MMA's New Roseville Location

Dear MMA Member,

Thank you for being part of Mid-Metro Academy for the 2023-2024 school year. This letter contains information about exciting changes at Mid-Metro Academy, including a change of location and a change of meeting day. Please read on to learn about the changes and how they may affect you.

We’re Moving to Roseville

In the fall of 2020, Mid-Metro Academy launched at St. Mark’s School in St. Paul. We’ve loved the building and our relationship with our landlord, the parish. However, as we learned of the plans the parish has for the future of the school building, we understood that for their benefit and for ours, it was time to part ways.

God has led us to a wonderful new location that is practically perfect for us: Advent Lutheran Church, 3000 Hamline Avenue, Roseville. This location is a mile east of the University of Northwestern—St. Paul and is easily accessible from major highways. Specifically, it’s about a mile north of Highway 36, about two miles south of I-694, less than two miles east of I-35W, and about three miles west of I-35E.

For most of our members who live north of the Mississippi River, this site will be easier and quicker to get to. For those who live south of the river, it should add only about five minutes to the drive. Because it’s in a lower density neighborhood with at-the-door drop-off and pick-up and building-side parking, the entire commute will be smoother than driving to St. Mark’s.

Lovely Wooded Setting

Advent Lutheran Church is a charming building that occupies ten acres, some of which are heavily wooded. A large, grassy lawn and playground area will be available to MMA students over the lunch period when the weather is nice, and the spacious lot allows teachers the option of moving classes outside for part of the period during early fall and late spring. This occasional change of venue and breath of fresh air can boost students’ moods and enhance the learning experience. We didn’t realize how much we missed green space in the learning environment until we saw this beautiful property.

The lot borders Cottontail Park, which has a walking trail, and sits across the street from Autumn Grove Park, which has tennis courts, ball fields, a playground, and an outdoor ice rink. You can catch a glimpse of sparkling Lake Josephine from the parking lot. The neighborhood is quiet and peaceful.

Dedicated Education Wing

The classrooms are in a separate wing of the building, which has its own entrance. Each classroom is at ground level and has a wall of windows that provide plenty of natural light and a view of the picturesque setting. Some classrooms are even larger than our St. Mark’s classrooms, and some are smaller, giving us enough capacity to easily seat all our students and more. The Fellowship Hall, which we’ll use for Study Hall and Student Lounge, is spacious, allowing separate areas for quiet study and socializing. The church will allow us to use the Narthex area as a parent lounge for parents who want to remain on-site while their students attend class.

Shared Space

At St. Mark’s, we’ve shared the second floor with another group that meets on Mondays, and we’ve shared our classrooms with a group that meets on Fridays. At Advent, no other groups will be on campus on the days we’re there, but another group rents the classrooms on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Wednesday Classes Will Move to Fridays

Because the other group rents space at Advent on Wednesdays, to take advantage of this excellent location, we must move our Wednesday classes to Fridays. We understand that some people may not be able to meet on Fridays, and we’re sorry for the inconvenience this change causes. However, we’re excited to re-think our Friday offerings.

Enrichment Day at MMA

Fridays will be “Enrichment Day.” While Mondays are a great day to come to MMA for core academic and arts classes, Fridays will offer a chance to add those extra activities into your student’s schedules that enhance life and learning.

Enrichment refers to classes and activities that go beyond the standard school experience. Enrichment classes can help students:

Delve deeper into an academic subject from a different perspective
Discover new hobbies and interests
Improve their study skills
Prepare for a career
Develop soft skills like resilience and problem-solving
Practice social skills and make new friends

We're in the process of updating our Friday class schedule. We’ll have:

some classes that stay the same as our current Wednesday classes
some classes that are shortened to one hour
an earlier ending time for the class day for those who want an early start on weekend activities
a longer lunch time for students to socialize and hang out between or after classes
free Friday study halls for students who take at least one Friday class
opportunities for after-school social activities

We Know This Is an Unexpected Development

We understand that some of our members have already signed up for classes based on the St. Mark’s location or the Wednesday schedule and may be unable to continue with us either due to the location or day change. We’re very sorry for the inconvenience this change may cause certain families. Overall, we believe the change will be positive for most families, but we hate to lose any of our valued members. If you need to cancel classes and your membership solely because of these changes, we will issue a complete refund for any payments you’ve made for 2023-2024. Please email [email protected].

Attend an On-Site Open House on August 7

To see the space in person, join us for an on-site Summer Open House on Monday evening, August 7, from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Although the church will still be renovating some of the rooms, you’ll be able to get a peek at the spaces where classes will be held. You’ll also be able to meet our teachers, view curriculum and materials, and get answers to your questions. We’ll provide more details soon, but for now, save the date.

We appreciate your support and your flexibility as we migrate to Roseville and Fridays. Though we’re bound to face bumps in the road, in the end we believe this will be a very positive change. If you have specific concerns or urgent questions, please email [email protected]. Otherwise, we hope to see you Tuesday night!

Blessings!

Rebecca Hope

Executive Director, Mid-Metro Academy

and the Mid-Metro Academy Board of Directors

P.S. To read descriptions of the courses we offer and to register, click HERE.