A fixture in the Golden Valley community since 1884, Meadowbrook Elementary School has more than 640 students who have access to some of the most state-of-the-art learning technology available. 

Meadowbrook has its own garden, an outdoor classroom, a snack cart that serves nutritious food to children, a media center, a massive playground and a gymnasium other schools would envy. The latter exists thanks to a $4 million collaboration between the City of Golden Valley and the Hopkins School District.

The school was recently renovated, but aside from the new interior, one impressive feature you'll find in first-, second-, fifth- and some sixth-grade classrooms is that chairs have been replaced by big exercise balls. School administrators say the balls create an active learning environment for students.

More than 40 percent of Meadowbrook students are open-enrolled from other school districts, and many grade levels have waiting lists. Twenty percent of Meadowbrook students are students of color.

In the words of Principal Greta Evans-Becker, "It's more than a school, it's a community."