Facility Improvements and Language Immersion Programs Approved by District 742 School Board

(KNSI) — The St. Cloud Area 742 School Board Wednesday night approved designating up to $2 million in funding for stadium improvements at Apollo High School and piloting a new language immersion program.

Improvements include resurfacing the track and adding field turf. Funding for that will come from a one-time shot in the arm to lessen the potential impact on taxpayers for a future referendum.

Other improvements at the school that were already approved include the following:
New furniture in classrooms.
Replacing the roof in the B-wing.
A new HVAC system and LED lighting in the C-wing.
Resurfacing the tennis courts.

Those upgrades will happen next summer.

The district already did some renovations at Apollo in recent years that included a new orchestra room, an outdoor learning classroom, upgraded classroom technology, a new sound board in the theater, and new furniture in the cafeteria, media center and entryway.

In a press release from the district, Apollo Principal Justin Skaalerud said, “We are excited about the work being completed and thankful for our school district’s ongoing commitment to ensure that our Apollo High School students have full access to learning opportunities.”

Other business discussed at Wednesday night’s school board meeting was expanded opportunities in St. Cloud Area School District for language immersion programming. The district says with dual immersion, students learn for half the day in the target language and half the day in English. Full immersion students learn the entire instructional day in a second language.

Incoming kindergarteners for the 2023-2024 school year will be the test class for dual immersion in Spanish at Clearview and Westwood Elementary Schools and dual immersion in Somali at Discovery and Talahi Elementary Schools.

English only sections will continue to be offered at all schools. Chinese Immersion at Madison Elementary will remain a full immersion program in 2023-2024. Spanish and Chinese Immersion in secondary schools will remain as scheduled for the 23-24 school year.

Families interested in learning more about language immersion programming for the 2023-2024 school year are invited to attend upcoming kindergarten open houses, for which dates will be determined and posted on the district website.

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