Happy Valentine’s Day to Minnesota’s students, educators, school support staff, librarians, libraries, and schools! 💙 We appreciate all you do to support learning and strengthen communities across our state. #ValentinesDay #MinnesotaValentine

Congratulations to Shawna Wilson—American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences 2026 National Teacher of the Year. Shawna is a Family and Consumer Sciences teacher at Shakopee High School where she also advises FCCLA and coordinates Grow Your Own. www.aafcs.org/resources/aw...

Minnesota School Jobs is hosting both virtual and in-person job fairs for educators coming up this winter and spring. The events connect Minnesota public school employers with prospective and veteran educators. Learn more and register 👉 mnschooljobs.org/job-fairs/?u...

Shoutout to our Family and Consumer Science teachers! Thank you for preparing students with essential life and career skills in food science, hospitality, textiles, personal finance and more! #FCSedDay

When reading together, ask your child if they understand the meaning of a word and if they can explain it. 📖 If not, explain it in a simple way and use it in a sentence they’ll understand. 👉 education.mn.gov/MDE/fam/lit/ #FamiliesREAD #Literacy #Reading #LiteracyForAll #Vocabulary

Shoutout to Career and Technical Education programs for preparing students for in-demand careers. Learn more about Career and Technical Education in Minnesota at education.mn.gov/MDE/fam/cte/ #CTEMonth

Minnesota Department of Education today recognizes eight outstanding schools for excelling in academic performance or making significant strides in closing achievement gaps. content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MNM...

Saturday is Take Your Child to the Library Day! 📚 🎉 Many libraries celebrate with special kids events, story time and activities. Stop by your local library to see what's happening or to sit down and children's book together!

Are you looking for something to keep you busy during these cold winter days? Here are 10 things you could try at a Minnesota library! education.mn.gov/MDE/about/pr...

Shoutout to our school counselors! 🎉 🙌Thank you, school counselors, for supporting Minnesota students to help them succeed and explore careers and college! #NSCW26

Minnesota Braille and Talking Book Library provides library service to Minnesotans who are blind, have low vision, or have difficulty reading print materials due to a temporary or permanent visual, reading, or physical disability. Learn more at education.mn.gov/btbl.

"What is happening right now is harming children." —Commissioner Willie Jett giving remarks yesterday addressing the federal government's ongoing presence in Minnesota and its harm to students and schools. See his full remarks at content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MNM...

We're seeking educators to engage in the development of the Performance Level Descriptors (PLDs) in English language arts and science this July 20-22. We're looking for participants with a wide range of experience. Learn more and apply at forms.office.com/g/HAEBHehbJb.

Commissioner Willie Jett visited Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools where he visited Hillside Early Childhood and Pleasantview Elementary meeting with students, teachers and school leaders. #MDESchoolVisits

Our State Library Services team visited the libraries of the SELCO region and found, ukuleles for strumming at Faribault's Buckham library , a blending of history with tech in Owatonna, knitters in Dodge Center, a space-theme in Kasson, and community engagement in Rochester.

Minnesota's English Language Arts Standards: A Family and Caregiver Guide to Supporting Your Child's Learning is designed to support parent and caregiver understanding of the state's revised English Language Arts standards. Find it at: education.mn.gov/MDE/dse/stds...

Play with sounds in different languages to build awareness that sounds are universal, even if they occur in different words across languages. Find more reading skills tips 👉 education.mn.gov/MDE/fam/lit/ #FamiliesREAD #Literacy #Reading #LiteracyForAll #PhenomicAwareness

Minnesota high school students Ayoub Mahamud Farah and Feven Tesfaye will join Senator Amy Klobuchar and Senator Tina Smith in representing Minnesota during the 64th annual United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) Washington Week, to be held March 7-14. content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MNM...

High school students from Northfield, Faribault, Waterville-Elysian-Morristown and Tri-City United schools gathered recently to review and discuss county and district results of the 2025 Minnesota Student Survey (MSS). Read more education.mn.gov/MDE/about/pr....

Congratulations to Eden Prairie Schools Schools Teacher Linda Wallenberg! She is one of five teachers just announced by CCSSO as finalist for the 2026 National Teacher of the Year. Learn more about Linda and all the finalists at ntoy.ccsso.org. #NTOY26

We’re investing in student service through our Innovation in Service Learning Grants for partnerships between schools and community-based organizations to identify a community need that could be met or strengthened through youth-led service learning. education.mn.gov/MDE/DSE/Gran...

Assistant Commissioner Daron Korte has been elected chair of the Military Interstate Children's Compact Commission. He has served as Minnesota's representative on the commission since 2014.

Let your child practice reading aloud to you. Guide them in tracking words and using punctuation. If they get stuck on a word, help them figure it out, and encourage them to keep going. 📖 Find more reading skills tips 👉 education.mn.gov/MDE/fam/lit/ #FamiliesREAD #Fluency

Our Say Yes! to Schools Photo Contest is showcasing the delicious and unique meals Minnesota schools are serving. Each School Food Authority may submit one breakfast photo and one lunch photo. Submit your photos by Feb. 9. Visit our website for details: education.mn.gov/MDE/dse/FNS/...

@governorwalz.mn.gov has proclaimed this week Paraprofessional Recognition Week in celebration of the more than 20,000 paraprofessionals working in Minnesota schools and educational programs. Learn more about paraprofessionals and see the proclamation at education.mn.gov/mde/dse/para/

The Minnesota Department of Education will hold an American Indian Education Field Hearing from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Jan. 26 at Prairie Island Indian Community, Treasure Island Resort & Casino in Welch. content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MNM...

Join us for virtual college and financial aid events, Tuesday evenings starting January 20. The College Planning Series will cover college and financial aid topics with professionals and live Q & A. The events are free for Minnesota students and families. bit.ly/CollegePlanningSeries

The Educator Workforce and Development Center is supporting teacher mentors with the Mentor Professional Learning series, which focuses on helping mentors learn the tools, structures and skills that support high-quality, research-based instructional mentoring.

Find your future in public service at the One Dream, One Minnesota Career Fair 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 17, at St. Paul College. Connect with people from @MnDeptEd, explore career paths at the State of Minnesota, and get resume support. Register at: bit.ly/one-dream-career-fair

We’re investing in school safety with funding for districts, charter schools, Tribally Controlled Schools and other Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to install a secure key box to allow law enforcement to access a school building in a crisis. Learn more at education.mn.gov/MDE/DSE/Gran...

Minnesota's English Language Arts Standards: A Family and Caregiver Guide to Supporting Your Child's Learning is designed to support parent and caregiver understanding of the state's revised English Language Arts standards. Find it at: education.mn.gov/MDE/dse/stds...

Looking to develop or expand the induction and mentoring program in your school or district? Our Educator Workforce and Development Center and the New Teacher Center offer Induction and Mentoring Professional Development for School and District Leaders: education.mn.gov/MDE/about/ca...

Tinkering is a computer science skill that is about experimenting, trying things out, debugging through trial and error, and exploring without a script. Our Computational Thinking (CT) Poster explores Tinkering and a number of other CT skills. education.mn.gov/MDE/dse/stds...

The more you talk with your child and read aloud to them, the more new words they’ll hear and learn. Help children understand new words by using them in sentences and discussing meanings. 📖 Find more reading skills tips 👉 education.mn.gov/MDE/fam/lit/ #FamiliesREAD #Literacy #Vocabulary

Our School Nutrition Training Library offers on-demand training by topic for school food service professionals from school meal requirements, to special diets and more! Start learning at 👉 education.mn.gov/MDE/dse/FNS/...

We are excited to announce the third annual Say Yes! to Schools Photo Contest. The contest is intended to celebrate and showcase the delicious and unique meals Minnesota schools are serving. Each School Food Authority may submit one breakfast photo and one lunch photo.

Write multi-syllable words on paper, cut them into syllables, and let your child reassemble them. You can also do this with root words and prefixes or suffixes to change the meaning (Roll, unroll, rolled). Find more reading skills tips 👉 education.mn.gov/MDE/fam/lit/ #FamiliesREAD

Chief Operating Officer Patty Hand visited Northwest Passage High School where student ambassadors Ryn and Owen led her on a tour of the school and shared about their own student experience. Thank you for the tour Ryn and Owen! #MDESchoolVisit

As 2025 draws to a close, it gives us a chance to reflect on all the great things happening at Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) this year! Here is our Top 10 of 2025! education.mn.gov/MDE/about/pr...

School leaders and educators are invited to enroll in our new course, Computer Science for Every Classroom! Computer science education is a vital tool in preparing all students for the future. Learn more and enroll at education.mn.gov/MDE/dse/stds...

Encourage your child to read aloud to a toy, pet, stuffed animal or photo. This is a comforting way for young readers to practice their skills—allowing them to build confidence in a stress-free environment. 📚 Find more reading skills tips 👉 education.mn.gov/MDE/fam/lit/ #FamiliesREAD

Deputy Commissioner Stephanie Graff visited Eastern Carver County Schools where she visited eighth grade math classrooms to see how the district is engaging and empowering students through its new approach to math by creating thinking classrooms. #MDESchoolVisits

Looking to start a storytime at your library? A dedicated group of Minnesota storytime experts has developed Early Literacy Storytime Course, a training series for library staff who are new to storytime. 📚Check it out 👉 mlln.org/2025/11/13/e...

Our new School Nutrition Training Library offers on-demand training by topic for school food service professionals from school meal requirements, to special diets and more! Start learning at 👉 education.mn.gov/MDE/dse/FNS/...

State Library Services team is visiting regional libraries across the state and recently visited the Traverse des Sioux Library System where they met with library leaders to learn about innovative programs and services and toured library spaces. #MDELibraryVisits

Before reading a new book, look at the cover and illustrations together. Ask your child to predict what they think the story will be about. After reading, discuss how their predictions matched the actual story. Find more reading skills tips: education.mn.gov/MDE/fam/lit/ #FamiliesREAD

Making sure young children's classroom screen use is both healthy and effective is important. Find guidance on individual-use screens in prekindergarten and kindergarten classrooms in our webinar series on screen use at education.mn.gov/MDE/dse/earl...

Our Office of Career and College Success is offering Alt Ed in Action, a series of Alternative Program Professional Development opportunities where State-Approved Alternative Program staff can learn about best practices. Learn more at education.mn.gov/MDE/about/ca...

Learning words in one language often helps reinforce similar concepts in another (e.g., “family” in English and “familia” in Spanish). 📚 Find more reading skills tips 👉 education.mn.gov/MDE/fam/lit/ #FamiliesREAD #Literacy #Reading #LiteracyForAll #Vocabulary

We're investing the educator workforce with the Grow Your Own Grant to encourage high school students and adults, including staff and community members to pursue a career education in by helping districts. Learn more at education.mn.gov/MDE/DSE/Gran....