After a complex 2021-22 academic year filled with ongoing COVID uncertainty, virtual and in-person school days and a teacher strike, Minneapolis Public School students arrived at Blake’s Northrop campus both excited and weary. Inspired by this year’s theme, Juntos, a Spanish word translated to mean together, Breakthrough Minneapolis at Blake’s staff and 19 aspiring teachers worked together to make the Summer (of) Juntos 2022 both academically challenging and emotionally supportive.

Fun Fridays provided opportunities for teaching fellows and students to laugh, move their bodies and de-stress. Academic Olympics combined relay races and math equations—stimulating both the mind and body. Field Day across the street at Parade Field was filled with fun, engaging color family competitions and lots and lots of water balloons. Academic classes offered students the opportunity to explore things like horror literature, inventions that have changed the world and the science of ecosystems. And elective classes allowed students to express themselves creatively through subjects including photography, architecture and magazine creation. Take a look at Juntos Magazine created this summer in Magazine Club.

Though the last few years have created new struggles, much like our theme Juntos, together we can make a difference in the lives of students—both Minneapolis Public School students and the college students who teach them.