Summary
Organization name
Watershed High School
Tax id (EIN)
47-0858757
Categories
Arts & Culture , Education , Children & Family
BIPOC Serving
BIPOC Serving
LGBTQ+ Serving
LGBTQ+ Serving
Address
6541 16th Ave SRichfield, MN 55423
We are living in a time where there is a deficit of hope. Every day, it seems harder to find the light shining through the cracks. I find myself typing in searches like “what is going well right now?” or “what good stuff happened today?” just to remind myself that while there is chaos, there is also lots of good. And then I talk to the parents of my students, and am revitalized.
It happens every year: we hear from parents that because of the work happening within our school, their child’s life has been saved. Where once they desperately hoped and prayed their child would survive to adulthood, now they are seeing their children making friends, coming to school, smiling again.
Watershed High School is its own special place, quite unlike most schools. To the outside visitor, you’ll see a hallway with five classrooms, each room holding eight to fifteen students. You’ll see students of all walks of life, many of whom you would have recognized as the sorts of kids you maybe saw (or were) growing up, kids who – in the large schools – might have eaten lunch alone, sat quietly at the back of the classroom, or went unheard and unseen through the day. Watershed is an island of misfits, students and staff alike. It is a place where individuals unite and become a community. Where kids rediscover their joy and their passions, where they make friends, gain confidence, and learn. It is where they are seen, they are heard, they are celebrated.
Enrollment in schools is down statewide (Reinhardt, Minnesota Department of Education, 2025). We are no exception. As an especially small school with a niche demographic of artistic, eccentric, neurodivergent, LGBTQIA2S+,resilient kids, we are here to provide an academic setting where out students can succeed in multiple areas of life. It is a point of pride that teachers know their students on an individual and create safe environment for learning and growing.
students:
- Teachers don't talk down to us, we are not just seen as a number but as individual people.
- I like that there are multiple ways of learning, like teachers adapt to each kids learning style.
- Very welcoming environment...We loove the teachers
- All the staff are really supportive and nice
- I like the size of classes and you connect with teacher on an individual level
- Full of weirdos and you don't have to hide from that.
- The staff and teachers are cool and nice
- stuffed animals and fidgets are allowed and easily accessible
- good teachers, good assignments
- it's really easy to reach out and get help, there are so many people you can talk to a work on assignments with teachers one on one or in small group is really beneficial for me
- feeling free to express myself without backlash from other students is really nice.
parents:
Watershed High School was the perfect fit for our daughter at a time in her life when being in a small, creative, and supportive learning environment was exactly what she needed. The teachers and school leadership invest in the students and teach in creative ways. They also assess the students' proficiency in each subject and group them accordingly, to maximize their learning opportunities and their own sense of success. We also appreciated the school's emphasis on community service and the opportunities that they created for the school community to do projects together. Providing students with ways to help others inevitably helps them gain skills, empathy, and perspective in their own lives - often a piece of a traditional educational curriculum that doesn't get a lot of attention. The high school years can be a challenging time, so finding the right place where our child could thrive and feel positively about the future was a great gift to us.
I’m so fortunate to have found Watershed High School for my son. This school was a perfect match for him. The classroom size is perfect and the teachers are attentive and truly care about the students and their success.
Watershed high school is awesome! I'm so glad my teen is finally happy about going to school again, his self esteem has improved so much since he started watershed the teachers are great! and they really care about their students education my teen has found great friends there and its such a joy to see him happy and enjoying school again. this have been a great school year for us! Thank you Watershed!
We didn't know there were schools like Watershed. We appreciate the calm atmosphere of the school, the general feeling of individual acceptance, and the teachers' willingness to meet students where they are at. We have been so impressed by Elizabeth and all the others that work at the school; they go above and beyond to meet the needs of their students. I would highly recommend them for neurodivergent children and students with sensory issues who need a less overwhelming, overstimulating environment. We are so grateful to have found this gem of a school!
I feel so fortunate that we found a school where my daughter can be supported as her whole, authentic self.
Media gallery
Organization Data
Richfield, MN 55423