Campus Laboratory School

When the Third State Normal School opened in September 1869, a campus laboratory (or model) school opened as well. It contained 70 children. The primary mission of St. Cloud State was to train young men and women to teach in Minnesota public schools. Here students watched St. Cloud State's faculty, as master teachers, teach children typically from kindergarten to eighth grade. The students were often children of St. Cloud State employees who lived nearby.

With the close of World War II in 1945, St. Cloud State began to offer education beyond teacher training. By 1975, St. Cloud State became a university with teacher training as part of its overall curriculum - and that teaching continues today.

In May 1983, the campus laboratory school closed. It was the last Minnesota State University campus laboratory school. Many in the community and on campus objected to the closing.