The Delta Issue #76
“Our Classrooms Are Ghost Towns”: Voices From Minneapolis Schools
Hi y’all, Jessica here.
You come to The Delta to wrestle with the biggest ideas in education, from the statehouse to the classroom.
But this week, we would be remiss not to acknowledge what is happening in schools in Minneapolis, and in districts across the country, as immigration enforcement increasingly disrupts classrooms.
Over the past several weeks, federal immigration enforcement actions have transformed daily life for students, families, and educators in the Twin Cities. Schools are back open, but students are missing, families are hiding, and learning is happening—if at all—under the weight of survival.
Rather than trying to speak for this moment ourselves, we want to listen to the teachers, students, and families living it.
What teachers are saying
“What we’re asking these kids to do seems impossible. Show up. Focus. Read about the American Dream in Advanced Placement Literature while you wonder if your father will be deported before graduation. Solve for x while you’re solving how to pay the electric bill. Write your college application essay about overcoming adversity while doubting you’ll survive it.”
She continues:
“My students carry U.S. passports in their pockets like keys to a house where the locks keep changing, navigating their own city like it’s hostile territory.”
Across the city, educators are doing everything they can to preserve some sense of stability, even as “normal” shifts by the day.
Tracy Byrd, a ninth-grade teacher at Washburn High School and Minnesota’s 2024–25 Teacher of the Year, described the mindset guiding his classroom right now:
“We might make a few mistakes, but as long as we understand that our students are the most important thing and we do what they need each day, then we’re doing right by them. And that’s the job.”
Another Minneapolis public school teacher, describing working in an empty school:
“Only 20 percent of my students are showing up right now. It’s like a ghost town in every school. I have families who have not eaten food in days. They cannot leave the house because of fear.”
What students are saying
A high school student interviewed by The 74 Media , described walking into school and realizing how many classmates were gone:
“When I came to school and I found lots of friends and classmates missing, it was scary. I couldn’t imagine what they were going through.”
Educators report that students who do attend are distracted, anxious, and hyper-aware of their surroundings: tracking ICE activity on their phones, carrying identification, texting parents throughout the day to check in.
How families are feeling
From The 74 Media , on how immigration enforcement is affecting families of children with disabilities:
“When I saw that image of this young boy with his backpack, I thought, ‘That could be my son,’” said Najma Siyad, the mother of a 5-year-old with autism.
Parents describe skipping school, missing medical appointments, and losing access to essential services like occupational, speech, and physical therapy because leaving home feels unsafe.
Remote learning, offered by many districts, is not a solution for children who rely on in-person, specialized support. Regression, educationally and socially, is already underway.
Let’s get muddy
Thank you to all of the teachers who are staying focused on our kids. Teaching is a hard job, that’s only getting harder. Read more about their experiences below.
