Our Story

Originally named West Metro Learning Connections, we were started by Debra Schipper using a single room in her home. Through her tenure, West Metro Learning Connections developed “The West Metro Way,” as they called their philosophy put into action; equal parts friendship and professionalism. West Metro Learning Connections saw an incredible amount of growth and progress. From an initial client base of 12 to over 2,000 clients benefiting from their services, their reach extended to a multitude of school districts and counties in and around the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Prior to retiring, Deb led West Metro Learning Connections to provide their services from two locations, Excelsior and Edina.

As a client at West Metro Learning Connections, our owner, Carolyn, experienced first hand how West Metro Learning Connections improved the lives and confidence of the kids and young adults that participated in the social skills and summer camp programs. Upon learning of Debra’s intent to retire, Carolyn felt the need to continue this resource for families and individuals. Now known as West Metro Learning Center, we are in Eden Prairie, MN, staying close to our roots in the southwest metro. Putting our own spin on “The West Metro Way” we believe that we can only begin to understand our clients’ personal needs and capabilities by building genuine, caring relationships with them. We start this by meeting with our new clients for a complimentary intake conference, allowing us to learn what cannot be expressed on paper and allowing our clients to experience our space at their comfort level. We continue this experience with our low 1:3 staffing ratio, allowing our staff to monitor the individual needs and celebrating the individual successes of our clients. Carolyn welcomed several staff members from the previous company and has added more staff, all of whom have a passion working with our clients and enjoy watching them grow and succeed.

We could not be here today with out the vision of Debra, the willingness of Carolyn, the dedication and commitment of our staff and the trust of our families and clients; past, present and future. We enjoy carrying this story forward and continuing to add chapters.