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The Minnesota State High School League and the Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals in collaboration and in following through on the February 24, 2022, Memorandum to the Education Community, are providing additional information for our all Minnesota high schools. The attached Memorandum reminds school administrators of the policies and responsibilities of schools in providing athletic and fine arts programming for their students.

The Title IX federal law, now approaching 50 years old, benefitted women and girls who had been functionally “banned” from sports competition. I graduated from high school in 1970. The girls in my graduating class had four physical activity choices: cheerleading, drill team, gymnastics and synchronized swimming. My daughters, graduating from high school in 1999 and 2003, respectively, participated in soccer, cross country, Nordic Skiing and track and field with many other sports choices open to them and their classmates. Girls want the opportunity to compete and thrive when given the chance. Title IX forced change in a culture clinging to Victorian Age beliefs about exercise. The idea that vigorous physical activity was bad for women and damaged the reproductive system has slowly disappeared over the past 50 years. It is easy to forget that until 1984 the longest distance race allowed for women in Olympic competition was 800 meters. Women who wanted to run the marathon distance prior to, and even after, Title IX had to lie about their sex to gain entry. Once the sex discrimination wall came down, high schools and communities developed programs and opportunities for girls to compete (although not all willingly and not all equally). As more girls have entered competitive sport, more women have stepped into coaching and officiating roles, giving young athletes of both sexes much needed role models.

She grew up right in front of everyone’s Minnesota eyes, a budding player on the still-news girls basketball scene. At age 14, she was already well-skilled beyond her age with a near-flawless perimeter game to go with a stoic, on-court demeanor of Bjorn Borg, an international sensation on another kind of court. Two years earlier, her brother said she could be the best girls basketball player ever in Minnesota. He modeled himself after “Pistol” Pete Maravich and knew these kinds of things, he proclaimed. She merely shrugged off the accolades and proclamations. She just wanted to be herself. She just wanted to be known as Janet. A one-name reference typically calls for legendary status, and for Janet Karvonen, that fits.

Recently students, schools and communities have experienced racist events that tell us we as school leaders have more work to do. Mistreatment of anyone on any basis is not only intolerable, it is something we, as educational leaders, unequivocally condemn.  Racial, religious, or sexual harassment is simply unacceptable in our schools. The goal of safe, supportive school environments is of paramount importance. It is essential that every effort be made, and action is taken to ensure that all students have a safe environment in which to learn and participate in activities.  In addition, victims of racist words or actions need support. Together, we commit to making every effort to ensure that students have a safe environment in which to learn and participate in activities. 

Crosby-Ironton eighth-grader Tori Oehrlein made Minnesota girls basketball history on Feb. 8 when she became the fastest player to reach the 1,000-point milestone.

Synopsis of the Minnesota State High School League's Board of Directors Meeting Synopsis  Thursday, Feb 3, 2022

In a run-up to the national celebration of the passage of Title IX legislation on June 23, the Minnesota State High School League’s Board of Directors is joining other high school administrative leaders across the country recognizing individuals for their pioneering efforts. 

Before Stillwater Area High School’s Jessie Diggins became a worldwide Olympic sensation in Nordic Skiing, she and St. Paul Academy’s Annie Hart were two of the most dynamic competitors in Minnesota State High School League competitions. In 2010, leading up to what was expected to be a dandy duel between the friends, the St. Paul Pioneer Press previewed their final high school race and then captured the most dazzling, heart-stopping finish in Nordic Skiing. Both would become teammates on the U.S. Olympic Nordic Skiing Team. Stories and photos courtesy of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Longtime Associate Director Lisa Lissimore, who has served in that role for 34 years, will retire on April 30, 2022.

Title IX changed my life. It has allowed me to live my dream as a student-athlete, a teacher, a coach, an official, a mother, and now as a grandmother. But even before the passage of Title IX federal legislation, my athletic journey started when I was very young in Milaca. I was five years old, a year younger than my brother, Bruce, when my dad brought us to play t-ball. What possessed my dad to bring us both down, I’ll never know, because it was 1963 and “girls didn’t play ball.” But I’m so thankful for forward-thinking men like my dad and Herb Claffy. My dad introduced us, and asked Mr. Claffy if it was OK if I played. I’ll never forget his answer that was loud, proud and bold enough so all the boys could hear it, too: “Why of course you can play, put your glove on and go to first base.” I put the glove on the wrong hand and ran to third. I didn’t know the bases or how to play . . . yet. It wasn’t in the cards for my brother to continue to play, but I never stopped going. I played every summer through the sixth grade.

Longtime Robbinsdale Armstrong High School Choral Director Stephanie Trump has been selected as the Minnesota recipient of the NFHS Outstanding Music Educator Award. This prestigious honor is presented by the National Federation of State High School Associations in recognition of music educators that excel with enthusiasm and purpose in educating students in the Fine Arts

Implementation of a 35-second shot clock beginning in the 2023-2024 season for Boys and Girls Basketball was approved today by the Minnesota State High School League’s Board of Directors during its regularly scheduled meeting.