Community education news

Community Education is a department of the public school that helps connect school to community. We promote learning for all age levels. Our mission at Cloquet Community Education is "To promote, provide and facilitate learning opportunities and social activities to serve individuals and families, while bridging generations, inspiring collaboration and building community."

In Cloquet, we are fortunate to enjoy a very robust community education department. We offer a broad, diverse range of programming to help meet a variety of needs.

The first experience that many families and young children have with the Cloquet Schools is with one of our Early Education programs: Time for Tots, Early Childhood Family Education, Li'L Lumberjacks and Li'L Thunder licensed learning centers. Our focus on children and youth also includes aquatics and recreation, afterschool enrichment and middle school Discovery Club. We also offer driver education for teens. These programs alone offer thousands of opportunities each year for the children and youth of the community.

Through a special partnership with the City of Cloquet, several of the youth programs are able to offer expanded programming. We also operate the Beach swim area at Pinehurst Park in the summer, which is a hub for families in the entire region.

Community Education promotes lifelong learning through adult opportunities, such as aquatics, recreation and enrichment classes on topics from dog obedience to oil painting, and much more. Classes are for adults of all ages. We also offer a very active lineup of classes and activities for adults with disabilities.

Our funding comes from a combination of fees, levies and grants. Some of our children and youth classes receive partial subsidies, allowing us to keep fees low.

The adult enrichment classes are fully fee-based, with the focus on creating opportunities in the area for residents to learn, grow and connect with the community.

Learn more about Cloquet Community Education in our "LumberLog"

publication, which is mailed out three times per year. Check out our website at

http://www.isd94.org, or find us on Facebook.

Ruth Reeves is the Cloquet Community education director.