Charter school damaged during Minneapolis riots to open site at Mall of America

A Minneapolis charter school damaged during the riots following the death of George Floyd will be opening a site at the Mall of America this fall, according to a mall spokesperson.

The Minnesota Transitions Charter School district offices and MTS Secondary school site, which were located near the Minneapolis Police Department's Third Precinct, were destroyed during the unrest. This left about 150 students in grades 7-12 without a school building for the upcoming year.

Now, their new school site will be a 17,000-square foot space on Level 3 North at the Mall of America. IKEA is donating furnishings for the space and TCF Bank is providing the funds for technology needs.

The school is planning to begin the school year using a distance learning model through at least Oct. 14 due to COVID-19 concerns. However, the space opens on Sept. 8 to staff and will be open to support students in need of more individualized learning. 

According to mall and MTCS officials, the new space at the mall opens up opportunities for new business learning opportunities and even possible internships.

“This new Mall of America school site allows us to do things differently by offering a variety of learning options for students who have not thrived in a traditional school model," said Brian Erlandson, Superintendent for MTCS in a statement. "Mall of America represents the center for our community, and we are beyond thrilled to enter into this unique partnership that we believe will create endless possibilities for our students.”

Rebuilding efforts at the damaged building are underway, but according to a mall spokeswoman, the hope is to keep the MTCS location at the mall.