Marine Village School approved to open this fall

Mary Divine, Pioneer Press
·1 min read

The organizers of the new Marine Village School in Marine on St. Croix were supposed to have 30 students registered by Sunday in order to open this fall.

They got 27.

The names and registrations were submitted to the school’s authorizing body, the Minnesota Office of Charter Authorizing, on Sunday. The charter authorizing board met Wednesday night to decide the school’s fate and gave them the green light to start on Sept. 6.

“We are all very excited and energized to make it happen,” Marine Village School board chairman Win Miller said Thursday morning. “We are still at 27 students, but we are confident that will grow.”

The new charter school, which will have a focus on ecology and community, will be housed in the former Marine Elementary School.

Marine Elementary was one of three elementary schools that the Stillwater school board voted in March 2016 to close. After the closures of Marine, Withrow and Oak Park elementary schools, parents protested, lawsuits were filed, and board incumbents were challenged in elections.

Among the attractions of the new school: small class sizes, an outdoor classroom, STEM space, maker space, before- and after-school care, and Spanish language classes for every student.

Plans call for three classrooms — kindergarten, grades 1-2, and grades 3-4 – with an average classroom size of 10 to 12 students. The school day is expected to run from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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