![Meet Beth Nelson]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1628008175/stpaulsummit/oni9iaamedeazymvy5up/BethNelson.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1628008175/stpaulsummit/oni9iaamedeazymvy5up/BethNelson.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1628008175/stpaulsummit/oni9iaamedeazymvy5up/BethNelson.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1628008175/stpaulsummit/oni9iaamedeazymvy5up/BethNelson.jpg","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_5/v1628008175/stpaulsummit/oni9iaamedeazymvy5up/BethNelson.jpg","width":1600},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_6/v1628008175/stpaulsummit/oni9iaamedeazymvy5up/BethNelson.jpg","width":2200}])
Lower School Principal
Lower School
When you walk through the front doors of our Lower School, you'll immediately feel just how special a place this is for students in Kindergarten through Grade 5. From the welcoming Living Room just inside the front door (often warmed by a cozy fire in the fireplace), to the bright and spacious classrooms and hallways adorned with student artwork, to the five acres of open green space just outside our back door, the Lower School is designed around the academic, social, and emotional needs of Kindergarten and Elementary school-aged children.
Our small classes, 7:1 student/teacher ratio, team-teaching model, and multiage classroom configurations are the building blocks of the Lower School experience, along with the TOOLBOX social/emotional program, which gives both children and adults a common language for community values and problem-solving.
Meet our faculty, explore the grade levels below, and learn about our community and curriculum—Welcome to the Lower School!
Lower School grade levels
NEW IN FALL 2025! Starting in Fall 2025, SPA will open a PreKindergarten program in the space formerly occupied by the Early Childhood Center at St. Catherine University across the street from SPA's Randolph Campus. Learn more about SPA PreKindergarten.