Eagle Ridge Academy is a charter school

Charter school

Charter schools are primary or secondary schools that receive public money but are not subject to some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each school's charter...

 with a philosophical emphasis on the classical education movement

Classical education movement

The Classical education movement advocates a form of education based in the traditions of Western culture, with a particular focus on education as understood and taught in the Middle Ages. The curricula and pedagogy of classical education was first developed during the Middle Ages by Martianus...

  that serves grades Kindergarten through twelve. It is located in Eden Prairie

Eden Prairie, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 54,901 people, 20,457 households, and 14,579 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 21,026 housing units at an average density of 649.2 per square mile...

, Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

. The Kindergarten through eighth grade curriculum follows the Core Knowledge Sequence published by the Core Knowledge Foundation

Core Knowledge Foundation

The Core Knowledge Foundation is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan educational foundation founded in 1986 by E. D. Hirsch, Jr. The Foundation is dedicated to excellence and fairness in early education.-Ideals of Core Knowledge:...

 and the high school follows a "classical framework" to structure its humane letters program.

History

Eagle Ridge Academy opened in 2004. The Academy is in its eighth year of operation and has had four school directors, Dr. Ken Greener (2004), Mrs. Judi Ingison (2004-2008), Mr. John Howitz (2008-2011), and Ms. Mari Bergerson (2011-present).

On January 12, 2005 the Minnesota Department of Education issued its annual report to the Minnesota Legislature

Minnesota Legislature

The Minnesota Legislature is the legislative branch of government in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is a bicameral legislature located at the Minnesota Capitol in Saint Paul and it consists of two houses: the lower Minnesota House of Representatives and the Minnesota Senate...

 that found Eagle Ridge Academy to be in statutory operating debt. The Academy received the School Finance Award from the Minnesota Department of Education for fiscal years 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.

On October 11, 2007, Eagle Ridge Academy was evacuated due to a mercury spill.

On February 5, 2008, former teacher, Josh Garvin, filed a lawsuit with the United States District Court, District of Minnesota, Fourth Division, against Eagle Ridge Academy. On January 6, 2009, former teacher, Susan Reid, also filed a lawsuit in the same court against Eagle Ridge Academy.

Eagle Ridge Academy celebrated its first high school graduation in June 2008.

On July 22, 2008, the Minnesota Department of Education released the results of a transportation audit of the 2006-2007 fiscal year.

In November 2008, KSTP-TV

KSTP-TV

KSTP-TV, channel 5, is the ABC affiliate for the Twin Cities. Its transmitter is located at the Shoreview Telefarm. It is the flagship station of Hubbard Broadcasting, which also owns several other broadcasting properties across the United States....

, 5 Eyewitness News, aired a report regarding unlicensed teachers in state charter schools. Eagle Ridge Academy was not named in the television report but was cited in KSTP's online reporting.

Percentage of Unlicensed Teachers Employed by Eagle Ridge Academy Listed by School Year

• 2004-2005

0%

• 2005-2006

5.5%

• 2006-2007

0%

• 2007-2008

.9%

• 2008-2009

22.8%

• 2009-2010

14.7%

MCA-II test scores declined in 2008-2009 and again in 2009-2010.

The Academy received the Achievement Award for performance during the 2007-2008 school year from its sponsor, Friends of Education, on August 6, 2009.

U.S. News & World Report

U.S. News & World Report

U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...

 ranked Eagle Ridge Academy as a "bronze medal" high school based on academic performance in 2007-2008 in the magazine's 2010 "America's Best High Schools" issue.

Graduates

Fifty percent of the graduates from 2009 attend a four year college or university. Thirty-five percent attend a community college.

Extracurricular

Eagle Ridge Academy offers middle school and Minnesota State High School League

Minnesota State High School League

The Minnesota State High School League is a voluntary, non-profit association for the support and governance of interscholastic activities at high schools in Minnesota, United States. The association supports interscholastic athletics and fine arts programs for member schools...

 soccer, basketball, golf, and track and field.

The Academy has a student senate, yearbook and history club, and chapters of the National Junior Classical League

National Junior Classical League

The National Junior Classical League is a youth organization of secondary school students sponsored by the American Classical League...

 and National Honor Society

National Honor Society

The National Honor Society is a recognition program for high school students in grades 10-12 in the United States and in several other countries...

.