As a former public school teacher and a dad, the back-to-school season is a meaningful time of year for me. This year, it’s also full of change. My daughter, Hope, starts her first year of college at the University of Minnesota, and my son, Gus, heads back to middle school. This also will be the first year in nearly 30 years that neither my wife, Gwen, nor I will be starting September in a school.
While I am not setting up my classroom or getting my lessons planned this year, I approach every day in my job as a “teacher-governor.” That’s because the education of our children determines the future of our state. Every student in Minnesota deserves the opportunity to learn in the best schools in the country with caring, qualified teachers.
But as I travel around the state, I see how the quality of a student’s education is too often dependent on their race or ZIP code. I recently met a grandmother who lives with a deep anxiety. Her fear is that her grandchild in La Crescent won’t receive the same opportunities or have as bright of a future as her grandchild in Woodbury. Disparities in our educational system based on geography, race or economic status hold back not only our students, but our entire state from reaching its full potential.
View the complete September 3 commentary by Gov. Tim Walz on The StarTribune website here.