District 742 Celebrates New Katherine Johnson Education Center

(KNSI) – The St. Cloud Area School District held an open house for its new Katherine Johnson Education Center.

Guests got to tour the 60,000-square-foot upgraded space on Thursday evening. Director of Alternative Programming Brenda Blackmore spoke to KNSI News at the open house and said they’re getting used to the new place. “It’s very different than what we had before because we were in other buildings that weren’t district-owned. Having this building, and all the renovations that we’ve done to make the space very conducive to all four of the programs to meet the needs of kids has been an amazing process.”

Grant Dossetto/KNSI News

The facility accepts students by referral only and offers alternative learning opportunities for kids with disabilities. The building mimics a mainstream school only in a smaller setting with a higher adult-to-student ratio to help students learn the skills they need to succeed. There are programs geared to elementary children up to young adults. Blackmore talked about one of them. “The amazing thing about the 18 to 21 program is it’s an opportunity for them to continue developing their skills for work experience programs. So, we get to see these kids make amazing gains in their skills as they go out into the work world.”

Johnson says her favorite part about the job is working with everyone in the building. “The kids, it’s something new every day. And we have an amazing staff. They work and go above and beyond to meet the needs of the kids that are here. It’s a special group of people.”

The open house allowed the public to meet staff, tour the building, learn about its history, and how the referral process works. The building is at 713 Anderson Avenue in St. Cloud.

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