Community Engagement

Middle School students who participated in Second Harvest potato packing project.

Blake students know how to connect with others. They get involved in many communities in the classroom, on campus, in the Twin Cities area and around the globe. This ongoing community engagement helps them discover their own potential and improve their world. Our “Preflect, Serve, Reflect" model prepares students to build a mutually respectful relationship with the community and emphasizes how service benefits those offering and receiving it.

Classroom & Community

Students continually engage with social issues and work to make a difference, locally and globally. Service Learning is woven into Blake's curriculum through community involvement projects, and academic coursework addresses community issues at every level. For example:

  • Pre–Kindergarten students participate in projects like the Pre-K Café, a restaurant students opened to raise money for the Light of Hope School in Kenya.
  • Sixth grade students study topics like “Population and Progress" and develop concrete solutions to address a specific social problem locally, regionally and globally
  • Upper School social studies courses, such as Human Geography and Class and Race in the U.S., educate students about complex issues affecting larger communities.

All-School & Cocurricular Activities

Students also get involved with their community outside of the classroom. All-school activities unite students for initiatives such as constructing fleece blankets to donate to service organizations. These activities are central to Blake's annual Legacy Day. Additionally, we hold six Service Saturdays each year in which students participate in service activities with their families and friends. Clubs such as the Community Service Board provide further service opportunities.

Breakthrough Minneapolis at Blake

Since 2000, Breakthrough Minneapolis at Blake (formerly LearningWorks) has linked our students with students at public schools throughout Minneapolis. Qualified college students and Blake seniors and juniors provide tuition-free academic support to local middle school students – an exciting opportunity to learn by teaching.

Summer at Blake

Summer at Blake invites students from across the Twin Cities to engage in an array of experiences that help them grow as scholars, athletes and artists. Fifty to sixty percent of students participating in Summer at Blake do not attend The Blake School. Offerings span pre-kindergarten through grade 12. Learn more and register.