Level Up Academy opened in the fall of 2015.  A group of parents and grandparents in White Bear Lake, MN, were inspired by their childrens’ experiences in a classroom setting that used online tools and games to personalize learning. 

One of the grandparents happened to be a Minnesota legislator who was familiar with Minnesota's innovative charter school law.  She created the Level Up Academy founding board, which included parents, grandparents, and influential members of the Minnesota legislature and charter school movement. 

The founding board designed Level Up Academy to personalize learning for students with an intentional use of technology.  Click thIs link to see a Ted Talk from a student whose experience inspired Level Up Academy: 

Charter schools in Minnesota are free and public schools that receive state and federal funding.  Instead of having a geographical boundary like a typical district school, charter schools in Minnesota have a particular area of educational  innovation.  Level Up Academy’s charter is for personalized learning with intentional use of technology. 

At Level Up Academy, we use a blended learning model to personalize learning.

We use Learner Profiles and assessments to target individual student needs. Then, while teachers deliver instruction to small groups of students with common needs, students use online tools and hands-on activities to practice skills at just the right level.

Learner Profile

Each student completes a strengths assessment and interest profile so we can understand and teach each unique child.

Assessment

Students take the Star Assessment and teachers do informal assessments to create a personalized pathway for each student.  

Small Group Instruction

Students with similar needs meet with the teacher for small group direct instruction.

Personalized Pathways

While others are meeting with the teacher, students use online tools personalized to their needs. 

Games & Activities

Students practice skills with games and hands-on activities.  

Projects

Students work on projects to apply and deepen their learning.  

Trophies & Badges

As students learn content and master new skills, they earn digital trophies and badges.

Digital Portfolio

Students share their best work in their Digital Portfolio. 

Mentoring

Teachers meet weekly with students to monitor progress and provide support.   

Student Centered Conferences

Families meet with teachers to celebrate learning, set goals and provide support.

Learning Celebrations

Students celebrate learning with classrooms, families and our community during learning celebrations!

Students in 6-8th grade are invited to enroll in our Fusion program.  In the Fusion program, students spend 3 days every week learning at school with their peers. 

They spend 2 days learning at home independently.  On the days when Fusion students are at school, we emphasize collaborative project-based learning and social emotional learning. 

On days when Fusion students are working at home, we emphasize independent, focused work time on students’ personalized learning pathways. 

See below for a detailed explanation.

Our school day runs from 8:30 a.m.  - 3:00 p.m.  

All synchronous instruction in the virtual program will happen between 8:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. 

For the Live and Fusion programs, arrival time is 8:15 - 8:30 a.m.  Dismissal time is 3:00 - 3:15 p.m.  

Yes!  In our Live and Fusion programs, students alternate between classes in our Arts Studio and our STEAM Lab.  In our Arts Studio, students have access to guitars, piano keyboards, and a wide range of visual art materials. 

In our STEAM lab, they have access to 3-D printers, robotics and a wide range of building and engineering materials.  In our Virtual program, students participate in an Arts curriculum online, and have access to STEAM challenges that can be completed with household materials.  

Yes!  In our Virtual program, students participate in physical education through an online course and a physical activity log.

In our Live and Fusion programs, students have physical education classes in our new gym 2-3 times a week.

Yes!

Before and After School Care

Level Up Academy is excited to offer Level Up Club, our before and after school program. Level Up Club is located at Level Up Academy (LUA).

Level Up is a licensed certified daycare, and has been approved to operate by the LUA School Board.

The hours of Level Up Club are from 6:30am -8:15 am and 3:15 pm – 5:30 pm on school days.

What is the “Level Up Club” Program?

Level Up Club provides a safe environment and use our #weCODE expectations of Cooperation, Ownership, Do your Best and Everyone Matters. Kids are given an opportunity to explore their own interests, participate in physical activities, express themselves through arts and crafts and socialize with their peers.

Level Up Club offers extra help with homework, educational & fun activities for reasonable & competitive rates.

Schedule for a typical day:

6:30 – 8:15 a.m. Free play/Breakfast/Game Time

3:15 – 5:30 p.m. Free play/Snack/Homework Time

Yes. We are a public school approved by the MN Dept. of Education.  Like all public schools in Minnesota, special education services are a part of our programming.  We have dedicated special education teachers and service providers to meet the needs of students with IEPs.

No!  We believe that children and families should engage in exercise and family activities in the evening, instead of spending the evening doing homework.  This will help set the foundation for a healthy work-life balance for our children in the future.  If families would like to help their child make progress in their learning at home, they may talk to their child’s teacher to set up a plan to work on their personalized learning pathway at home. 

Yes!  All students in kindergarten through eighth grade have at least one 30 minute recess every day.  We know it’s important for all students to get outside and move around every day.  Our school property has 5 acres of green space, and we take advantage of our field and backyard to take movement breaks and  learn outside as much as possible!

Yes! 

In addition to the opportunities for outdoor learning on our own campus, we take field trips that emphasize outdoor education. 

Some of our favorite destinations are Tamarack Nature Center, the White Bear Lake YMCA, and William O’Brien State Park. 

Our middle school students culminate every year with an overnight tent camping trip that includes kayaking, hiking, campfires and s’mores!

No, we do not have the capacity to offer sports at this time.  However, the state of Minnesota allows charter school students to participate in their home district in any activities that are not offered at the charter school. 

We have students who live in the White Bear Lake School District, for example, who participate in sports at Sunrise Middle School. 

Level Up Academy Middle School is a small community where students receive a lot of personal attention from their teachers. 

Our middle school students say that teachers are not only available to  help with their learning, but they also take the time to support students’ social emotional needs.  

Our teachers supervise lunch and recess, and make sure our #weCODE values, Cooperation, Ownership, Do Your Best, and Everyone Matters are followed even during unstructured times of the school day. 

Our teachers pay attention to the social support that students need to have healthy relationships and to feel emotionally safe at school.  When we see conflicts arise, we use restorative practices to help students problem-solve, which means that we keep problems from escalating.  

Because we are a small community, students work with the same two or three classroom teachers throughout the school day.  Teachers are able to build strong relationships with students and carefully monitor their academic progress in order to provide the right level of support and challenge for each student.

Yes!  We keep in touch with our alumni every year and take their feedback seriously. Students who go to large district high schools tell us that at Level Up Academy they learn HOW they learn best and develop effective study skills and time management strategies. 

Because students become more self-directed in their learning in middle school and meet with teachers during weekly mentor meetings, our alumni tell us they know how to advocate for themselves with their high school teachers. 

We also have a lot of students who go to charter schools in high school.  Many students find that they thrive in schools where relationships and 21st Century learning are emphasized like they are at LUA.

We hope so! 

Level Up Academy families tell us they’d like to stay through high school!  The planning and approval process for opening a high school in the state of Minnesota is extensive. 

We’ve begun the process that will likely be a multi-year project, beginning with an application and multiple rounds of feedback from the Minnesota Department of Education.

The earliest we would be able to open a high school is the 2025-26 school year.  We’re planning to open a Virtual model first, then expand to Fusion and Live high school programs.  

Yes. 

In the Live and Fusion programs, our K-2 students use iPads and our 3-8th grade students use Chromebooks.  

In the Virtual program we provide all students with new Chromebooks free of charge for use during the school year. 

Students are welcome to use their own technology if that is preferred. 

Although tablets are great tools for learning, we do not recommend tablets for the virtual program.

No. 

In our Live and Fusion programs, students receive small group instruction, hands-on practice and project-based learning in addition to learning with technology. 

All K-8 students have a 30 minute recess and teachers often use our 5 acres of green space to learn outside.  

Our virtual program is designed to be flexible and developmentally appropriate for all learners.  Each day your child will have a few mandatory live sessions. 

However, the majority of the day is flexible, asynchronous work.  This flexibility allows families to set their own schedules and allows your children the freedom to set breaks as needed.  

Yes.

We are a public school approved by the MN Dept. of Education.  Like all public schools in Minnesota, special education services are a part of our programming. 

We have dedicated special education teachers and service providers to meet the needs of students with IEPs in all of our programs.  

Yes. We are a public school approved by the MN Dept. of Education. 

Like all public schools in Minnesota, special education services are a part of our programming.  We have dedicated special education teachers and service providers to meet the needs of students with IEPs.

Computer Science is taught K-8th grade at LUA in our Live, Fusion and Virtual pathways.  Our computer science curriculum includes the following components:

Digital Citizenship:

We teach students the skills necessary to be safe and responsible citizens online.  

Digital Skills:

Students learn to be efficient and effective with a wide variety of digital tools, including spreadsheets, slides, graphic design, etc.  

Computer Programming:

Beginning with block coding in the younger grades and progressing into computer programming languages, all students at Level Up Academy learn computer programming.  

Computational Thinking:

Online and offline, Level Up Academy students practice the kinds of thinking that computer scientists do, such as creating algorithms, debugging, and decomposition.