How do I know if my child is a good fit? 

Many types of students thrive at Mississippi Microschool. Since you know your child best, we urge you to first read through the website and ask yourself:

1. Does the philosophy fit my family's values?

2. Will Mississippi Microschool serve my child’s particular social and emotional needs?

3. Will Mississippi Microschool serve my child’s particular academic needs?

If you answered “yes!” to all three questions, or you’ve found yourself full of a whole bunch more questions, take the next step by emailing us!

How is technology used in the classroom?

In the elementary classroom all lessons are given by an in-person teacher. We use technology only when it doesn’t interfere with our learning and serves an important purpose that is not easily achieved without it.

For example:

• researching

• making and listening to music (without disturbing others)

• writing computer programs

We want our kids to get a break from screens during school so they can focus on friends and hands-on experiences.

Does Mississippi Microschool meet MN compulsory education requirements?

Yes! Mississippi Microschool is a non-accredited Private School. We register each student with their district’s superintendent and ensure all of Minnesota’s Compulsory Instruction statutes are met, which mainly means we keep educational records, we give annual assessments, and our curriculum covers:

(1) basic communication skills including reading and writing, literature, and fine arts;

(2) mathematics and science;

(3) social studies including history, geography, economics, government, and citizenship; and

(4) health and physical education

Don’t hesitate to reach-out if you would like more details, or have additional questions!

What ages does Mississippi Microschool serve?

We currently have one mixed-age elementary classroom setup to serve students in grades 1-6 (ages 6-12). In the fall of 2025, our middle school classroom will open in the lower level of our building, enabling us to serve students in grades 1-8 (ages 6-14).

To help out families of current students or staff, we also will sometimes enroll a younger sibling, no less than five years old who is able to manage in an elementary classroom. For the 2024-2025 school year, we will also open our elementary school to older siblings or continuing sixth graders to bridge the gap before the opening of our middle school the following year.

But now you’re maybe wondering…

How does Mississippi Microschool serve such a large age-range in one classroom?

Since our academics are completely individualized, it is as easy for us to serve students at different skill levels as it would be for us to serve students at the same skill level. Our guides tailor individual acedemic lessons to each student that meet them wherever they are. We actually prefer to have students of varying skill levels and find that it makes for a better educational environment because:

• It helps us all remember to not try to fit a student in an age-based box

• Students get to use their skills to mentor and assist others

• Students get see and be inspired by others with different skills

What do you mean by low student teacher ratio?

Most days there will be 3 teachers for the 12 elementary students. Some days a teacher may be ill or otherwise unable to come to school, on those days the ratio will be no higher than 6:1. If two of our three teachers are out, we will cancel the school day. We are a small program with very limited sub capacity.

Does the school have a religious affiliation?

Nope, we are secular. We welcome families of all backgrounds and faiths.

Is Mississippi Microschool Montessori?

No? Our teachers are trained in Montessori materials but primarily they are innovators! We like to think of our method as a spiritual successor to Montessori. We incorporate into Montessori principles an understanding of neurodiversity and modern educational research. In essence, we use the Montessori base, but draw materials from all sources, and to accomodate neurodiversity, we are flexible in our methodology and provide more personalized adult attention.

Why is Mississippi Microschool 20 hours a week and year round?

With a shorter school week, students still have plenty of energy left after school to enjoy regular fun life activities like hanging out with friends, getting involved in an extracurricular activity, or enjoying experiences with their family. We’ve whittled the school week down, so it captures the core time students need to practice necessary academic and social skills, but we eliminated the extra hours that don’t tend to serve our student population. We have expanded the school year through the summer for two main reasons: 

1) It’s an easy way for students to learn more in one year, and 

2) We want our students to have a comfortable place to go in the summer. 

MMS fully supports taking time off school for vacations and camps, but it’s very important to us to be open and available year round, so that we can always be the default low-stress option for our students. 

Note: to keep our space and staff, families pay the same rate each month, regardless of their attendance. That is, they still pay June tuition even if they take June off.

What about food?

Students bring their own lunches from home. Snacks are provided. Mississippi Microschool may also offer students special event foods and/or produce grown on site. We do not specifically prohibit any food and will assist students with warming food in the microwave. We encourage food sharing between students and families as long as it is within each student’s dietary restrictions.

Cancelation Policy

We will follow the Saint Paul School District for snow days. We will also close if 2+ teachers are out. In the case that a school day must be cancelled we will contact all families by email ASAP.