Four and a half years after Minnewaukan Public School opened its new building, thanks in part to New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) financing, its students are thriving.
Kindergarten through 12th grade students attend the school in North Dakota, and the majority of students are enrolled members of the Spirit Lake Tribe or the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians.
The new building is safe from the floodwaters that threatened the former building and provides new classrooms, a cafeteria, recreational areas and common spaces. Read more here, including how Travois New Markets played a role in the NMTC financing.
We recently spoke to school administrators, who gave us this update on the building, its new science and technology programs, and the students!
Number of students: 264
Tribally enrolled students: 90 percent of student body
Full-time staff, faculty and administration: 60 people
New curriculum: Recently the school started a new reading, math and science curriculum that relies heavily on technology.
A Science Olympiad class has also been added to the curriculum. In class, students work on a variety of science projects and prepare those projects for competition! Students show their work and compete with other schools at the Science Olympiad competitions.
After-school program: All students are welcome to attend the school’s 21st Century After-School Program. This program allows students time to read, do homework, work on fun projects, participate in activities and more.
Sports program: Students can participate in a number of athletic programs. The school offers cross country, volleyball, basketball, baseball, track, football, and track. Students also have the opportunity to play hockey through a co-op with other schools.
The boys basketball team is bringing home trophies! In 2016, the team won the Class B Boys North Dakota State Basketball Tournament. This year, the team lost the championship game by 3 points.
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We wish the students, faculty, staff and administrators all the best this school year and beyond!
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