Minnehaha Academy is a traditional college preparatory school that offers pre-K to grade 12…read moreeducation. MA has two beautiful campuses on the bluffs of the Mississippi River with spacious grounds, with about 12 acres each. MA, like many east coast prep schools, was founded by Protestants from Europe. Opening in 1913, the school is affiliated with the Covenant Church (a historic branch the Lutheran Church that is now a separate denomination). MA has a strong commitment to faith with weekly chapel services and taking a traditional approach to teaching religion by having specific religious classes and bringing the topic of religion into other classes as well. This is done with other subjects as well, since many of the humanities and sciences overlap--for example you could have a discussion in history class about science or literature; in this way the student is able to understand the whole story from multiple angles and gain a deeper understanding of the world. The schools commitment to academics is extraordinary, boasting one of the best AP programs in the state, and if the class doesn't have an AP test then the school offers alternatives such as the College in the Schools program where students take a class from the University of Minnesota from one of their teachers and earn college credit. The school has also partnered with various scientific institutions to send a project to the International Space Station each year, joining only two other high schools in the nation that have this honor. The language department is also very excellent offering French, Latin, Spanish and Chinese; all of which start out at high school levels (open to middle school students) and go through college levels. The teachers are highly educated and care very deeply about the students and for many, remain mentors throughout their time at the Academy and their future. Most of the teachers hold masters or doctorate degrees in their area of study. The community of students is kind and caring for each other, and many long lasting friendships are formed. The school also has excellent food and offers breakfast and lunch. MA has a head and sous chef who create healthy and delicious meals and snacks for the students. Breakfast generally has cereal, scones, sandwiches, eggs, pancakes, bacon, et cetera. Lunch offers a salad bar, made to order options, homemade soups and various options including fresh carved pork, turkey, pastas and chicken. The chefs are friendly and take student suggestions seriously and work hard to make the best food possible. The school is also very devoted to the arts and has a entire fine arts center that includes a woodshop, dark room, art room, pottery studio, band room, orchestra room, private practice rooms, art gallery, scene shop, costume shop, concert hall/theater. The school features several performance ensembles including a Concert Band, Symphonic Wind Ensemble, String Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra, Men's Choir, Women's Chorale, Concert Choir and Madrigal singers. Each ensemble has earned top marks at state. The Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Concert Choir go on tour, alternating year to year. The tour locations have included: Prague, Slovakia, Salzburg, Sweden, Italy, Germany, Washington D.C., Chicago among other locations. In the year the ensembles are on break from the tour, they put on variety shows: the bands perform the pops concert and the choirs perform a medieval dinner. The school puts on three plays: musical, play and student run show; each has one various state and sometimes national awards. The school also has top notch athletic facilities including separate soccer and football fields, a full size ice arena, two full size gyms, wrestling room and a weight room. MA's athletic teams have won a combined 4 state championships in the past decade alone and provide very supportive C, JV, and Varsity teams. The school also has many organizations and academic teams. The Debate team, which I captained during my time is one of the state's best, being the only school to have a pair of debaters go to the varsity finals back to back (my partner and I), bringing home a state championship and a 2nd place trophy. The school also offers clubs centering around the environment, music, literature, journalism and writing. The school newspaper and yearbook have won various national awards for journalism, photography, layout, overall achievement, etc. MA really helps students achieve and builds a strong foundation for college through curriculum, advanced academics, supportive staff, and graduation requirements that are similar to most colleges. Many of the students attend private 4 year institutions including St. Olaf, Carlton, Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Boston College, Vanderbilt, University of Chicago, Northwestern and more. Minnehaha Academy has nurtured the minds of some of Minnesota's best students. MA goes farther than the other prep schools in Minnesota: it truly is the place where youth meet truth.

Both of my children have learned and grown at APMS and we wouldn't change it for the world. It is a…read morewonderful community of families. Welcoming without being weird about it (you know what I mean). I highly recommend APMS to everyone.

This school is amazing. My children have come so far while attending. I have seen unbelievable…read morechanges in how they interact with others, how they manage themselves at home, and how independent they can be. The teachers are so kind, the environment is bright and clean and inviting. My younger son has always been very strong willed, and refuses to be coerced into anything, but at school, he has begun to challenge himself more and more. Skills that we can't get him to try at all, he suddenly comes home willing and proud to show us. The community is warm, and I adore everyone there. It's affordable, small, and very personal. I can't recommend Augsburg Park Montessori enough.

We have had our son at this school since he was a toddler and he is graduating Kindergarten this…read moreyear. Before we signed him up we would walk on the trails nearby and be amazed at the outdoor space this school offers. We would see kiddos in rain or shine deeply into play. We scheduled a tour and rest is history, we were hooked! We have watched our son happily go to school every day, seen him grow and thrive both social emotionally but also academically. The guides are amazing at what they do and the building, classrooms and grounds are deeply rooted in the Montessori method and gives our child plenty of room to grow both mentally and physically. Its a must see!

Our son has attended since he was 16 months old. Beautiful facilities and great staff. We've always…read morefelt that our son was well cared for. He loves driving by and pointing out his school. The Montessori approach supports independence and curiosity. Summer programs maintain the same high quality.

Moved here from California last year and having to adjust your girls to MN winters in a new school…read moreis rough. Starting a new school in January as a first grader when you have never lived in frozen weather took a lot of courage from my daughters but a majority of the praise goes to the staff at Fernbrook who were absolutely amazing. Mrs Larson was a gift for a new family as a teacher who went out of her way to welcome our daughter and make sure she survived a major shift in culture :) Totally impressed with the administration, bussing from our local neighborhood the involvement from parents and extra curricular activities this school is one of Maple Groves best.

Our son loves going to Appleseed everyday! He just moved from the infant room to the toddler room…read moreand is learning so much everyday! Communication has been great - any questions I have are addressed right away and the teachers seem to genuinely care about the children there. Looking forward to another year with Appleseed!

We had our daughter enrolled here for 2 years. While she was in the toddler room she received…read moreexcellent care. The preschool room was awful. Staff turn over was tremendous and the quality of the staff they hired was poor. Some days I would pick my child up and not recognize one staff person in the room. The children were out of control due to 28 kids in one large open room. So glad we left here. If you are looking for cheap center based daycare this is your place. If you are looking for quality daycare I wouldn't consider Appleseed.

Our daughter loves it here!! We have been going to this school for 2 years and the love and care…read moreand learning our daughter has done has been phenomenal. They have been flexible too with our schedule. Highly recommend!!!!

My family and I have had such poor experiences at this school...My partner and I have had comments…read moremade to us that border on homophobic & racist by the school leadership, and our children have been excluded and neglected by teaching staff. We are a strict family and hold our kids to a high behavior standard, but when they get rambunctious in completely trivial ways the teachers and staff react excessively compared to how they handle the kids (who exhibit the exact same rambunctious behavior that manifests itself in the exact same ways) who, apparently, are more in line with their "vision" of how the school should look and the kinds of kids that "should" go there. We have had (mostly) wonderful, very positive experiences at other Minneapolis Schools, with (mostly) excellent academics and teachers...we wanted the montessori experience but this place makes a mockery of it's philosophy.

Armatage is really awesome and they have great teachers and a principle who takes good care of the…read moreschool. It is a great place to learn all subjects due to the Montessori aspect to it. They have great after school programs too, like the annual kids on broadway show where the third through fifth graders perform scenes of various musicals. Another program is the Armatage rope power, which is a program for kids third through fifth grade. Learning jump roping skills to perform them to the school. They have other after school programs that teach you things like ukulele and Spanish. We have thoroughly enjoyed the last 4 years there.

Our daughter has been going here since September and she absolutely loves it, hence, so do we!…read more It's obvious that the teachers there love what they do and are invested in each child. She is learning a ton and amazes her father and me with the things she learns and tells us. The hours work well for working parents, they are open 7-5:30 and serve a breakfast, lunch and 3 snacks during the day. The lunches seem to be very nutritious with a main, veg, fruit and grain component. They have a religious tone that doesn't bother us at all but you might want to keep in mind if you're considering them. They do an excellent job of sticking to a theme each week and build on it as the week progresses. The program seems to work well for both full time kids as well as part time (M-W-F or T-Th). The school is accredited at a national level as are all of the teachers which is nice. They track her progress throughout the year and keep it in a book so we can see how much she's learned as the year goes by. For instance, they had her try to write her name early in the year and will have her do it again so we can see them side by side at the end of the school year. We are already planning to send her again next year so that she will be well prepared for kindergarten and we will most likely send her sister, barring any moves.

The GREATEST teachers and other staff! Both of my youngest have gone here and truthfully feel so…read moreblessed to have been able to have all of the Redeemer family in our lives.. they helped both my littles through there first year of preschool and they LOVED it... everyone here is so nice and kind.. you can tell they are in it for the kids.. they love them as if they are there own family!!