ST. CLOUD - A groundbreaking ceremony is being held on Thursday for a new charter school in St. Cloud.

Athlos Academy is putting in a 90,000 foot building at 3701 33rd Street South. The building is expected to be finished by August 2016. The groundbreaking ceremony will be held at 4:00 p.m.

The school will initially serve students in kindergarten through 6th grade. Dan McKeon is a spokesperson with Athlos Academy, he says they will start accepting enrollment requests on January 1st.

"We will have spots for 800 students during our first year. If we get more than 800 requests, then we by law conduct an enrollment lottery where we will draw names of students."

The first enrollment lottery would be done near the end of February. Any student will be able to apply through their website. Once fully enrolled, the school is expected to serve 1,200 students in grades K-8 in the future. The school will employ approximately 100 teachers and other staff.

Athlos Academy emphasizes physical activity and health education. Students will take part in four physical activity sessions every week. The building will include indoor athletic facilities with both hardwood court and turf field space.

"Rigorous academics are going to be the backbone of this program, but what we know is that kids are able to participate much more effectively when they are active. Prepared minds, healthy bodies and performance character are the three pillars of the Athlos Program," McKeon says.

Athlos Academy is paying for the building through a lease aid provided to charter schools by the state. There is no contribution made by tax payers, except for tax money already going into public education. Athlos is leasing the building from Athlos Academies out of Boise, ID. They are building the facility and will be the owners/landlords.

Charter schools are alternative learning public schools that need state approval to operate. The schools are growing in the St. Cloud area. STRIDE Academy opened in 2005 and has expanded to two buildings. Last year, the St. Cloud Math and Science Academy opened in Waite Park.

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