The Mäkelä School is a traditional village school. Despite its name, it is a joint school for primary and lower secondary education of two villages, Saapunki and Mäkelä between the isthmus of the bond Mustalampi and the lake Saapunkijärvi. The school admission area includes also the Heikkilä area and the village Kärpänkylä.
In the school, there is a pre-primary school and classes 1–6 for the primary and lower secondary education. Education is provided in three multi-grade classes.
Over the course of time, the village school has worked closely with the village association. As a one joint effort can be mentioned the traditional Christmas celebration attended annually by a group of hundreds of guests.
The Mäkelä School has a strong spirit of pulling together, reflected in the everyday school work in a relaxed and caring atmosphere. The Mäkelä School is located about seven kilometres northeast away from the town centre of Kuusamo.