Star Tribune
Troubled Minneapolis charter school, LoveWorks Academy, closes
Pillsbury United said the grounds for termination included failure to meet requirements for student performance, governance problems and “failure to comply with all applicable laws.”
In 2024, just 1.3% of the students at LoveWorks were performing at grade level in math, while 7.1% were proficient in reading, state records show. Attendance last year averaged 61%, below the state average of 75%.
In his report, Allen noted that several critical teaching positions were filled by paraprofessionals “who were not qualified” for the jobs. He said the school also relied on “outdated and inconsistent instructional methods” that left students ill-prepared for advancement.
Allen said enrollment also was suffering from the school’s “reputation as a corporal punishment school,” noting its excessive use of “physical holds” and other “restrictive procedures” led to several complaints and state investigations. Enrollment at LoveWorks fell from 247 to 131 students over the past decade.
School officials appealed the revocation and met with Pillsbury United in late August, but the revocation notice says school officials “did not fundamentally challenge” the authorizer’s findings.
The school’s fund balance, the most critical measure of a school’s financial health, fell from $341,000 in 2022 to $39,860 in 2023. The school went into the red in 2024, according to board minutes, with its deficit topping $400,000 in May.
Star Tribune
Wagon rolls over at Wisconsin apple orchard injuring about 25 children and adults
LAFAYETTE, Wis. — About 25 children and adults were injured Wednesday when a wagon carrying them overturned at a western Wisconsin apple orchard.
The children, parents and chaperones were on a field trip to the orchard in Lafayette when one of two wagons being pulled by a tractor turned sideways and rolled over, Chippewa County Sheriff Travis Hakes told reporters. Hakes said the tractor was traveling at a low speed when the wagon rolled over while going downhill.
Three people suffered critical injuries, while injuries to five others were considered serious. Authorities didn’t say how many of the injured were children.
The elementary school-age children attend a school in Eau Claire. Lafayette is northeast of Eau Claire.
Star Tribune
U of M inaugurates new president Rebecca Cunningham with ceremony, protest
After about five minutes and several warnings that students participating in the protest would be suspended,, the protesters exited Northrop and Cunningham continued her speech. They later gathered outside on the mall afterwards to shout, “Cunningham, you will see, Palestine will be free.”
Cunningham recounted the story of Norman Borlaug, the U alumnus and agronomist whose research in wheat saved millions from starvation, and said she would prioritize keeping a college education affordable for students.
Cunningham actually took over presidential duties on July 1, replacing Interim President Jeff Ettinger. She oversees a budget of more than $4 billion to run the university’s five campuses, which enrolled more than 68,000 students and employed 27,000 people during the last academic year.
She was chosen for the job last winter over two other candidates: Laura Bloomberg, president of Cleveland State University and former dean of the U’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and James Holloway, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of New Mexico. She is the U’s second woman president, following Joan Gabel who held the office from 2019 to 2023.
Cunningham will be paid more than $1 million per year — about $975,000 in base pay and an additional $120,000 in retirement contributions. The compensation puts her in the top quarter of Big Ten university presidents.
Star Tribune
Minneapolis police sergeant accused of stalking and harassing co-worker
Sgt. Gordon Blackey, once a security guard to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, allegedly admitted to tracking the woman’s movements in her vehicle, according to a criminal complaint.
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