A new school will open its doors to welcome students Tuesday.

“We’re excited about it,” said Cologne City Administrator John Douville. “It’s our first public school.”

Cologne Academy is a new charter school serving kindergarten through the fifth grade. One hundred and twenty-one students had been enrolled in the school as of its open house on Aug. 21.

The school is located adjacent to the Cologne Community Center in a 16,000 square foot building. Plans for the school call for three more buildings to house students up to eighth grade. At build-out, the school could house between 800 and 900 students.

“Our expectation is that it will grow with the city,” said Douville.

Douville said that in a conversation among city officials, one of their “top goals” was to have a public school in the community. There were discussions with the school district, but the charter school “seemed to be a better fit.” Funding for the school will come from the State of Minnesota.

Ground was broken for the Cologne Academy in October 2007. The school is being sponsored by Friends of Ascension, a group whose “sole purpose is to improve the education of children,” according to the Cologne Academy’s Web site. Friends of Ascension currently sponsors 15 charter schools in the state.

“It’s a very nice facility,” said Douville of the new building. “There’s going to be an excitement here next week. “I can’t wait to see the buses rolling in,” Douville added.

While this is the city’s first public school, it is not the city’s first school. Cologne is already home to the Zion Lutheran and St. Bernard Catholic schools.

-Mollee Francisco, staff writer