News

All News

Arts & Culture

Diverse future of the Midwest has already arrived in one Iowan school

The rolling backpack was grey with bright orange zippers. Made by Totto, a popular South American brand, the backpack had been 13-year-old Cristian Rubio’s hand luggage on his flight from Ecuador to the United States a week earlier. It was one of the few things of personal significance that he’d brought with him. “I had some crazy memories with it, like friends hopping on my backpack and racing each other,” said Rubio, now 18. He was glad he had something from home as he walked alone into North Middle School to start eighth grade in his new hometown of Sioux City, Iowa. Certainly, nothing else about his life was normal that November day. He and his older brother, Esteban, were staying with their grandmother, who had traveled to the states with them. The Rubios had decided to move...

Read More
Cristian Rubio, 18, prepares to start his physics homework in the living room of his family’s cozy home in Sioux City, Iowa. Photo by Lillian Mongeau, The Hechinger Report
Athletics & Sports

More than sports: P.E. classes teach life skills to Sioux City students

An orange balloon clung to the gymnasium wall at Perry Creek Elementary School high above Delilah Phillips’ head on a Friday morning. Static electricity was keeping the balloon suspended in the air. During a previous P.E. class, the 8-year-old and her second grade classmates learned about this imbalance of electric charges, while volleying balloons around the gym with their hands. On this day, Phillips was teamed up with Khloe Kneifl, 7, and Samantha Olson, 8. The girls scurried around the gym trying to keep a balloon from hitting the ground with ping pong paddles.

Read More
Students Participate in PE Class at Perry Creek Elementary. Photo by Jesse Brothers, Sioux City Journal.