Nerstrand Elementary School

Geographically situated within the triangle formed by the communities of Faribault, Northfield, and Kenyon, our story is unlike that of any other Minnesota charter school. After a unanimous vote of the entire staff in March of 1999, we became the first official "Conversion Charter School" in our state. Having been established in 1887-88, Nerstrand... School has celebrated its 125th year of operation -- first as its own district, then as part of the Faribault District, and now as our own Charter District #4055. A strong sense of progressive education tradition continues to thrive at Nerstrand School, where we celebrate relationships with our community members and take great pride in what makes our school special. Progressive education principles share the conviction that democracy means active engagement by all citizens in the social, political and economic decisions that affect their lives--and, in turn, that early education at its best should cultivate respect for individual abilities and for socially engaged intelligence in order to spur this kind of participation in community and public affairs. Nerstrand students construct their understanding of the world through hands on processes. Teachers have been guided by the principles of progressive education, engaging students in child-centered, meaningful work that involves problem solving. We are very proud of the academic accomplishments of our students over a long period of time. Learning is social, and we work to develop each child's social-emotional skills in addition to academic skills. All of our teachers have been trained in Responsive Classroom approach. The Responsive Classroom approach is based on the premise that children learn best when they have both academic and social-emotional skills. We offer strong programs in reading, language arts, and mathematics that help our students realize success in the curricular areas of science, social studies, and technology - including environmental education. We also embrace a strong commitment to the teaching and ...Read More