Minneapolis schools welcome the youngest students back to classrooms

Underneath her winter coat on Monday morning, Jefferson Community School Principal Holly Kleppe wore a tool belt stocked with essential back-to-school supplies: a bottle of hand sanitizer and several kid-sized masks.

"You've grown so much since I saw you," she said to one boy, her face shield fogging up in the subzero temperatures. "It's so different to see you in person rather than on a screen."

Minneapolis schools, shuttered since the pandemic's onset, began reopening Monday by bringing in a wave of preschool and kindergarten students who opted for in-person learning. First- and second-graders will come back later this week, followed by third- through fifth-graders on Feb. 22.

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