As the new school year approaches, a charter school in Brooklyn Park learned that it will receive more funding.

“It was just incredible that we actually got the grant for our little charter school,” said Susan Scheller, academic director of Spero Academy in Brooklyn Park.

Spero Academy is one of more than 35 Minnesota schools receiving an Education Pipeline grant from the Minnesota Department of Education to support and train special education teachers.

Scheller worked with her colleagues Brittany Crouse and Diane Pangal to secure the scholarship.

Spero Academy, located at 7444 N Humboldt Ave., is receiving a $700,000 Education Pipeline grant from the Minnesota Department of Education.

Spero received $700,000, which will be used to train six of his employees. These employees will attend a special education training program at the University of Augsburg and receive an Academic Behavioral Strategic License upon completion of their training.

Spero Academy has 124 students from preschool to 6th grade. About 90 percent of them participate in an individualized education program.

“We know that it really benefits our children when we have people who we already know can do the job,” Scheller said. “Special education is a challenging job and you have to have the right attitude. You have to have the right knowledge and have a passion for our children.”

Spero Academy plans to have four more employees participate in the training over the next two years.

The state awarded nearly $10 million in Education Pipeline grants.

Related: Robbinsdale School District seeks to fill staffing gaps in special education

Brooklyn Park