From Roots to Wings: Transforming AFA

Augsburg Fairview Academy (AFA) is a small, tuition-free charter high school in south Minneapolis. We opened our doors in the fall of 2005 and have served over 2000 students throughout the metro area. In 2009, AFA planted its roots in the Phillips West Neighborhood. AFA partnered with Messiah Lutheran Church in to renovate their Community and Parish Center. AFA entered into a 20-year lease with Messiah Lutheran Church with the intention of our common vision to ensure a stable and lasting home for the school. We believed this location would be our home at least through June 30, 2029. This is no longer the case.

In May of 2023, we received notice to vacate the building we have called home for 15 years by June 30, 2024, due to the sale of the building to Children's Hospital of Minnesota. This devastating news has forced our school community to rush into action to find a new home before the start of the 2024-2025 school year.

Our school has taken root in the Phillips Neighborhood in a location we call home. We ask for your help as we take flight to the Whittier Neighborhood and retrofit the St. Stephen's School to meet the needs of our high school community. Our students already face a number of barriers to their education, so we want to make the move to our new home as seamless as possible. We are asking for donations to help install a safer entry system to protect our school community in a lockdown, to install sinks in the art and science rooms, and for the unexpected costs associated with storage and moving.