x
Breaking News
More () »

Back to school: How are teachers feeling?

After a strange past 18 months, students aren't the only ones excited (and nervous) to get back to another school year.

MINNEAPOLIS — You probably know how your child is feeling about going back to school, but what about their teacher?

KARE 11 Sunrise spoke with some Twin Cities teachers about how they're doing heading into the third school year impacted by COVID-19. 

"Can it be more than one feeling?" Neville McKinnie laughed when asked how he was feeling about the upcoming school year. "Just as a Black man and the son of a Black mother, there's still a lot of hurting and healing going on...at the same time, there's a lot of joy. Just excitement to see faces in person."

McKinnie teaches special education at Loring Community School in Minneapolis. 

"The nerves in terms of what to expect...obviously with COVID, what are the parameters that we can work around? But also you get nervous for the families [of students]," McKinnie said. "You just don't know how COVID impacts the community, whether it's housing, jobs."

Megan Custer teaches middle school science in the Brooklyn Center School District. She says she feels both anxious and excited about the new school year.

"I think that anxiety comes from the excitement and anticipation of having students returning...Last year, you just you missed them," she said. "My hope [for this year] is that students feel connected to people, or what they're learning, or hopefully both."

Lukas Skrove is a band director in the Robbinsdale Area School District. He also is looking forward to starting the year off in-person. 

"You get those memorable moments that happen in the band room and in the classroom. You don't really get that authenticity when you're remote," he said. 

RELATED: DMV testing backlog could be contributing to school bus and truck driver shortage

RELATED: $35M of MN budget is for recruiting and retaining teachers of color

Before You Leave, Check This Out