Minnesota’s famed high school state hockey tournament is underway, and there is another statewide competition which does not involve a puck.

Younger students are competing in math in an event organizers said has short and long-term benefits. Through Saturday this weekend, 125 middle school students are gathering for the Minnesota MATHCOUNTS state competition. Finalists move on for a chance at national trophies.

Katie Jamieson, executive director of Minnesota MATHCOUNTS, said the program is an opportunity to engage with students in how they feel about the subject, noting middle school is a critical juncture for math. She added it is an opportunity to connect on a social level.

“There is a team component of this competition which allows them to get to those levels that you would the same as a sports team,” Jamieson explained.

Nationally, the program started back in the early 1980s, with club-level groups competing for state championships. It was founded by members of the National Society of Professional Engineers as a way to encourage students to pursue STEM coursework throughout the rest of their academic careers.

Jamieson argued the mission is especially important right now, with a big regional demand for future workers who possess STEM skills.

“We do have a lot of tech industry, we have a very strong engineering industry here,” Jamieson pointed out. “We are seeing a greater need for people who are studying those science, technology, engineering and math subjects.”

Over the past decade, Minnesota’s Department of Employment and Economic Development has noted STEM jobs are leading many other industries in terms of growth.

Meanwhile, with more teachers retiring over the course of the pandemic, program officials say they could use more parents and community members to serve as club leaders. She emphasized it is not very time restrictive and the person leading activities does not have to be a math expert.

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This week is National School Social Work Week, and in Minnesota, there are efforts to enhance support for students and families in early-childhood education.

Within the St. Paul Public Schools system, social workers are using what is known as a “trauma-informed approach” in serving families with children age five and younger.

Susan Williams, a social worker in the district’s birth-to-three early intervention program, said it means factoring in whether they already have been exposed to what researchers call Adverse Childhood Experiences. She noted it goes beyond abuse and neglect.

“We also are involved with families facing homelessness, and chemical dependency of a caregiver, or chronic and persistent mental illness of a caregiver,” Williams outlined. “These are typically the families that we get called upon to support.”

Williams added considering such factors early on is important, because it helps assess how the child is doing socially and emotionally, as well as the family’s needs. It coincides with primary relationships being forged as a child’s brain develops. The district’s work has inspired a support group for other early-childhood social workers in Minnesota.

Tricia Sedlacek, another social worker in the district, will discuss St. Paul’s approach at a national conference this spring. She noted the process also involves “reflective practices,” where key staff members discuss a child’s surrounding environment.

“What does it feel like to be this child in the context of these relationships? What does it feel like to be this caregiver in the context of their relationship?” Sedlacek explained.

Allison Litzenberg, another early childhood social worker, emphasized they try to follow the family’s lead in establishing a productive environment for each child.

“In birth-to-three, we make a plan with the family, called an Individualized Family Service Plan, and those goals and objectives largely come from the caregivers, so we look at what their priorities are,” Litzenberg emphasized.

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West Virginia educators say they are dismayed at Gov. Jim Justice’s signing of legislation allowing concealed guns on college campuses.

The Campus Self-Defense Act allows people 21 and older to carry guns in study halls and lounges, and other public spaces on campus beginning July 2024. Under the law, guns must be securely stored when not carried.

Fred Albert, president of the American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia, which represents some members in higher education, said the bill faced strong opposition across the board.

“We had university presidents, college presidents, come and speak against this,” Albert noted. “And yet it passed and was signed into law. So, we feel like the voices of those involved weren’t listened to. They were not heard, and that’s very troubling.”

Last week, West Virginia University President Gordon Lee — who opposed the legislation — sent a letter to faculty, staff, students and parents, announcing the formation of a new Campus Safety Group tasked with making recommendations prior to the law’s implementation date.

Campus Self-Defense Act supporters, including the National Rifle Association, argued the law will help protect students in the event of a mass shooting.

Albert emphasized his colleagues feel campus safety should be left to trained campus security officers and law enforcement, and lawmakers should instead be directing more resources to mental-health support.

“The general feeling is we just don’t want more guns on our college campuses,” Albert stressed. “We don’t want more guns anywhere, where students are and where young people work, study and learn every day.”

A 2022 survey by the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health found nationwide, public support for concealed carry on college campuses has decreased, from 36% in 2019 to 27% in 2021.

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Backers of public schools want Ohio lawmakers to rework the new state budget bill to use the most current data for determining school funding.

Nearly two years ago, Ohio changed the formula used to decide how much money public schools receive, and to funnel more money to schools in less wealthy districts. Critics pointed out the governor’s new budget uses the new Fair School Funding Plan formula, but with amounts based on data from 2018.

Former Rep. John Patterson, D-Ashtabula, said the Fair School Funding Plan levels the playing field by providing nearly $2 billion in school funding over six years, using a formula which more accurately determines the cost per student.

“And that’s what this school funding plan does,” Patterson explained. “It puts us on a pathway that is justifiable, predictable, sustainable, so that Ohio can educate our students to their fullest potential.”

He is concerned funding based on five-year-old data will mean taxpayers have to pick up more of what should be the state’s share of funding. According to the group All In for Ohio Kids, currently fewer than half of Ohio students go to schools with funding comparable to average national spending. Opponents of the plan said they are concerned about the cost.

Patterson countered if the state wants to see continued manufacturing and technology sector growth, it needs to create a steady supply of skilled young workers.

“If we’re going to supply the labor force for what is coming in terms of manufacturing, and in addition to that, sustain ourselves — agriculture is still our number one industry in Ohio — we need an educated workforce,” Patterson contended.

The Fair School Funding Plan boosts the average cost per student to around $7,000 a year, which is up 20% from 2019.

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