Battle Creek School Board OK’s Reopening Of Fremont Elementary

An elementary school in Battle Creek that closed two years ago due to declining enrollment has now had its reopening approved.

Back in 2016, The Battle Creek Public Schools closed Fremont Elementary and Urbandale Elementary as the district faced serious financial and enrollment problems. All of that, however, was before they received a $51 million grant from the WK Kellogg Foundation to help fix things up.

WWMT says the Battle Creek Public School’s Board of Education approved the plan to reopen Fremont Elementary as a Magnet School at their meeting Monday. The approved plan was announced last month, and involves operating Fremont as a K-5 Magnet School with the International Baccalaureate or IB Model of education.

IB Schools have specialized curriculum that focus on “experiential and inquiry-based learning”, and the plan is to draw in students from within the district and beyond.

Fremont will open for K-2 students in the Fall of 2019, with one grade being added each year thereafter.

It’s unclear if the building will be updated in any significant way before it reopens.