The Vision

The vision of the Michael Frome Academy is to develop a "green" school where the facility, operations, and educational program reflect a commitment to environmental sustainability and to preparing our young citizens to become leaders and models of exemplary, responsible citizenship, and stewards of the natural environment.

The Mission

The Michael Frome Academy will provide innovative, inquiry-based and place-based learning opportunities for K-5 students utilizing the unique environmental assets of the St. Croix River Valley and a variety of community partnerships. With support from Minnesota’s Audubon Center of the North Woods and the State Education and Environment Roundtable, MFA will promote academic achievement in the areas of science, math, technology, literacy, music, and the arts and will develop students’ social responsibility through experiential education, interdisciplinary environmental studies, and inquiry-based learning projects. MFA will strive to develop the capacity in all students for working cooperatively with others, for empathy and compassion, for thinking critically and creatively, and for becoming adept learners, community leaders, independent thinkers, and lifelong environmental stewards.

Purpose And Need

When traveling from village to village, the Masai elders of East Africa have a greeting that translates to, "How are the children?" The greeting suggests that with the welfare of the children goes the welfare of the entire community. Our own experiences tell us that children who feel loved, appreciated, and cared for are more likely to love, appreciate, and care for others and for the world they live in. Children need to feel that they belong and that they have an identity within their community. They learn how to nurture through the experience of being nurtured. They learn respect for others and for the environment through positive experiences with others in the natural environment.

Today's students typically have little exposure to the natural world. Traditional public and private schools offer occasional field trips to the outdoors, but occasional outings are not enough for students to develop knowledge and an understanding of the natural world around them and a desire to preserve its integrity. In order for children to learn to care about the future of our environment, of our world, we must care enough about them to provide them with regular and frequent educational experiences in natural settings. They must be inspired and impelled through experiences in the outdoors to learn about natural systems, about the interconnectedness and interdependence of all living and nonliving things. Young students must be nurtured to develop strong identities within their immediate community in order for them to blossom into the leaders of tomorrow and caring stewards of our natural environment.

Dr. Michael Frome, renowned conservationist, author, and environmental educator, for whom our school is named, has written this about education: "Education, with only a few exceptions, is about careers, jobs, success in a materialistic world, elitism, rather than caring and sharing; it's about facts and figures, cognitive values, rather than feeling and art derived from the heart and soul; it's about conformity, being safe in a structured society, rather than individualism, the ability to question society and to constructively influence change in direction. A change in direction is critical and imperative…. Our most precious gift to the future, if you will ask me, is a point of view embodied in the protection of wild places that no longer can protect themselves." (From the International Journal of Wilderness, August 2001: V.7 No.2.)

The founders of the Michael Frome Academy believe that if we are to develop citizenship and stewardship in our young students, all learning must begin with the place in which a student lives. Embracing the philosophy of place-based education, we believe that elementary students often lose their "sense of place" through curriculum and instruction that focuses too quickly or intensely on national or global issues. Children will develop a strong sense of place through daily educational experiences that take them out into their immediate community, outside of traditional classrooms and school buildings, and into their neighborhoods and the natural world around them. Many of today's schools fail to recognize the importance of developing each student's sense of place—that is, an authentic attachment to and feelings of belonging within their community. We believe that one of the most effective ways to instill compassion for others, the values of stewardship and preservation of our natural environment, and leadership skills in our citizens of tomorrow is to provide opportunities for young children to explore, connect with, and learn to understand and appreciate their community through experiences in natural settings.

The purpose of the Michael Frome Academy is to prepare our young citizens to become leaders and models of exemplary, responsible citizenship and stewards of the natural environment. We will also promote academic achievement in the areas of science, math, technology, literacy, music, and the arts.

What are the unique characteristics of this school?

The MFA will be innovative in its utilization of integrated-interdisciplinary, inquiry-based environmental studies, community partnerships, and place-based learning. A unique characteristic is that it will be a "green" school where the facility, operations, and educational program reflect a commitment to environmental sustainability. The school's facilities will model Low Impact Development and feature green building design, utilizing principles of sustainability and energy efficiency. The facility will serve as a model for green school buildings and a focal point for on-going research and learning within the school.

MFA student experiences learning about the environment and sustainability will include study and data collection of the building's construction and operations, such as energy usage and air and water quality. Using Environment as an Integrating Context for learning (EIC) and Project GLOBE as instructional methods and techniques, MFA will utilize the school's facility, surroundings, the community, and the natural environment as a framework and classroom for instruction. MFA will work closely with the City of Woodbury and Woodbury's Environmental Advisory Commission (EAC) to address local environmental education issues and to ensure alignment of MFA's philosophy with the Woodbury Comprehensive Plan and the city's vision for sustainability. In recent conversations with EAC, frustration was expressed because of Woodbury elementary schools' unwillingness to participate in EAC's educational outreach addressing recycling and other sustainability issues. MFA will work closely with Woodbury's EAC to provide place-based, context-based learning activities for its students.

Other innovative and unique characteristics of the school include an adapted Suzuki music program which will constitute an important feature of the general music program of MFA, where all K-5 students will study strings or piano with master teachers. Music will be taught daily as a core subject at MFA. Both general music and an adapted Suzuki music teaching approach will be featured at the school. The opportunity for every K-5 student to study a musical instrument daily through classes with a master teacher does not exist in any area public elementary school. During daily Suzuki and general music instruction, students will learn to work cooperatively with others, to think critically and creatively, and to become focused, adept learners.

Another unique characteristic of the MFA will be its emphasis on visual arts, creative writing, poetry, and drama, woven throughout the curriculum. Classroom teachers will be assisted in the development of fine arts projects with assistance from community artists and specialists.

The school will be innovative in its teaching of movement education and lifelong fitness through both indoor and outdoor experiential pursuits, including hiking, canoeing, climbing, x-country skiing, yoga, gymnastics, dance, cooperative games, and team building. Two of the founders of MFA have more than 20 years experience in designing adventure and experiential education activities for young children and have received national recognition for community-based programming designed to enhance student learning through experiential activities facilitated in natural settings.

2008-2009 School Calendar

Please click here for the MFA 2008-2009 school calendar [updated 11/08/2008].

School Supply List

Click here for the school supply list.

Daily Schedule (tentative with requested 8:10-3:05 start/end time)

Kirsten Kinzler, Director

Greetings! I am very happy to be a part of the Michael Frome Academy team as their part-time director! What an exciting initiative we are bringing to the community of Woodbury! My name is Kirsten Kinzler and I grew up in Fairfax, a small town southwest of the Twin Cities. I went on to the College of St. Benedict located in St. Joseph, MN, where I received a BA in Music Education. I have taught music, technology, and gifted and talented enrichment classes in private, public and charter school settings for over 15 years. My ‘boyz’ – Tim, Damian, Dominic and Devin, and I have made our home in Hutchinson. I made my debut in charter schools in April of 2002 when I was hired as the start-up coordinator for a charter school in Hutchinson. I have helped many other charter schools since then through their start-up phase and love everything about it! (except maybe the lack of sleep!) In my ‘spare’ time, I love to play piano, read, play with my busy boyz and work on special projects. I am passionate about offering families choice in educating their children and believe that Michael Frome Academy will be a great place for children!

Teacher Bios

Amanda Snyder: Hello families of MFA! Most of you know me from the phone and email, as I'm serving as the Interim Director of the school this summer. This fall I will be teaching the K/1 group of kids, and can't be more excited! A little bit more about me: I live in St. Paul Park with my fiancé (we'll be getting married this January) and two cats- Rex and Tia, I graduated from the University of Wisconsin, River Falls in 2005 and will be attending graduate school this fall at Concordia, and I'm the oldest of four children (my baby sister is off to college this fall!). As far as teaching experience, my first two years out of college I taught fourth grade and second grade at a Charter School in St. Paul. Last year I taught first grade up in the very small town of Royalton, and now I'm back to beautiful and busy Woodbury! I'm so excited to be a part of this wonderful school, and look forward to working with all of you as the year progresses.

Kendra Hunding: Greetings MFA families! My name is Kendra Hunding and I will be teaching the "big kids" (2nd and 3rd graders) of the Michael Frome Academy. I live in the capital city of St. Paul with my husband Rich, a son, Rhys - about to go to college, a daughter, Taylor – just back from college, Buckley the dog and 3 chinchillas named and Monty, Chuchie and Martine. I am a licensed teacher and have a Master's degree in Natural Science/Environmental Education from Hamline University. I have spent the last few years teaching classes for school groups, writing curriculum and training teachers at the Science Museum of Minnesota. I am very excited to be a part of what promises to be a very special school that offers unique opportunities to students, teachers and parents. I am looking forward to the many adventures we will have both indoors and out as we form strong attachments to natural places, other living things and each other as a community.

Shawna Traver: My name is Shawna Traver and I will be teaching the half-day kindergarteners and music class at MFA. I am very excited to be a part of Michael Frome Academy. I grew up in Wisconsin in an environmental family. My mom was a naturalist and my parents regularly help with prairie restoration and prescribed burns. I came to Minnesota for school and love it. I graduated from Hamline University and was in musical productions and a member of the A Cappella choir. In the choir, we traveled to Europe to do a concert tour in Poland, Czech Republic, Austria and Germany. I taught in Brooklyn Park for the past three years and I looked forward to working with the families of MFA.

Heidi Fuller: Hello! My name is Heidi Fuller. I am the Special Education teacher at Michael Frome Academy. I come from a large family and grew up in Rogers, Minnesota. I recently graduated from St. Cloud State University and am excited to begin my first year of teaching at MFA. I feel Michael Frome is a great school where dedication and motivation is key to helping young students become life-long learners.

More Information

Michael Frome Academy, a tuition-free K-5 public charter school opening fall of 2008, is located in a new facility in Woodbury, Minnesota at Woodbury Xing (next to the Math and Science Academy).

Please click here for our Frequently Asked Questions.

If you have other questions please send an email to info@mnmfa.org or call (651) 274-5845.

The Michael From Academy facility and mailing address is the following:

8500 Woodbury Crossing
Woodbury, MN 55125

Click here for a map. Please note that Woodbury Crossing is just off of Pioneer Dr. This map does not show Pioneer Dr. at the Radio Dr. intersection. However, coming from the north, the street signs at this intersection are labeled Afton Rd. to the west/right and Pioneer Dr. to the east/left.

When coming from the north on Radio Dr., the academy is past Kowalski's on Valley Creek Rd., and past the YMCA on Central Park Pl. Then turn left/east on Pioneer Dr. and Woodbury Crossing will be the next right.

The Michael Frome Academy Board

The Michael Frome Academy Budget

Click here to see the Revenue and Expenditure Budget for 2008-2009.

Board Meeting Agendas

Click here to see a listing of the board meeting agendas.

Board Meeting Minutes

Click here to see a listing of available board meeting minutes. Board minutes must be approved and corrected at subsequent meetings so typically there is a 2-3 week delay after the meeting was held.