Kyra Miles

Birmingham

Reporter at Minnesota Public Radio (St. Paul, MN)

covering early education @mprnews | prev: @wbhm | @edwriters @nabj @nlgja | @unchussman alumna *views are my own* (she/her) 🌈

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Articles

Minnesota disabilities advocates push back on plan to restore school seclusion rooms

1 week ago | mprnews.org | Kyra Miles

Disability rights activists applauded Minnesota’s move two years ago to ban the use of school seclusion rooms to discipline children in kindergarten through third grade. On Thursday, they returned to the Capitol to fight a legislative effort to lift that ban. Seclusions are forced isolations, and in Minnesota 100 percent of the children put into school seclusion rooms are students with disabilities, according to the Minnesota Department of Education.
For 50 years, Hmong immigrants and their children have shaped Minnesota culture

1 week ago | mprnews.org | Lisa Ryan |Kyra Miles

This year marks 50 years of Hmong refugee resettlement and immigration to Minnesota. When communists took over Laos in May 1975, many Hmong people had to quickly escape. Across the Mekong River in Thailand, Hmong people were homeless and stateless. They'd been allies of the United States during the Vietnam War and had to flee as the U.S. pulled out. The first Hmong family arrived in Minnesota on Nov. 5, 1975.
Schools across Minnesota face ‘reckoning’ as they struggle to close budget gaps

2 weeks ago | mprnews.org | Elizabeth Shockman |Kyra Miles

Minnesota schools are dealing with budget shortfalls and staffing cuts as they face inflation, uncertainty from possible federal cuts and the rising costs of recent state legislation. A recent survey of more than 50 metro-area school districts showed the vast majority expect budget shortfalls for the upcoming academic year. Some rural and suburban districts are also struggling to close gaps.
Minnesota child care centers struggling with rising costs, enrollment shifts

1 month ago | mankatofreepress.com | Kyra Miles

Enrollment is rising again at Minnesota child care operations but the counts remain below pre-pandemic levels, according to a new statewide survey that also found providers facing challenges with staffing and operating costs. The survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and the nonprofit group First Children’s Finance also revealed family child care providers and child care centers are struggling at the same rates for the first time in the survey’s five-year history.
Minnesota child care centers struggling with rising costs, enrollment shifts

1 month ago | mprnews.org | Kyra Miles

Enrollment is rising again at Minnesota child care operations but the counts remain below pre-pandemic levels, according to a new statewide survey that also found providers facing challenges with staffing and operating costs. The survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and the nonprofit group First Children’s Finance also revealed family child care providers and child care centers are struggling at the same rates for the first time in the survey's five-year history.
From territory to today: Mapping Minnesota’s Black history

Feb 11, 2025 | mprnews.org | Lisa Ryan |Elisabeth Gawthrop |Kyra Miles

In celebration of Black History Month in February, MPR News is highlighting Black history throughout the state. From a fur trader believed to be one of the first African descendants in territory that is now Minnesota, to streets and parks renamed in 2024 after Black community leaders, these sites span the state and the centuries. Southern MinnesotaGibbs Elementary School in Rochester is named after George W. Gibbs Jr., the first known Black person to set foot in Antarctica.
Child care options start to rebound as Minnesotans return to the office

Feb 4, 2025 | inforum.com | Kyra Miles

CRYSTAL, Minn. — Minnesota’s child care centers have long struggled with staffing and funding shortages that worsened in the COVID-19 pandemic. Five years later, though, operators see reasons to be optimistic as big companies call back workers, creating more need for child care. On Monday, Feb. 3, Twin Cities providers and state officials marked a milestone with the reopening of New Horizon Academy in Crystal after closing there 20 years earlier.
Child care options start to rebound as Minnesotans return to the office

Feb 3, 2025 | mprnews.org | Kyra Miles

Create an account or log in to save stories. Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories. Minnesota’s child care centers have long struggled with staffing and funding shortages that worsened in the COVID-19 pandemic. Five years later, though, operators see reasons to be optimistic as big companies call back workers, creating more need for child care.
In Duluth, free water safety classes pay off for preschoolers and parents

Jan 24, 2025 | mprnews.org | Kyra Miles

Create an account or log in to save stories. Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories. Donned in the best Spider-Man and American flag swimsuits, preschoolers from Piedmont Elementary trickle into the downtown Duluth YMCA for their safe swim lessons. It’s their third week and they know their stuff. Before getting into the water their instructor quizzes them: “What color does a lifeguard wear?” she asks. “Red!” they shout back.
More Minnesota kids get exempted from required vaccinations. Here’s what’s happening

Jan 6, 2025 | inforum.com | Kyra Miles

ST. PAUL — Vaccination rates for school-aged children have declined in Minnesota and across the nation as more families seek to exempt their kids from required vaccinations. Medical professionals say those exemption counts are near the point where Minnesotans should be extremely concerned, especially when it comes to schools. In 2024, Minnesota cases of pertussis, a highly contagious disease also known as whooping cough, hit an eight-year high.