Born during COVID, starting school now: The challenges facing this year’s kindergarten class

This fall, a new wave of kindergarteners enters the classroom — most born in the early days of the pandemic. MPR News host Angela Davis and her guests talk about the challenges they may face and how schools and parents can help them thrive.  Guests: Lauren Girard has been a kindergarten teacher for 15 years. She teaches at Overland Elementary School in Rochester, Minn. She is also the parent of a child born during the early months of the pandemic.Lelandra Ross is a lead specialist in early childhood education at Bruce Vento Elementary School in St. Paul, Minn. She works with staff and parents to support early childhood family education, early childhood special education, three-year-old Head Start and pre-kindergarten programming. She has also been a pre-K teacher.Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.