Education

Rural SD schools face unique challenges that can affect learning

Rural SD schools face unique challenges that can affect learning

WOONSOCKET, S.D. – Small, rural school systems in South Dakota and across the country face sometimes daunting challenges in providing a strong education to students. Limited funding, difficulty in hiring and retaining good teachers, remoteness and transportation challenges, high poverty rates among students and reduced access to college-preparatory courses can

Only half of SD students proficient in English; less than half in math and science

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said she is disappointed in recent statewide standardized test scores indicating that just over half of students were proficient in English language and fewer than half showed proficiency in math and science. The results of the South Dakota Department of Education 2019 Report Card, based

SD among worst for ‘brain drain’ as highly educated people continue to flee the state

Despite years of effort to reverse the trend, South Dakota remains among the worst states in the nation in terms of losing its most highly educated citizens to other areas of the country, according to a new report from Congress. The loss of skilled, educated residents can slow the state’

Damaging debt: College grads stung by broken promises of federal loan forgiveness program

Hundreds of South Dakota residents are caught in financial limbo wondering if the tens of thousands of dollars they owe on student debt — and which they were promised would be forgiven if they entered public-service careers — will actually ever be eliminated. Those South Dakota residents include teachers, police officers, employees

Damaging debt: SD college graduates weighed down by heavy student debt

South Dakotans owe more than $1.5 billion to the federal government on loans they took out to finance their educations and many borrowers are finding themselves crushed under the weight of their college debt, even many years after they graduated. About 52,000 South Dakotans have some debt from

Damaging debt: Three SD grads share stories of struggling to pay college costs

Thousands of South Dakota residents are living under a cloud of uncertainty and worry created by outstanding loans acquired in order to get a higher education. The high monthly payments and seemingly insurmountable principal amounts carry an emotional toll, but also limit their ability to live out their dreams and

Nearly a quarter of SD school districts adopt four-day calendar

Nearly a quarter of the school districts in South Dakota have opted for a four-day school week over the past decade, joining an increasing trend toward the altered schedule nationwide. According to the South Dakota Department of Education, 34 school districts, or nearly 23 percent of the 149 statewide are