Thanks to Mississippi Valley Montessori School for their support. Located in West St. Paul since 1967, they’re an AMI-accredited Montessori school serving children up to age 6. Email us for more info.
Here’s a look at the history of one of West St. Paul’s elementary schools, Moreland.
Moreland Elementary School: 1964
Opened in 1964, Moreland Elementary School offered relief to a district so desperate for space that they crammed elementary students into Sibley High School and Grass Junior High. The building cost more than $800,000. Robert Peterson served as the first principal.
Photos of Moreland Elementary School during construction in 1963 and before a dedication in 1964. (Photo credit: Dakota County Historical Society)
First students: Former Moreland gym teacher Sally Armstrong, who taught at the school for more than 30 years, was among the first class of sixth graders to attend Moreland in 1964.
“Everything was brand new,” Armstrong said, “But it wasn’t done outside. There were mounds of dirt and no playground, no equipment, nothing. If you walked up to the front of the building, there were cows across the street. There was a little bit of a farm left, and the cows would come to the fence and moo at the students.”
Moreland Elementary School: 1988
Here’s a look at Moreland in 1988:
Community: “One reason I like Moreland so much is that it is a lot like a rural community,” said Moreland Principal Ellein McDaniel in a 1987 South West Review article. “The people really care about their children and each other. It’s a small community that really loves itself and each other.”
Moreland Arts & Health Sciences Magnet School: 2024
In 2011, ISD 197 received a $7.1 million federal grant that allowed the creation of several magnet schools and Moreland Elementary School became Moreland Arts & Health Sciences Magnet School. Here’s a look at Moreland today:
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