Where children thrive in the natural world.

River Grove Elementary is a tuition-free, nature-based public charter school in Minnesota serving students in kindergarten through fifth grade (K–5). Our community-supported structure and small school environment nurture the whole child through outdoor learning, hands-on exploration, and meaningful connections with nature.

River Grove Elementary students sit on a wooded hillside near the water while creating artwork with watercolor paints during an outdoor learning activity.

Learning goes beyond the classroom at our one-of-a-kind school in the forest.

Our approach to education allows students to spend a significant portion of their day outdoors. In addition to our unique indoor and outdoor classrooms, students have access to more than 900 acres of forest, where prairies, bogs, lakes, and trails become a catalyst for exploration, discovery, and growth across all subject areas.

  • Four elementary students wearing matching green River Grove Elementary shirts pose together outdoors with smiles on their faces.
  • River Grove Elementary students and teachers participate in an outdoor lesson in a snowy pine forest, experiencing learning in the school’s natural environment.
  • An outdoor classroom tent sits among the trees on the River Grove Elementary campus, creating a nature-based learning space surrounded by the forest.
  • River Grove Elementary students participate in a mucking activity along the grassy shoreline of a campus lake, collecting and examining materials from the water.
  • Two River Grove Elementary students smile in front of a wooded area where a large stick fort is being built on the school’s forest campus.
  • A River Grove Elementary teacher leads a lesson with students on a wooded trail near May’s Lake on the school’s outdoor campus.
  • A River Grove Elementary student sits on a wooded trail drawing and writing in a journal while surrounded by the natural environment of the school’s forest campus.
  • An elementary student examines a leaf on the forest floor while recording observations in a journal at River Grove Elementary.
  • Three River Grove Elementary students pose inside a large hollow tree trunk surrounded by the natural forest on campus.
  • A River Grove Elementary student smiles while holding an earthworm during a hands-on outdoor learning experience on the school’s forest campus.
  • Five River Grove Elementary students use dip nets to collect and observe aquatic life along the shoreline of a campus pond during an outdoor science lesson.
  • Three elementary students stand in tall grass beside a muddy pond shoreline holding dip nets during a hands-on nature investigation.
  • Four elementary students look into the clear water of a campus lake while standing on a dock surrounded by the natural landscape.
  • Four River Grove Elementary students stand beside a large stick fort built from branches in a wooded area of the school campus.
  • A group of students poses together on a wooden deck overlooking the natural surroundings of the River Grove Elementary campus.

“My children are thriving at River Grove. The hands-on approach engages their natural curiosity and love of learning. I love that they are excited to go to school every single day. It means the world to me that the staff at River Grove care deeply about my children’s education, but also their social-emotional development and wellbeing.

— Emma Walker, Parent of 2 River Grove Students