Parents Share Back-to-School Plans for their Families as Pandemic Continues

Host Leah Lemm explores how Indian Country in MN is responding
and adapting to the current pandemic health crisis.





On today’s show, Host Leah Lemm (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) looks
at how parents and families are grappling with the challenge of
heading back-to-school as the pandemic continues.





Reporter Melissa Townsend spoke with three different parents
about how they are gearing up for the school year and making
decisions that best meet the needs of their school-age children.





We hear from Ryan Dixon (Oglala Sioux Tribe) who lives in Lower
Sioux Indian Community and is a Dakota language teacher. Ryan
Dixon has three children – a college freshman, a 9th grader, and
a 7th grader. Ryan teaches in two high schools and the tribal
immersion program.





We also hear from Susan Beaulieu (Red Lake Nation) who lives in
Brainerd, MN. She has 4 kids, ages 21, 10, 6, and 2 years
old.  Susan Beaulieu works for the UMN Extension with Mille
Lacs and Fond du Lac on opioid abuse prevention and treatment,
and her husband works outside the home.





And we hear from Sheila Lamb (Eastern Cherokee and White Earth
Ojibwe) who lives in Cloquet near Fond du Lac. Sheila Lamb has
two daughters – a high school junior and senior, and her youngest
is on the autism spectrum so she’s been homeschooling for about a
year with an IEP. Sheila works at Lifehouse with vulnerable youth
who have been trafficked and she has been working from home since
the start of the pandemic with a flexible work schedule.