Center, which recorded an increase of 15.7%, for a 2024 graduation rate of 72.3%. Pekel went on to highlight the district's initiative of incorporating something known as "multi-tiered systems of support," which is a strategy for providing additional support for struggling students. "We're identifying the kids who need more support," Pekel said. Among surrounding districts, Byron's graduation rate was the highest at 95.18%, followed by Plainview-Elgin-Millville at 95.15%, Kasson-Mantorville at 93.59%, Stewartville at 92.62%, Pine Island at 89.36%, Chatfield at 89.33% and Dover-Eyota at 87.5%.
Vox
24-04-2025
- Health
- Vox
Should kids get mental health days?
is a senior correspondent for Vox, where she covers American family life, work, and education. Previously, she was an editor and writer at the New York Times. She is also the author of three novels, including the New York Times bestseller Outlawed. This story originally appeared in Kids Today, Vox's newsletter about kids, for everyone. Sign up here for future editions. It's a stressful time to be a kid. Young people are watching environmental disasters, school shootings, and economic and political uncertainty, all with a level of media (or at least social media) coverage that would have been unimaginable for previous generations. Against this backdrop, they're also expected to have their lives figured out by an early age, and rack up a laundry list of achievements to cite in an increasingly lengthy and comparison-filled college application process. 'You almost have to start working on your college career in middle school,' Jennifer Rothman, director of youth and young adult initiatives at the National Alliance on Mental Illness, told me. Related The new burnout generation Given all this, it's perhaps no surprise that kids need a break. Mental health days — a day off to deal with depression or anxiety, or simply to tend to mental well-being, gained currency among adults during the early part of the Covid-19 pandemic — and they've taken off among young people as well, with at least 12 states passing laws allowing excused absences for mental health reasons. But as chronic absenteeism remains a problem around the country, some school officials are worried that giving kids mental health days could encourage an attitude that school attendance is optional. 'There's a lot of misconceptions about how important it is to be in school — if I didn't come to school at all in the pandemic, why do I urgently have to keep coming to school now?' Kent Pekel, superintendent of Rochester Public Schools in Minnesota, said during a webinar last year, according to EdWeek. While concerns about mental health are far from gone, they're also being joined by fears of learning loss and the acknowledgement that missing even a few days of school can be detrimental to kids' education. There's also a widespread worry that students are reaching college, the job market, and the ballot box without basic skills like reading. Some experts also caution that taking a day off for the wrong reasons could actually make matters worse. 'When you get yourself in the trap or downward slide of school avoidance, that's really hard, and it happens really quick,' Sarah Cain Spannagel, a clinical psychologist in Cleveland who works with children and families, told me. How can kids, families, and educators navigate all this? How do we support kids through a time that's often scary even for adults, while also making sure they get an education? I posed these questions to experts this week, and the answers I got suggested that while a day off won't cure a kid's depression or anxiety (sadly, that doesn't work for grown-ups, either), time for reset and recovery can help protect kids from getting to a crisis point in the first place. A day off could even show families and schools what's missing from a kid's life, leading to less stress and pressure in the future. A mental health crisis for teens Doctors and teens alike have been especially concerned with young people's mental health in the last five years, with Vivek Murthy, the US surgeon general under President Joe Biden, warning in 2021 of a mental health crisis among adolescents. More recent surveys have shown some improvement in the prevalence of teen sadness and depression, but clinicians are still seeing 'alarming rates' of anxiety and depression, as well as suicidality and self-harm, Amber Childs, a psychiatry professor at Yale School of Medicine who works on youth mental health, told me. Allowing mental health days can also help destigmatize mental illness, and encourage young people to be open about any struggles they're going through, rather than hiding them, kids and experts say. Among teens, mental health days have emerged as a popular coping strategy. Students began advocating for them even before Covid hit, and lawmakers in states from Oregon to Utah have agreed, giving kids a designated number of mental health days per year, or simply changing the definition of an excused absence to include psychological reasons. While hard numbers on how many days kids are actually taking are hard to come by, the practice seems to be increasing, perhaps driven by a growing awareness that psychological well-being is as important as physical health, Spannagel said. The concept of a mental health day might sound pretty foreign to previous generations. Growing up, 'I never got any days off,' Rothman of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, who has three teenagers, told me. 'Your parents were kind of like, you either have to have a fever or you're throwing up, that's the only way you're staying home.' But adults today need to understand 'how different the world is now for our kids than it was for us,' Rothman said. Because of social media, young people today don't have much downtime from social interaction, news, or, well, anything really, Childs told me. Being able to unplug 'not only from our digitally enabled lives, but also from the routine things that happen in the social and academic space' can be positive, 'whether or not something bad is happening.' Allowing mental health days can also help destigmatize mental illness, and encourage young people to be open about any struggles they're going through, rather than hiding them, kids and experts say. The right way to use mental health days However, the way we often think about mental health days might not be the most helpful for kids. Rather than using them when a child is already in crisis — 'taking the release valve off of the pressure cooker,' as Childs put it — families and schools should use them as 'a preventative tool' to keep that pressure from building up in the first place. Ideally, parents can look ahead to a time when kids might have a lot of stressful events coming up, like big exams or performances, then schedule a day off ahead of time. They should also plan how to use the day well. 'A mental health day doesn't equate to chilling on a couch for eight hours straight binging TikTok and television,' Childs said. Instead, Rothman suggests getting outside, reading, drawing, or playing card games — 'whatever is calming and helps them feel more like themselves.' For teenagers especially, a day off could be a time to just catch up on sleep, something they're often lacking due to early high school start times. What kids feel the need to do on a mental health day can also give adults 'clues about what might be crowded out during a typical school day or week,' and help build those activities back in on ordinary days so kids don't get as stressed out and depleted, Childs said. (If kids keep taking days off to sleep, it might be time for the school to consider a later start time.) Taking a day off shouldn't be a way for kids to avoid something they're anxious about, like a class, a difficult friendship, or school in general, experts say. Childs suggests that parents look for patterns — if kids keep asking for a mental health day on a Monday, it's an opportunity to delve deeper into what's happening at school on Mondays that might be stressing them out. If requests for a day off are very frequent, or if feelings around them are intense, it could be a sign that 'you're getting avoidance of a problem that most likely is going to be there in two days' when the kid goes back to school, Spannagel said. Meanwhile, if symptoms like stress or sadness are going on for more than two weeks, or parents see major changes to behavior like eating or sleeping, it could be time to reach out to a child's primary care doctor to have them evaluated for mental health conditions, Rothman said. Kids with ADHD, autism, or learning differences might need the reset of a mental health day more than the average kid, to help them recover from sensory overload or fatigue, Spannagel said. At the same time, a kid frequently feeling too exhausted or overwhelmed to go to school could mean they need additional help with executive functioning or social skills, or that the accommodations they have at school aren't meeting their needs. When it comes to concerns about absenteeism and academics, families and teachers can have a conversation about making up any work a child misses on an occasional day out, Spannagel said. And while some fear that allowing mental health days could encourage kids to skip school, that concern is 'giving me like, if we talk about sex with them, they're going to want to have more sex,' Childs said. 'I think the question is more complex, which is: What about the current environment has lent itself to kids not feeling engaged in school?' Mental health support goes beyond a single day A few mental health days aren't going to fix problems with the school environment, not least because giving a kid a day off in the middle of the school year just isn't possible for every family. Experts don't recommend leaving kids home alone if they're struggling mentally, and many parents don't have the job flexibility to take extra time off with their kids. But schools can help by building aspects of a mental health day into the school week, adding time to shift the focus 'away from academics and performance into exploration of self,' Childs said. Having resources in the classroom, like a quiet corner where kids can take a moment to themselves, can also help support kids' mental health day-to-day, Rothman said. (My older kid's teacher brought this calming dog stuffie to their classroom in the fall, and I honestly would like one for myself.) Talking about mental health in school is also crucial, whether that's part of a formal program or just a teacher 'being open about the things that they're feeling,' Rothman said. 'It fights the stigma around it.' What I'm reading Seventy-four percent of teens say social media helps them feel more connected to their friends, but 48 percent also say the platforms harm people their age, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. The Trump administration is reportedly seeking to eliminate Head Start, the federal program that provides early education to more than half a million kids from low-income families. One graduate calls the program 'one of the few times in my early life where I felt truly loved, seen and supported in a place of learning.' Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s remarks about children with autism who 'will never pay taxes' recall the dark history of eugenics, writes Jessica Grose at the New York Times. My older kid and I are reading the Aster series of graphic novels, about a little girl who moves to the countryside so her mom can pursue her career as a robot-bird scientist, leading to friendships with an 800-year-old woman, a sheep wearing a tie, and three chestnuts who are also knights, among other colorful characters. From my inbox Two weeks ago, I wrote about how tariffs could drive up the cost of items like strollers and car seats, making it harder to have a kid in America. Reader Diana Braley responded, 'As a mom in 2025, I've realized raising kids doesn't have to be as expensive as society makes it seem.' 'Raising children has always required commitment, support, and resilience — not consumerism,' Braley wrote. 'Big companies sell us the idea that spending more makes us better parents. But the truth is, our instincts and community matter more than any fancy product.'
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
In response to national challenges, Rochester Public Schools superintendent defends district's approach
Mar. 6—ROCHESTER — Amid a complex political environment, Rochester Public Schools Superintendent Kent Pekel has reiterated what he views as the right approach to move forward. During a presentation on Tuesday, March 4 about his overall goals for the district and the work his administration has done so far, Pekel touched on the challenges of leading the district during a time when the federal administration is threatening to make changes. "We have not been ideologically driven on either side of the equation," Pekel said. "We have been about the academic success of kids, but kids can't succeed academically in environments that are hostile to them." In recent years, the district has become a local lightning rod for controversy about topics, like how to accommodate transgender students and more broad initiatives surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion. With the inauguration of President Donald Trump, the federal government has indicated it plans to rout out the focus on issues it views as problematic. In February, the U.S. Department of Education issued a "dear colleague" letter to schools, instructing them to move away from taking race into consideration with their programs and initiatives. "Educational institutions have toxically indoctrinated students with the false premise that the United States is built upon 'systemic and structural racism' and advanced discriminatory policies and practices," the letter reads. "Proponents of these discriminatory practices have attempted to further justify them — particularly during the last four years — under the banner of "diversity, equity, and inclusion' ('DEI'), smuggling racial stereotypes and explicit race-consciousness into everyday training, programming, and discipline." Three weeks later, on March 1, the department released a second document clarifying some of its stances in a Frequently Asked Questions document pertaining to its original letter. In both the original letter and the follow-up document, the department referred to a U.S. Supreme Court decision from 2023 about the use of race in college admissions: Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College. "While the facts of the case before the Supreme Court were specifically about racial preferences in university admissions, the Court applied broad reasoning to its decision, which has broad implications for race-based policies in education," the department said in its Frequently Asked Questions document. One of the questions in the document was whether DEI programs are unlawful under the Supreme Court decision. According to the department's directive, the actual teaching of various topics is not prohibited in and of itself as long as it is done in a way that isn't exclusionary, the document said. "Schools with programs focused on interests in particular cultures, heritages, and areas of the world would not in and of themselves violate Title VI, assuming they are open to all students regardless of race," the document says. "Nor would educational, cultural, or historical observances — such as Black History Month, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, or similar events — that celebrate or recognize historical events and contributions, and promote awareness, so long as they do not engage in racial exclusion or discrimination." The Department of Education's initial letter, which was released Feb. 14, said schools that don't comply could lose access to federal funding. In the second document, the department said violations could lead to "enforcement through administrative proceedings or referring the case to the Department of Justice." Newly appointed Education Sec. Linda McMahon issued a statement on Monday, March 3, under the heading "Our Department's Final Mission." In the statement, McMahon emphasized the department would have three "convictions:" * "Parents are the primary decision makers in their children's education." * "Taxpayer-funded education should refocus on meaningful learning in math, reading, science, and history — not divisive DEI programs and gender ideology." * "Postsecondary education should be a path to a well-paying career aligned with workforce needs." "My vision is aligned with the President's," McMahon wrote, "to send education back to the states and empower all parents to choose an excellent education for their children." McMahon stated three times in her statement the intent to transfer education back to the states. K-12 education is already primarily administrated locally, including when it comes to curriculum. Although he didn't refer to McMahon or any other specific allegations, Pekel rejected the notion that the district has been working contrary to parents. "We have never undermined the ability of parents and guardians and other caregivers to be involved in their kids' education," he said. Despite the face-value implications of the directives of the U.S. Department of Education, it has yet to prompt Rochester Public Schools to make any changes to the way the schools operate. During an interview following the release of the original document, Pekel said neither executive orders nor "Dear Colleague" letters have the force of law. He went on to explain the Minnesota Human Rights Act remains the "controlling authority" for the issue. "We're not freelancing," Pekel said at the time. "We're following the law." The Department of Education has taken multiple opportunities to prompt people to report violations of its directives, including in both the "Dear Colleague" letter and the follow-up FAQ sheet. It also opened a portal on its website where it says "students, parents, teachers, and the broader community" can "report illegal discriminatory practices at institutions of learning." Rochester Public Schools became the focus of a complaint in 2024 before the new administration started. The organization Parents Defending Education filed a complaint against Rochester Public Schools, claiming the district violated both the Civil Rights Act, as well as the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution by only offering some resource opportunities to teachers of color. Part of that complaint referred to the district's "grow your own program," which provides a path for employees of color to become teachers. The underlying reason for the district's Grow Your Own initiative is to make its teaching staff be more reflective of the student population. In December 2024, the district released a report, showing that 5.6% of the district's teaching staff are teachers of color. By comparison, more than 40% of the district's student body are students of color. Pekel didn't mention the complaint filed against the district during his presentation on Tuesday, but he did reiterate his stance that having a diverse teaching staff is important for the success of students. "We know that the research is conclusive that if a Black student has a Black teacher, the academic benefits are powerful and sustained," he said. "That's not questionable anymore." Parents Defending Education also lists RPS on its "IndoctriNation Map." Despite the federal government's focus on routing out programs it sees as problematic, the complaint filed against the district has not yet prompted any investigation into Rochester Public Schools. Nor has the federal administration given the district any specific requirements about things it needs to change to come in line with its directives. "At this time, we have not received any substantive guidance or direction from either the U.S. Department of Education or MDE," RPS Communications Director Mamisoa Knutson said. During his presentation, Pekel also referred back to an initial statement he made following the inauguration about how Rochester Public Schools was "staying the course." He clarified that the statement was not intended to be a way to engage in the "battles" taking place in the national conversation. Instead, he said the comment was meant to signify that he's confident the district is taking a "common-sense, pragmatic approach that's good for all of our kids." "That's why I'm confident that despite the huge issues that are happening around us, we can keep going in Rochester," Pekel said, "Because we've defined this as being about the academic success of all of our kids. And you don't get to academic success unless you are addressing the environment in which kids are learning."
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rochester Public Schools says Minnesota law remains the 'controlling authority' as federal pressure grows
Feb. 25—ROCHESTER — Despite strongly-worded directives from the federal government that schools need to strip policies related to diversity, equity and inclusion, Rochester Public Schools has indicated it will be following Minnesota law for the time being. On Feb. 14, the U.S. Department of Education issued a "Dear Colleague" letter, saying that schools could lose federal funding if they continue to make any decisions based on race. On the surface, that would seem to have significant implications for RPS, but the district has indicated that the process is not as simple as the federal administration issuing such a document. "A 'Dear Colleague letter,' which this is, doesn't have the force of law," RPS Superintendent Kent Pekel said. "There are very clear processes for review and appeal of a federal effort to repeal funding." The letter referenced both higher education, as well as K-12 schools. It gave schools 14 days to realign their policies and explained that schools that fail to comply with federal civil rights law may "face potential loss of federal funding." It also encouraged readers to report any violations. The letter went on to say that federal law prohibits using race in "decisions pertaining to admission, hiring, promotion, compensation, financial aid, scholarships, prizes, administrative support, discipline, housing, graduation ceremonies and all other aspects of student, academic, and campus life." "Educational institutions have toxically indoctrinated students with the false premise that the United States is built upon 'systemic and structural racism' and advanced disciminatory policies and practices," the letter reads in part. "Proponents of these discriminatory practices have attempted to further justify them — particularly during the last four years — under the banner of 'diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), smuggling racial stereotypes and explicit race-consciousness into everyday training, programming and discipline." The letter from the U.S. Department of Education comes on the heels of multiple executive orders pertaining to education. On Jan. 29, President Donald Trump signed an executive order called "ending radical indoctrination in K-12 schooling." On Feb. 5, he signed another executive order called "keeping men out of women's sports." Last year, the organization Parents Defending Education filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education, claiming that Rochester Public Schools was violating the Civil Rights Act, as well as the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution by offering some resource opportunities only to people of color. RPS also has procedures for supporting transgender and gender-expansive students, which allows athletes to compete "in a manner consistent with their gender identity and in compliance with the applicable regulations of the Minnesota State High School League." The U.S. Department of Education has since launched an investigation into the Minnesota State High School League. Nonetheless, Pekel emphasized that the district is in line with Minnesota law. "The Minnesota Human Rights Act remains the controlling authority on a lot of these issues," Pekel said. "That remains, our legal counsel has said, the most relevant standard for a lot of these issues. ... We are following that. And if the law changes, we will adhere to the law." Like RPS itself, the Minnesota Department of Education has not announced any major changes in the wake of the federal orders. "We are closely monitoring how developments in federal policies might impact Minnesota students, educators, schools and libraries," said Sam Snuggerud, director of communications for the Minnesota Department of Education. "We have also advised school districts to follow accounting best practices and consider increasing the frequency of their federal draws." One thing schools are changing about their policies is in regard to Title IX, which is a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination. According to the U.S. Department of Education, a ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky "vacated the entirety of the 2024 Title IX Rule nationwide." Because of that, schools are reverting to an older version of their Title IX policies that don't include specific references to sexual orientation or gender identity. Byron Public Schools changed its policies on Feb. 4. Pekel said the Rochester School Board will be changing its policy to reflect the change in the near future as well. "We're not freelancing," Pekel said. "We're following the law."
