FAQs

Charter schools are a lot more like traditional public schools than they are different. Charter schools are free and must adhere to all federal and state laws and department of education rules regulating public education. As with traditional public schools, charter schools are governed by an elected school board. In addition, charter schools also report to the authority of an independent oversight organization commonly referred to as an authorizer. The authorizer for FIT Academy is the Minnesota Guild. One significant difference with traditional public schools is that charter schools tend to be much smaller which allows for a more flexible, close knit and interpersonal experience. Whereas traditional public schools typically enroll most students within their geographical boundary, charter schools do not have geographical boundaries. Instead, students and families often choose a charter school based on the school’s theme.

FIT Academy believes that children need a foundation of health and fitness in order to succeed academically! Our theme is to Integrate Fitness, Intellect, and Teamwork throughout the educational experience. This begins with instilling a mindest in our school community that recognizes the value of health and fitness in preparing students for life. Academically, we strive to integrate literacy across content areas while providing students with a strong foundation of knowledge that will prepare them for life.

As a public school, FIT Academy must accept an enrollment application from any student who applies, regardless of their background or where they live. The school board may set enrollment limits for the school and the school must follow a state required process for managing enrollment applications in the case that there are more applicants than seats at any grade level. This process is called the Enrollment Lottery. Our lottery takes place in early February and the lottery only takes place if we have more applicants than seats, otherwise, all students are enrolled. You will find much more information on this topic under Student Application on our website.

As required by state law, all public school teachers (including charter schools) must be state licensed. We are also required to follow all state requirements including adhering to state academic standards and participating in required assessments. One major difference with a traditional public school is that we have a much smaller school community which allows teachers more flexibility in adapting to student needs in their teaching. This small and focused community also allows us to integrate our theme of health, fitness, and teamwork throughout the school.

Research shows that physical activity enhances learning so increasing physical activity actually improves our students’ academic performance. Our goal is to increase the areas of health, fitness, and physical education to levels that are more representative of what is recommended by the United States Department of Health. Their recommendation is that children engage in at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day, but–unfortunately–most schools fall way short of that. We add 30 minutes to our school day to ensure that we can have at least 30 minutes of dedicated health, fitness, and physical activity time every day without reducing time for other academic areas.

A Word About Academic Rigor at FIT Academy….

Some of you may wonder what exactly is Academic Rigor and how it relates to our mission.

FIT Academy’s mission states:
FIT Academy believes students must have a healthy foundation to achieve academic excellence. Our mission is to provide a rigorous academic experience by offering a balanced approach to the mental, physical, and emotional development of our students.

Our purpose as a school is to advance our students intellectually and academically. Our mission reflects that it is scientifically proven that increasing the health and fitness of our students will enhance intellectual and academic development. As such, while our mission is unique in that it recognizes and emphasizes the importance of health and fitness, the goal is still to serve the intellectual and academic development of students and that is where Academic Rigor comes in.

What is Rigor and What Does It Mean?

While Academic Rigor is difficult to define and may look differently in various settings, it generally means creating a learning environment that is consistently challenging and encourages students to apply foundational learning to higher level and creative thinking. Academic rigor also reflects the belief that students must be challenged and stretched in order to grow academically. This means that being challenged to work hard and overcome adversity is an expected part of rigor.

No Pain, No Gain!

Ironically, this old saying has become widely accepted as it relates to physical activity while viewed with skepticism when it comes to academic work. Just as we know that growth in physical fitness requires straining, working through discomfort, and increasing challenge, the same is true of intellectual and academic growth. It is therefore normal for students to have homework, feel academic strain or discomfort, including learning from struggles along the way. This is part of maintaining a growth or aspirational mindest, knowing that overcoming today’s struggles will lead to tomorrow’s growth and future successes.

We ask our families to reflect on this in supporting students at home. Just as athletes need cheerleaders and coaches to encourage them through the challenges of day to day training, so do our students in their intellectual and academic endeavors!

As with all things, FIT Academy approaches Academic Rigor from a perspective of balance. This means that our purpose is to challenge and provide opportunities for students to grow academically while balancing other aspects of their lives. What this looks like at FIT Academy is that students will regularly be expected to complete a reasonable amount of homework and all of our students in middle and high school are scheduled for a study hall providing them the opportunity to do so primarily at school.

We integrate health, fitness and physical education in many ways that will not disrupt but rather strengthen academic development.  We provide a comprehensive health and physical education program as well as a weekly field-trip to a sports facility for one hour of extended activity. Our classroom teachers implement simple but effective techniques to reinforce physical activity throughout the day such as brain breaks which research proves increases brain activation and learning.

No, our focus is on valuing health, fitness, and physical activity and athletic skill has no bearing on the experience that a student will have. Students will be expected to participate in daily physical activity and regardless of their ability level, as long as they are willing to participate, they will benefit from the program.

Yes, FIT Academy does require that students dress in a uniform that meets the school requirements. Read more information about our school uniform requirements.

School Calendar & Daily Schedule

Our calendar is based on the District 196 calendar with a few modifications:

Daily Schedule for 2022-23 for all grades
Start Time: 7:45am
End Time: 2:45pm

After School Care
After school care from 2:45pm to 5:00pm everyday for students in grades K-6. Information on rates and reduced rates will be available at the beginning of the school year based on demand.

For more information on our daily academic schedule please visit our academic page

We will serve a hot catered school lunch. Catered school lunches meet all state and federal guidelines and can be very good and offer a lot of variety. We will also offer the federal free and reduced lunch program for families who qualify. For families that do not qualify, we will ask families to pay into the student’s lunch account. Families may also choose to send students to school with a lunch prepared at home.

FIT Academy provides bus transportation to students who reside throughout the district 196 boundaries as well as the city of Burnsville.

Despite the anxiety parents sometimes feel with putting their children on a school bus, several reports including a report by the NTSB indicate that busing is by far the safest mode of school transportation. In fact, statistically, it is shown to be several times safer than transportation in a family vehicle.

FIT students within district 196 catch a district bus to their nearest middle school and will then take a transfer bus routed directly to FIT Academy. Under this transportation plan, families and students must abide by the district 196 transportation rules including the walking requirements. Our bus route to Burnsville is operated by an independent provider contracted by FIT Academy.

Visit the District 196 Transportation Page (you will leave our website)