WHITE BEAR LAKE AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT 624
The City of Vadnais Heights is primarily served by White Bear Lake Area Schools, a district with approximately 9,000 students PreK – 12. The student experience is well-rounded. Core values of compassion, integrity, respect, responsibility and service – and a mission focused on ensuring students develop a love for learning and excel academically – inspire students to realize their dreams and become engaged citizens with a global understanding.
EDUCATION
OPPORTUNITIES ABOUND, BENEFITING RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES ALIKE
4-STAR EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAM The district’ s four-star-rated Early Childhood Programs( children, birth through age five) are offered at convenient locations in White Bear Lake, Hugo, White Bear Township and Vadnais Heights.
ELEMENTARY PARTNERSHIPS Elementary students receive awardwinning watercolor and drawing lessons from White Bear Center for the Arts’ professional artists, water safety lessons at the White Bear Lake Area Schools YMCA Aquatic Center, and piano and string lessons taught by MacPhail Center for Music teachers.
At Vadnais Heights Elementary, specifically, partnership with Tamarack Nature Center provided experiential learning opportunities on environmental issues as students turned an 11-acre area behind the school into a“ Bears Backyard” outdoor classroom. At Otter Lake Elementary, which is adjacent to Tamarack and also serves students living in Vadnais Heights, students visit the nature center for seasonal outdoor lessons.
INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE�
Central Middle School and Sunrise Park Middle School are International Baccalaureate( IB) World Schools. Matoska International offers an elementary IB program.
PATHS TO SUCCESS District high school students have the opportunity to earn college credit in more than 30 courses. The total value of credits earned by WBLAHS students in CIS and AP courses last year was almost $ 1.7 million at University of Minnesota tuition rates. The district’ s Career Pathways initiative also offers students a range of options.
MULTI-LEVEL INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCES
Chinese is offered at Vadnais Heights and Lincoln Elementary Schools, and Spanish is offered at all other elementary buildings. Middle school students can take three years of Chinese, French, German or Spanish. WBLAHS students can study up to four levels of American Sign Language, and six levels of Chinese, French, German and Spanish( high school and CIS courses). The district partners with Hangzhou Foreign Languages School in China and with schools in France and Germany.
TECHNOLOGY New tools allow for more collaboration, more personalized communication and instruction, more authentic ways for students to demonstrate learning, and more ways for parents to stay connected to their child’ s learning. The district’ s 1:1 initiative was made possible by the community’ s support of the Capital
Projects Levy and is part of the district’ s overall K – 12 technology integration plan.
Learn more about our schools / programs by viewing videos and additional information at the following website. Or visit our schools and attend concerts, athletic events and programs!
5045 Division Ave. White Bear Lake, MN 55110 651-653-2920 www. isd624. org continues on page 41
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