Enrollment up at embattled BlueSky charter school

An online charter school that faced closure just last year is now seeing an increase in enrollment.

The state investigated West St. Paul-based BlueSky School over problems with its curriculum, but ultimately decided it didn't have enough evidence to shut the school down.

Now, BlueSky's enrollment is expected to top 400 students in the fall, said interim director Amy Larsen. That's an increase over recent years, but still far below the 700 students who attended the online school before its problems with the state started.

Larsen said the school recently received accreditation from a national group. The school is an option for students who don't do well in a traditional setting, she said.

"Generally we have a large population of students that are taking credit recovery courses a lot of them have a mental illness or they've had a baby or they're taking care of a sick parent or they're working full time," Larsen said.

"We do get a lot of students who are bullied or have anxiety issue or things like that as well."