Schools in Blaine, MN

We’re pretty proud of the schools that our kids attend here in Blaine so we highlight one every month here BlaineHomes.com. Newcomers may not realize that Blaine’s kids attend schools administered by three different districts:

• Anoka-Hennepin
• Centennial
• Spring Lake Park

Our city is also home to a number of charter and private schools.

Jefferson Elementary

This month, BlaineHomes.com is featuring Jefferson Elementary, in the Anoka-Hennepin School District, otherwise known as ISD 11.

Located in the west part of Blaine, Jefferson first opened its doors in 1963 to a student body that numbered right around 600. Today, the school serves more than 725 students in grades K through 5 with a staff of 42 full-time teachers, giving it a

As summer winds down a lot of us are working feverishly on all the stuff we need to do to get the kids back in school (September 8).  If you have a young one just entering the system, you may want to consider Johnsville Elementary, in the Anoka-Hennepin School District, otherwise known as ISD 11.

Located in northwest Blaine, Johnsville has been closed for the summer so that new classrooms can be added to the building. The principal, Scott Johnson and his secretary as well as other staff members will be at Sandburg Educational Center in Anoka until this Friday, August 28. The main phone number there is 763-506-5766.

Johnsville Elementary serves nearly 700 students in grades K through 5 with a staff of 38 full-time teachers, giving it a

Spring Lake Park provided the first Spanish immersion class this past year with about 78 students attending. This class will now move to the middle school in the fall.

The goal of the class is to help students maintain their language skills after they leave Woodcrest Elementary, which as a Spanish immersion program. Continually expensing students to the language helps them to improve and practice.

The task force in charge of the program met during the 2014-2015 school year to look at the research, which supports adding the program to the middle school level. They looked at other immersion programs across the metro area and have decided adding this program is a very important part of the education of middle school students.

Four scheduling

Often, parents think the only way to get their children into the best schools is to live in the most expensive neighborhoods. However, the pricey neighborhoods may have good schools, but they are not the only ones. If the school boundaries are important when you are shopping for a home, use these tips to help.

Don't ask the Opinion of Your Agent

It may seem like you should be able to ask your real estate agent to find a home in a good school district for you, but you really can't. Your agent isn’t allowed to value any schools above another because it could be looked at as steering someone into a specific neighborhood.

You need to find the school that fits your child best, and then have your agent look for homes within that district. Keep in

It’s a question we hear frequently – which schools in Blaine are considered “the best?” While test scores are an important indicator of the quality of a school, there’s more behind a ranking than that – but we’ll do our best to tell you what the experts think.

Blaine Senior High School

School ranking site GreatSchools.org awards Blaine High with its second highest award: 9 out of 10 stars. Another trusted source of school information is SchoolDigger.com and it gives Blaine High 4 out of 5 stars.

Two years ago (the most recent statistics I could find) the school ranked better than almost 80 percent of high schools in Minnesota, as far as test scores go, and we’ll get to those in a minute.

The school serves 2,889 students with a

If you’re considering relocating to Blaine, MN, you’re not alone. Blaine has added almost 12,000 new residents in the past decade and continues to grow in population.

Why are people flocking to Blaine? Aside from the fact that this medium-sized city is located within 30 minutes of the Twin Cities, it offers excellent schools, amazing recreational opportunities and manages to maintain a small-town atmosphere.

Blaine Schools

Minnesota offers parents an open enrollment opportunity. What this means is that your children aren’t locked into attending a particular school due to its proximity to where you live. Many parents choose to send their children to schools closer to their work, to make drop off and pickup more convenient.

That said, the city

Anoka-Hennepin is going to bid on two elementary school projects in February. They are both additions to area schools including Wilson Elementary School in Anoka and Johnsville Elementary School in Blaine. If the additions are approved, they will help to handle the expected growth of the area.

With Blaine forecasting about 4,000 new home in the area of Johnsville Elementary, it's necessary to make this expansion. The 4,000 homes are expected to be added over the next 15 years and the school already has record enrollment.

Currently, Johnsville Elementary has 761 students and is expected to be close to 900 students in the next few years.

The Addition for Johnsville Elementary School

The proposed addition for Johnsville Elementary is an

Ramsey kindergarteners have just learned that Ramsey Elementary School has reached its full capacity this year. Kids were supposed to enter kindergarten next year are now going to have to attend Wilson Elementary School in Anoka.

On December 8th the Anoka-Hennepin School Board approved this change unanimously, although one board member was absent for the vote. The vote took place after two community meetings were held in November where people were presented with the scenario that the K-5 students that lived east of Highway 47 or southwest of Ramsey Elementary School would have to attend Wilson. Here is a look at how the decision was made.

How the community feels about the change

Parents have been attending these packed meetings disagreeing

The Northwest Suburban Integration School District is recognizing Coon Rapids High School’s Biomedical Sciences Program as a magnet school. The Board voted on October 15th to add three new magnet schools to its ranks, which included the two International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme schools of Fridley, Hayes and R.L. Stevenson elementary schools plus the biomedical program at Coon Rapids. Here is a look at why Coon Rapids was chosen for this and what it means to be a magnet school.

What does it mean to be a magnet school?

For Coon Rapids High School to become a magnet school, this status means that any of the eight member school districts of Northwest Suburban Integration School District can apply to attend. If they are accepted,

Schools at Coon Rapids are using a classroom management strategy called ENVoY to keep classrooms in order, less noisy and more engaged in learning. ENVoY stands for Educational Non-Verbal Yardsticks which is a strategy for communicating without words. It’s working great in elementary schools. Teachers that have become certified in it call it “purposeful talk“ and say its bringing consistency into the classroom. Here is a look at the classroom management and the improvements being made.

All About ENVoY

There are eight demonstration teachers in the district that have allowed educators to observe the seven gems associated with ENVoY. The gems are used for making classroom management easier, helping with relationship building and bringing that