Empower Learning Center

05/14/2024

Does anyone recognize this medallion? It was left at Empower during Night School. We would really like to get it back to whomever it belongs to.

01/26/2024

Empower Learning Center would like to congratulate Savanna on her graduation! She has the honor of being Empower's first graduate of the year and she definitely earned it. Great job, Savanna!

11/10/2023

Empower Learning Center is proud to share this article from the Inaajimowin about one of our current students who was recently elected as a State Officer for MAAP STARS, representing student voice in alternative education for the state of Minnesota. Nindaanis Benjamin, you will do great things.

Nindaanis Benjamin receives honor of State Officer for MAAP STARS By Vivian LaMoore, Inaajimowin Editor When a shy and timid 17-year-old young lady who was about to give up on her education a few short months ago transforms seemingly overnight to become one of the Hinckley-Finlayson school dis

10/11/2023

Good morning! I know we have been a bit silent on social media lately as we try to settle into our new routine with staff changes, but that's not to say that Empower has not had a lot of amazing things happening! Stay tuned for a really cool story about one of our student's recent accomplishments.

Have a great day!

06/01/2023

June 1, 2023

Greetings to our Empower Learners and Supporters,

Somehow we are already at the end of the school year. Time has flown by and so much has happened this year! We have had many graduates, field trips, laughs, and so much growth during this past school year.

We were so proud to celebrate our graduates last week and are excited to continue to watch them succeed as they move on. A huge congratulations goes to Alecia, Elijah, Rachel, Mariah, Haley, Ameed, Jase, Mackira, Bennett, Phoebe, Westin, Kenzee, Angus, Keatin, Sharree, Dalton, Camron, Nevaeh and Dylan.

We would also like to give a big THANK YOU to all of our parents, guardians, and supporters for continuing to support Empower and your learners. Without you, Empower would not have the same level of success as it does today.

Thank you to everyone who came to our End of the Year Picnic, we had so much fun playing games, giving awards, eating and hanging out with all of you! Our learners had a great time planning and preparing for this awesome event.

For anyone who is interested in summer school, there is a form in the high school office to fill out ASAP. Summer school is June 20-30 this year.

The first day of school for next school year is Tuesday, September 5th. Be sure to mark your calendars and be on the lookout for the back to school letter in August. Intake meetings will be scheduled for the end of August.

Thank you again for all of your support and for a great school year, have a great summer!

05/12/2023

Empower Learning Center would like to send out a huge CONGRATULATIONS to the MAAP STARS team of Westin, Nathan, and Jase. These young men participated in a 2-day student leadership competition in Mankato last week. Individually, Nathan earned a Silver Medal in the Employment Interview category. Westin earned a Gold Medal in the Public Speaking Category. As a team, they won their first round of a Life Smarts tournament. And as a team they also earned a Gold Medal in the Team Management Decision Making category with a score of 98% which placed them in the top 6 out of 30 teams and qualified them for the finals! We are so proud of everything these three accomplished. Great job, guys!

03/24/2023

March 24, 2023

Greetings to our Empower Learners and Supporters,

Our learners have been working very hard the past couple of weeks! We have quite a few learners who are just about ready to finish the last of their credits, and one who did! Congratulations to Ameed for completing his credits for graduation! We are already at the end of 3rd quarter, which means there is only 9 weeks of school left. Learners have been going over their credit plans to be able to meet their goals by the end of the year.

We had the Big Ideas Truck stop by Empower and some of our learners were able to try welding, heavy equipment operating, and woodworking through virtual reality. We have also continued to help with the food pickup for the Backpack Program. We are looking forward to spring break and hopefully some melting snow in the near future!

Upcoming Events:
March 24: End of 3rd Quarter
March 30-31: No School- Spring Break
April 7: No School- Good Friday
April 12: Construct Tomorrow
May 25: End of Year Picnic
May 26: Graduation Practice
May 28: Graduation
May 29: No School- Memorial Day
June 1: Last Day of School

02/21/2023

Thank you, Senator Rarick, for taking the time to meet with staff and students from Empower Learning Center during the MAAP STARS Legislative Day. Pictured are Christeva Furey and students visiting with Sen Rarick last week. Sen Rarick always enjoys learning about the successes in this program. Thanks to Haley, Angus, Ameed, and Jase for talking with him about the program's success and funding.

01/27/2023

January 27, 2023

Greetings to our Empower Learners and Supporters,

The past two weeks have been productive! Congratulations to Mariah for graduating! A few learners have started a new project where they are creating their own bank and store to rival the current Empower Bank and Store. We have also started our studio remodel project, and made custom album covers to hang on the wall as decoration. Last Thursday, Empower took a mini field trip to the sledding hill and had a fun time sledding for a while!

We are excited to announce that we have begun planning and decorating for the Valentine’s Tea! The Christmas Tea will now be held as a Valentine’s Tea on Tuesday, February 14. All family and supporters are invited to come enjoy tea, appetizers, and other treats along with some fun games! We hope to see you all there!

There are a few other fun events coming up including Legislative Day where learners will take a trip to the state capitol to tour and lobby for alternative schools. We will also be taking a skiing/snowboarding trip to Trollhaugen, and heading to Construct Tomorrow where students can try out and learn about many different careers in the trades.

Upcoming Events:
February 9 and 10: No School
February 15: MAAP STARS Legislative Day
February 20: No School
February 21: Skiing/Snowboarding trip to Trollhaugen
February 23: Construct Tomorrow

01/13/2023

Greetings to our Empower Learners and Supporters,

We don’t have much to report as the past few weeks have been filled with many snow days and Christmas break. We hope you all had a happy and restful break. We are very glad to be back at Empower and to get back into our routines.

So far in 2023, we already have a graduate! Congratulations to Rachel for completing all of her credits for graduation! Learners have created goal sheets for the new year to help keep them on track, and we have begun planning field trips, guest speakers, and projects for this year. Some representatives from the Minnesota National Guard have been here to help some of our learners study for their future careers in the National Guard! Overall, we have had a good start to the year.

Upcoming Events:
January 16: No School
January 20: End of First Semester
January 23: No School
February 9 and 10: No School
February 15: MAAP STARS Legislative Day
February 20: No School
February 23: Construct Tomorrow

Remember all events are updated on our website.

We encourage your continued support of our learners in their efforts to make it to school on time and reach their academic goals.

12/23/2022

December 22, 2022

Greetings to our Empower Learners and Supporters,

The last few weeks have been busy! Learners have been hustling to meet their end of the year credit goals. A few of our highlights from December include Santa Days where learners volunteered their time helping with the kids craft tables, getting to measure punching strength and joust when the National Guard came to the high school, starting to work at the thrift store sorting donations, making fun TikToks (), completing workout challenges, decorated for the holidays, started a chess club, played on the oculus, and planned for our Christmas Tea.

Unfortunately, due to “Snowmageddon 2022”, our Annual Christmas Tea has been postponed. The new date is Thursday, January 12, 2023. Mark your calendars, all families and supporters and welcomed and encouraged to attend! We will have appetizers, games, and lots of fun!

We at Empower hope that everyone has a happy and healthy holiday break, and we will see you in the new year! School will begin again on Wednesday, January 4, 2023.

Upcoming Events:
December 23-30: No School
January 2-3: No School
January 12: Rescheduled Christmas (New Years) Tea
January 16: No School
January 20: End of First Semester

Remember all events are updated on our website.

We encourage your continued support of our learners in their efforts to make it to school on time and reach their academic goals.

12/04/2022