Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Southern Minnesota Gains New K–12 School

  • By Matt Jones
  • 09/20/22

The Maple River School District in Mapleton, Minn., recently finished construction on a new, $63-million K–12 school. The new facility covers 200,000 square feet and will serve students in the rural communities of Amboy, Good Thunder, Mapleton and Minnesota Lake, according to a news release. The new school is part of a long-range facilities plan whose funds come from a $63.3-million bond referendum that was passed in February 2020, and the project broke ground in October 2020.

In addition to classrooms and administration offices, the two-story facility features three gymnasiums, playgrounds, a kitchen, café, and a 500-seat auditorium. One wing of the school will serve elementary-school students and include early-childhood classrooms; the other wing will serve middle- and high-school students and include amenities like agricultural science and career and tech classrooms. It will also feature outdoor spaces like retention ponds, walking paths and playfields.

Maple River K12 School
Rendering Courtesy of ISG Architects

The new facility was designed with equity in mind, the news release reports. It will feature balanced classroom sizes and equal access to support and resources. The centralized learning environment is intended to boost students’ collaborative, interactive and social learning experiences, and the modernized facility will offer benefits like improved indoor air quality, accessibility and safety.

The district partnered with construction firm Kraus-Anderson and architecture firm ISG Architects.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • DFW-Area District Opens New Replacement Middle School

    The Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Independent School District near Fort Worth, Texas, recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new replacement middle school campus, according to a news release. The new facility for Wayside Middle School, originally established in 1964, was built on the site of the former district administration building and funded through Bond Proposition A in 2023.

  • University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Launches New Emergency Communications System

    The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) recently deployed a new emergency notification and incident management system for its campus, according to a news release. The university partnered with 911Cellular to launch Safe@UTC, a smartphone app allowing university officials to communicate and respond during emergency situations.

  • Northeastern University Breaks Ground on New Housing Community

    Northeastern University recently announced the groundbreaking of a new student housing community on its campus in Boston, Mass., according to a news release. The university is partnering with American Campus Communities (ACC) for development of the project, which will have the capacity for 1,200 students and has a scheduled completion date of fall 2028.

  • New City School

    Turning Crisis into Opportunity: Transforming New City School

    When New City School in St. Louis suffered catastrophic flood damage in July 2022, the event could have marked a serious setback for the 100-year-old institution. Instead, it became a forward-looking opportunity.