Expand Your Child’s Learning Opportunities!


River Grove is a K-6, tuition-free public charter school in Marine on St. Croix, MN, just minutes north of Stillwater, MN. River Grove’s community school structure, natural surroundings, and small school environment create the ideal blend of social, developmental, and academic benefits for your child. Read our latest news here!
- Our highly educated, experienced, and enthusiastic teachers mean your kids are academically challenged and ready to succeed in their next steps
- Supportive, small school setting
- Enriched band and orchestra meets twice per week and starts in 4th grade
- Extra time at lunch and to play or explore outdoors
- Natural setting takes learning beyond the classroom
- Free busing for District 834 residents
Into the Outdoors

Children need a broad variety of learning experiences and settings. Our stunning forest campus gets students out of traditional classrooms, turning our many alternative learning spaces into a springboard for everyday curriculum. [ READ MORE ]
A Small Community School with Experienced and Dedicated Teachers
Our engaged families and community members partner with our exceptional staff to ensure students succeed academically; are supported socially, emotionally, and physically; and learn in a safe and healthy environment. [ READ MORE ]
A Place Where Children Thrive
Our teacher-powered school empowers your child's educators to determine the curriculum and delivery, enabling innovative, responsive, and personalized teaching methods. Why? Because students are happier and more engaged in their own learning! [ READ MORE ]
Check Out River Grove's Merchandise Store!
Options for both youth and adults include t-shirts, sweatshirts, fleece, masks, and more! As a great bonus, the school receives 15% of all sales as a donation back to the school. [ READ MORE ]
COVID-19 Info for 2021-22
Minnesota schools received updated COVID-19 response guidance for 2021-22 on July 28, 2021. Please read more here.
Next Board of Directors Meeting: Tuesday, August 10, 2021, at 6:00 p.m.
The August 2021 meeting will be in-person in the Commons building on the River Grove campus. COVID-19 protocols will be discussed and may be voted on, with the understanding that the school may not have the authority to make decisions related to certain things like masks and other COVID safety measures if the state issues requirements.
- Contact the board via email with questions and concerns ahead of the meeting (go here for email information).
- To request to address the board during the community comment portion of the meeting, please email the Board Chair or Vice Chair. Please note the School Board’s Public Comment Policy (go here for link).
Project-Based Learning is Thriving at River Grove
Delivering essential standards-based curriculum in a way that connects with students

Over the summer, River Grove’s Teaching Team has collaborated in depth to expand Project-Based Learning (“PBL”) at our K-6 charter school, located just outside Marine on St. Croix, MN. The enhanced educational platform is built around the concept that students learn by engaging in real-world and personally meaningful projects.
Why PBL?
Educators increasingly recognize that “the real world” — every kind of workplace, home, and even recreational setting — is filled with projects that require analysis and solution from many angles. Exposing kids to a multidisciplinary problem-solving process is a great motivator for elementary-age students, who thrive on hands-on activities. Simply put, PBL gets kids more involved in learning!
How is this PBL Program Perfectly Suited for River Grove?
Building on existing plans, our teachers have designed a program for 2022-23 in which all students will take part in two large scale, age-appropriate group projects — one per semester. The projects will be centered around the concept of “Seasons of River Grove,” covering topics such as “The Winter Forest,” “The Sky Above,” “Growing Things,” “Our Town,” “Our River Grove Home,” and “Rivers and Dams.” Standards-based core curricula — earth and physical sciences, local history, math, reading and writing, music, and art — and are all incorporated into answering the “Big Questions” that are posed at the start of each project.

Frequently during the school year, local community organizations and experts will come to campus to talk with students, or students will venture out on field trips to informative, pertinent sites such as the St. Croix River, museums, farms, or wildlife centers. Friday afternoons will be focused, uninterrupted blocks of time for students to focus on current projects.
Each student will work in groups, learning 21st century skills of collaboration, using important roles such as researcher, recorder, timekeeper, or materials manager. Students will also find time to work independently, bringing their contributions back to the group. River Grove’s philosophy of “PRIDE” will play center stage during the whole process:
- Perseverance (have a growth mindset and don’t give up);
- Respect (treat yourself, others, and your environment with kindness);
- Integrity (do the right thing even when no one’s there);
- Discovery (be curious!);
- Excellence (always do YOUR best).
Ta-Da! Presenting a Showcase of Learning
Two River Grove school-wide celebrations will be held during the academic year for students to show products, share a publication, give performances, or do demonstrations. We look forward to sharing our students’ successes with parents, families, and our community! Showcase dates will be announced after the start of the school year.
Take it Outside! Teaching Standards-Based Curriculum in Nature
River Grove continues to lead the local outdoor education movement by participating in a series of retreats to be held at Warner Nature Center, Marine on St. Croix.
Three retreats — led by teams from Hamline University, St. Catherine University, and the University of Minnesota — will advance skills in delivering standards-based curriculum in an outdoor setting.

Led by a team of researchers, teacher educators, scientists, and education advocates (representing Hamline University’s School of Education and Leadership, Freshwater, and the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment), River Grove’s K-6 teachers will join other educators from around the region in a professional development opportunity that will benefit students, teachers, and administrations.
Beginning in late summer 2022, the three immersive “teacher field school” retreats will be held at Warner Nature Center in Marine on St. Croix, MN. Nature right outside our doors gives educators opportunities that are not found inside a classroom. It is well documented that outdoor education for children leads to approaching topics with more curiosity, helping students advance as learners with life-long skill sets. Working as a team during the seminars, teachers and school leaders will investigate how to align existing curriculum to nature-based teaching practices.
Specific topics will include:

- Meeting academic standards
- Deepening an understanding of multidisciplinary teaching
- Grounding work in equity-oriented approaches
- Gaining practice in creating high-impact, nature-based lessons and activities
At the retreats, teachers will draw from existing curriculum and lessons. They will learn strategies for using nature as a context to deepen engagement, fully explore any content subject, and gain practice in multidisciplinary instruction to increase academic engagement to improve student outcomes. The teachers will set individual and team goals, and they will make plans to share their learning with colleagues.
The goal is to equip teachers with tools, skills, and the confidence to use whatever context and natural setting available to them to deepen students’ engagement in any subject. This work will rejuvenate and revitalize the teachers’ passion for teaching by providing professional development based in River Grove’s mission and vision.
Since the school’s inception, River Grove has been making use of the many 900-acre Wilder Forest amenities to take kids outside for learning. Our teachers are excited to put the retreat’s innovations into practice and continue to lead the local outdoor project-based education movement.
Current 2022-23 COVID Info
Updated July 27, 2022
This info may be updated frequently.
Dear River Grove Community,
Throughout the COVID pandemic, River Grove’s COVID Task Force has carefully considered recommendations and requirements from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Minnesota Departments of Health and Education. Putting the health and safety of our students, staff, families, and community has been our number one priority and concern. As we have done throughout, River Grove will continue to implement these recommendations as best fit the conditions of our school and continue to use them as a baseline towards our policy.
Thank you,
The COVID Response Team
Links to the Minnesota Department of Health
- Parent and Caregiver Information for COVID-19 for Schools and Child Care from the MDH
- MDH COVID-19 ISOLATION GUIDE FLOWCHART
- What to do if you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19* or have tested positive for COVID-19 (regardless of vaccination status or symptoms)
- MDH COVID-19 QUARANTINE GUIDE FLOWCHART
- What to do if you had close contact with a person with COVID-19
- MDH COVID-19 ISOLATION GUIDE FLOWCHART
Back to School Info for 2021-22
Welcome to 2021-22 at River Grove!
Please go here to our Back to School page for the most updated information.
Meet River Grove!
Before/After School Care Interest Survey 2022-23
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Board News July 2022
Monthly Friday Teacher Collaboration Periods Approved by the School Board Our teaching staff has committed to some very exciting initiatives for this coming school year, including school-wide thematic curriculum mapping, monthly field trips and/or community expert connections, and community service projects. We plan to host two school-wide celebrations of learning…