St. Louis Co, MN: New $2.5M special school for 50 students opening
- 6 hours ago
- 2 min read
EVELETH, Minn. (KQDS-TV) – Classes are back in session for most K-12 students in the Northland next Monday, but special education students at Rock Ridge are celebrating the new school year with a new building.
“Students need to make progress and learn and grow, no matter what their abilities are,” said Amber King, the special education coordinator at Rock Ridge.
On Thursday, Rock Ridge held a ribbon-cutting event for their newest addition – the Life and Learning Center. The community and students had the chance to tour the new space, which includes 2 elementary classrooms, 2 high school classrooms, 2 sensory rooms, an adaptive room, a motor room, and a life skills lab room.
“This space used to be a call center,” said Stephanie Aagenes, the special education director. “The Rock Ridge school district purchased the building a number of years ago.”
“One of the things we were noticing in our more traditional school buildings is the option to move and meet those sensory needs that were not present,” said King. “If a student does have anxieties and needs a pace, we have wider hallways. The space is just as important as the teachers are.”
Staff said 30 students are enrolled to start school on Monday, August 31. Up to 50 students can enroll. But the center is also offering students outside the normal K-12 age range a chance to better their education and life skills.
The cost for Rock Ridge’s Life and Learning Center was estimated at around $2.5 million. Staff said they completed the renovations slightly under budget.
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