School Site Visits:
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Are you wondering what a learner-centered learning environment can look like?
Come and be inspired (virtually or in-person) by these awesome MLCN environments!
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Past virtual visits posted here, too!
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Interested in hosting? Host sites receive $500! Let us know here: Become a host site.
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While we wait to see availability for the 2021-2022 school year, take a look at past sites that have hosted MLCN network members below!​
Paladin Career & Technical High School | Positive Relationships | Charter | High School | 12/11/2022 | 9:00-11:00am | ||
Avalon School | Student Ownership & Agency | Charter | High School | 10/12/2022 | 8:40-11:00am | ||
Farmington High School | Student Ownership & Agency | Traditional | High School | 15/12/2022 | 8:15-11:15am | ||
Northwest Passage High School | Anytime, Anywhere | Charter | High School | 19/01/2023 | 12:30-3:30PM | ||
Farmington High School | Anytime, Anywhere | Traditional | High School | 25/01/2023 | 12:00-3:00pm | ||
Minnesota New Country School | Anytime, Anywhere | Charter | High School | 25/01/2023 | 9:00-12:00pm | ||
Spring Grove Public Schools | Anytime, Anywhere | Traditional | High School | 31/01/2023 | 4-5:15pm | ||
Avalon School | Positive Identity | Charter | High School | 10/02/2023 | 8:40-11:00am | ||
Minnesota New Country School | Positive Identity | Charter | High School | 22/02/2023 | 9:00-12:00pm | ||
Prairie Creek Community School | Positive Identity | Charter | Elementary | 01/03/2023 | 9:15-12:15am | ||
Level Up Academy | Competency-Based | Charter | Elementary | 24/03/2023 | 9:30-12:00pm | ||
Avalon School | Competency-Based | Charter | High School | 24/03/2023 | 1:30-3:30pm | ||
Northwest Passage High School | Real-World Relevant | Charter | High School | 19/04/2023 | 8:30-12:00pm | ||
Spring Grove Public Schools | Real-World Relevant | Traditional | High School | 27/04/2023 | 12:30-3:15pm | ||
Paladin Career & Technical High School | Foundational Needs Met | Charter | High School | 13/05/2023 | 1:00-3:00pm | ||
Prairie Creek Community School | Foundational Needs Met | Charter | Elementary | 24/05/2023 | 9:15 - 12:15pm |
Paladin Career & Technical High School
High School
Charter
Positive Relationships
November 12, 2022
Northwest Passage High School
High School
Charter
Anytime, Anywhere
January 19, 2023
Spring Grove Public Schools
High School
Traditional
Anytime, Anywhere
January 31, 2023
Prairie Creek Community School
Elementary
Charter
Positive Identity
March 1, 2023
Avalon School
High School
Charter
Student Ownership & Agency
December 10, 2022
Farmington High School
High School
Traditional
Anytime, Anywhere
January 25, 2023
Avalon School
High School
Charter
Positive Identity
February 10, 2023
Level Up Academy
Elementary
Charter
Competency-Based
March 24, 2023
Farmington High School
High School
Traditional
Student Ownership & Agency
December 15, 2022
Minnesota New Country School
High School
Charter
Anytime, Anywhere
January 25, 2023
Minnesota New Country School
High School
Charter
Positive Identity
February 22, 2023
Avalon School
High School
Charter
Competency-Based
March 24, 2023
School Share Roundtables:
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​The strong schools in our network are hosting roundtable sharings of best practices around specific topics. Recordings of theese powerful presentations posted below, and linked on the MLCN website.
Creating Connections, Forming Foundations
Hosted by educators from Paladin, this Roundtable focuses on showing the different ways students can learn, honoring the student as a whole person, and nurturing our connections to continuing to build our strong community.
Engaging Homeless and Highly Mobile Youth
Staff from High School for Recording Arts hosted this engaging Roundtable, presenting strategies and resources used to help better engage and support homeless and highly mobile youth in their community.
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Successful 9th Grade Transitioning
Northwest Passage HS has created a unique 9th grade cohort designed to reduce 9th Grade Shock. Headwaters is a cohort of 45-50 incoming 9th grade students with a focus on building relationships, scaffolding project based learning and providing support. Join us to learn how we support our students in this unique time.
Participating Schools:
*School Share Roundtable Participant*
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Avalon School, 6-12, St. Paul, MN
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Farmington High School, 9-12, Farmington, MN
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*High School of Recording Arts, 9-12+, St. Paul, MN*
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Level Up Academy, K-8, White Bear Lake, MN
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Minnesota New Country School, K-12, Henderson, MN
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MNCAPS, 11-12, Prior Lake, MN
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*Paladin, 9-12, Blaine, MN*
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Northwest Passage School, 9-12, Coon Rapis, MN
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Praire Creek Community Schools, K-5, Northfield, MN
Avalon School
6-12 (urban, public charter school)
St. Paul, MN
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Avalon is an innovative learning community that leverages student agency and teacher ownership. Avalon students design independent projects, choose their seminars, and create rules for Avalon through democratic ownership. While students are empowered to lead their education and accept responsibility for the school community, Avalon teachers are similarly empowered. There is no principal or director; instead the teachers operate as leaders and shared owners.
Location:
Avalon School,
700 Glendale St,
Saint Paul, MN 55114
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Contact:
Carrie Bakken carrie@avalonschool.org
651-649-5495 x205
avalonschool.org
High School of Recording Arts
9-12+ (urban, public charter school)
St. Paul, MN
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High School for Recording Arts is defined by its commitment to find and nurture the genius and creativity of every student despite any life challenges or setbacks. Our school is built around the recognition that every learner has special talents and strengths, passionate interests, impactful personal experiences, and unique perspectives on the world and learning. Our aim is to actively recruit students that have dropped out, are over-aged and under-credited, or have not found success in the traditional educational system. To better reach this traditionally neglected or abandoned group, we believe in creating a dynamic educational culture rooted in positive relationships, Hip Hop, the arts, and creativity that inspires our students to transcend individual barriers to success.
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Location:
High School for Recording Arts,
1166 University Ave W,
St Paul, MN 55104
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Contact:
Joey Cienian
hsra.org
Minnesota New Country
K-12 (rural, public charter school)
Henderson, MN
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The mission of MNCS is to guide students toward self-actualization. To achieve that mission, MNCS leverages the power of purposeful relationships, community, student-led project-based learning, experiential education, and collaborative teacher ownership.
Locations:
Minnesota New Country School (elementary)
127 N 8th St, Henderson
MN 56044
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Minnesota New Country School (secondary)
210 Main St, Henderson, MN 56044
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Contacts:
Aaron Grim
agrimm@newcountryschool.com (elementary)
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David Rice
drice@newcountryschool.com (secondary)
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Northwest Passage Charter High School
9-12 (Suburban, charter public school)
Coon Rapids, MN
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Northwest Passage Charter High School (NWPHS) is a student centered learning environment for students in 9-12+ grade. NWPHS focuses on project based and experiential learning, with regular out of school field studies and 20+ overnight learning expeditions. NWPHS has a maximum of 180 students and a long term advisory model with 15-16 9-12th grade students per advisory. NWPHS is a Teacher-Powered School with a teacher majority school board.
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Location:
Northwest Passage Charter High School
11345 Robinson Dr
Coon Rapids, MN 55433
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Contact:
Peter Wieczorek
715-641-2254
Website: nwphs.org
Prairie Creek Community School
K-5 (rural, public charter school)
Northfield, MN
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Parents, teachers, staff, and students cooperate with one another and with others outside the school to create a joyful and challenging climate for learning. We help children discover the power and excitement of their minds, their feelings and their bodies, their relationships, their art. We assure children of their value, encourage their accomplishments, and respect their individual learning styles. We value diversity. We emphasize cooperation, promote self-reflection, support innovation, and value change. We share our philosophy and practice with others and learn from them. We value justice, gender-fairness, and conflict resolution. We educate children to live as responsive, responsible members of their own communities, now and into the future.
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Location:
Prairie Creek Community School
27695 Denmark Ave
Northfield, MN 55057
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Contact:
Simon Tyler
Farmington High School
9-12 (suburban, public district school)
Farmington, MN
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Farmington Area Public Schools mission is to provide a student centered culture that radiates a dream of an entirely new educational world, is to ensure each student continuously achieves one’s highest aspirations while demonstrating responsibility to communities through a system distinguished by: passion for continuous growth; humanitarian purpose; personal reflection which gives meaning to learning; individual empathetic agency; and, radical trust in self and others.
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Location:
Farmington High School, 20655 Flagstaff Ave, Farmington, MN 55024
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Contact:
Daniel Pickens,
Level Up Academy
K-8 (suburban, public charter school)
White Bear Lake, MN
The Level Up Academy curriculum reflects the needs of each student and is documented through personalized learning plans. While parts of the curriculum consist of online leveled games and the use of the digital platform instructional and assessment tools, the teacher and student explore multiple approaches to achieve these goals. The teachers also operate collectively to choose behavior and classroom management systems designed to create an engaging school community based on respect and empathy.
Location:
Level Up Academy,
2600 East Co Rd E,
White Bear Lake, MN, 55110
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Contact:
Molly Dandelet
651-408-5559 ext. 302
MNCAPS
11-12 (suburban, serves students from two districts: Prior Lake-Savage, Farmington)
Lakeville, MN
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The Minnesota Center for Advanced Professional Studies (MNCAPS) is a partnership of education, industry and community, immersing all students in profession-based learning experiences. MNCAPS is an example of innovation in modern education. MNCAPS offers a unique way for high school students to apply their course work in real-world settings through hands-on learning, solving authentic problems through project-based assessments, personalized learning, and working one-on-one with mentors in the community, all while earning high school and college credits.
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Location:
MNCAPS
17685 Juniper Path Ste 205
Lakeville, MN 55044
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Contact:
Erik Sill
Paladin
9-12 (urban)
Blaine, MN
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Paladin Career & Technical High School uses an individualized instructional model for each student. Our model incorporates work-based learning, seminar-based learning, project-based learning, and experiential learning to meet the needs of each individual student. Students earn credit towards graduation by attending educator-led seminars, participating in experiential learning opportunities (trips and treks), completing student-led/ guided projects, meeting employment/ entrepreneurship goals (work-based learning), attending Post Secondary Education Options (PSEO), along with a variety of other innovative methods. Students who have struggled to be successful in the education system in the past are given a variety of support systems at Paladin Career & Technical High School. In addition to the personal/social support offered by school staff, flexibility, and relationship building are also provided in the education model.
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Location:
Paladin Career & Technical High School
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Contact:
Brandon Wait
brandon.wait@paladincareertech.com
paladincareertech.com