Richfield Stem School

"When touring Richfield schools, STEM's office staff and the principal were very warm and welcoming. This left me with the impression their manner would set the tone for classrooms and it does! My daughter is much happier at STEM. The lessons are interactive rather than instructional -- much better fit for my kids. Class sizes are much more reasonable (20 to 25 kids per) and the teachers are top notch. All staff seems to have more freedom to be innovative in their teaching style and genuinely enjoy the kids and their jobs. The fun, warm atmosphere also seems to lend well to learning. Our kindergartener is already reading on his own and was not at all when he started. Our 4th grader is learning to code. Very cool!"

"To clarify for people that don't know much about this school, it has only been a K-5 STEM school since 2010. Prior to that, it was a 3-5 Intermediate school, so I don't think the statistics should combine as much as they do. As you can see if you dig a little more, there have been some GREAT gains since the 2010-11 year and I think that is a credit to the awesome Principal and staff that have chosen to operate in a STEM environment. The statistics aren't great, I get that, but there is so much you can't measure that makes this a truly excellent school. They play different genres of music throughout the halls (jazz, classical, etc) each week for the students. They focus all of their focused help in reading at the youngest levels so that kids have a strong start and can more easily continue their reading in the later grades. The STEM focus is scary for some kids that still want their kids to get art/music/phy ed/etc, but I promise it doesn't take away anything, they only ADD a scientific understanding to the arts and athletic programs that has been useful and great for kids to know. This is a phenomenal school and I recommend it to anyone even remotely close to the district. Don't let the stats fool you, I think STEM will continue to make huge gains and establish itself as an excellent option for MN K-5 education."

"To clarify for people that don't know much about this school, it has only been a K-5 STEM school since 2010. Prior to that, it was a 3-5 Intermediate school, so I don't think the statistics should combine as much as they do. As you can see if you dig a little more, there have been some GREAT gains since the 2010-11 year and I think that is a credit to the awesome Principal and staff that have chosen to operate in a STEM environment. The statistics aren't great, I get that, but there is so much you can't measure that makes this a truly excellent school. They play different genres of music throughout the halls (jazz, classical, etc) each week for the students. They focus all of their focused help in reading at the youngest levels so that kids have a strong start and can more easily continue their reading in the later grades. The STEM focus is scary for some kids that still want their kids to get art/music/phy ed/etc, but I promise it doesn't take away anything, they only ADD a scientific understanding to the arts and athletic programs that has been useful and great for kids to know. This is a phenomenal school and I recommend it to anyone even remotely close to the district. Don't let the stats fool you, I think STEM will continue to make huge gains and establish itself as an excellent option for MN K-5 education."

"When touring Richfield schools, STEM's office staff and the principal were very warm and welcoming. This left me with the impression their manner would set the tone for classrooms and it does! My daughter is much happier at STEM. The lessons are interactive rather than instructional -- much better fit for my kids. Class sizes are much more reasonable (20 to 25 kids per) and the teachers are top notch. All staff seems to have more freedom to be innovative in their teaching style and genuinely enjoy the kids and their jobs. The fun, warm atmosphere also seems to lend well to learning. Our kindergartener is already reading on his own and was not at all when he started. Our 4th grader is learning to code. Very cool!"