area education

The District 742 Local Education and Activities Foundation (LEAF) is partnering with the St. Cloud Rotary Club to expand a childhood reading program. A $15,000 gift from the St. Cloud Rotary Club and an additional $10,000 grant from LEAF will expand the Parents and Kids Reading Aloud Together program.

The Sartell-St. Stephen School District is starting its annual community survey on Wednesday. The survey will collect feedback from district families and community members about the performance of the school district.

A new charter school is being proposed in south St. Cloud. Athlos Academies is proposing a 87,000 square foot single story building at 3135 County Road 136, nearby where a proposed new Tech High School would potentially be built.

Lunches for students in Sauk Rapids-Rice schools could cost five cents more next school year. State and Federal law requires schools to charge a minimum weighted average price for paid lunches.

Emotions ran high as students, parents and community members voiced their concerns with recent cases of alleged bullying and discrimination at Tech High School. An open forum was hosted by the St. Cloud Muslim community on Monday night with guests from the U.S. Department of Education.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations is hosting on open forum on Monday regarding the recent protests at Tech High School in St. Cloud. On February 19th, a group of mostly Somali students at Tech High School walked out of class to protest alleged discrimination at the school.

The St. Cloud Area School District is considering options for a new early childhood center building, including one that would place it at Clark Field. Designs revealed by the district say the building on Clark Field would cost around $25.3 million. The proposed three level building would have 95,000 square feet of space and a 250 space parking lot.

Madison Elementary in St. Cloud could see renovations in the future. The updates are expected to cost around $1-million. The first phase would happen this summer and includes adding two new classrooms, two special education rooms and more space to the kitchen area.

The St. Cloud Tech Alumni Association is meeting with St. Cloud School District officials next week to discuss the future of Clark Field. The District closed the field to varsity football in 2012 because of mold issues.

The St. Cloud Tech Speech team has a longstanding history of success. The team is continuing that success, recently taking first in the Central Lakes Conference Championship and the Minnesota State High School League 8AA South Subsection competition.