Park Rapids OKs public charter school in local church, will welcome students Sept. 3

First-year enrollment projection is around 85 students.

The Minnesota Star Tribune
August 23, 2024 at 4:12PM
Off Hwy. 71 at the north edge of Park Rapids is the new location of the Heartland Lakes Community School inside the Riverside United Methodist Church, shown Aug. 23. (Kim Hyatt/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

PARK RAPIDS, MINN. – One of two new public charter schools opening across the state in 2024 is located in northern Minnesota, where staff will welcome students for the first time Sept. 3.

Heartland Lakes Community School, located in Park Rapids at Riverside United Methodist Church, will officially be in session after Park Rapids City Council members unanimously approved a conditional use permit this week. Plans for the K-8 school are also approved by the Minnesota Department of Education.

MDE says first-year enrollment projections are around 85 students. The estimated class sizes will be 20 students each in kindergarten and first grade, 10 students each in second through fifth grades and five students in sixth.

Heartland board chair Joanna Wallenberg said that the school has six licensed teachers, two paraprofessionals and a three-person administrative team.

The school hopes to grow to 145 students and 20 staffers after three years of operation, according to plans presented to the City Council.

Riverside United Methodist will be used in its current layout without modifications. The school will partner with the Park Rapids School District to bus students.

MDE lists Heartland and another charter school on St. Paul’s East Side as those opening this fall. Another five charter schools plan to open in 2025 in the Twin Cities metro area.

about the writer

about the writer

Kim Hyatt

Reporter

Kim Hyatt reports on North Central Minnesota. She previously covered Hennepin County courts.

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