Our Mission
The mission of Eagle Ridge Academy is to engage all students in a time-tested, Classical Liberal Arts education that demands
their best in academic achievement and honorable character while challenging them to attain their highest potential.
History
Eagle Ridge Academy (ERA) opened its doors to students in grades 6, 7, and 9 in 2004, expanding to grades 6-12 by the 2007-2008 school year. In 2008, ERA served over 280 students in grades 6-12 and graduated the school’s first class of seniors. During the 2010-2011 school year, the school was expanded to add kindergarten through fifth grade. In 2016, grades K-12 were moved from Eden Prairie to their current campus at 11111 Bren Road W. in Minnetonka. In 2021-2022, Eagle Ridge Academy educated over 1400 students in grades K-12. Eagle Ridge Academy is the first public school in the southwest suburban area specifically dedicated to offering a demanding college preparatory, Classical, liberal arts curriculum. The Academy provides a learning opportunity that, up until now, has only been available at select private schools. ERA’s goal is to not only help each student achieve his highest academic potential, but also to develop strong character, with the intent of creating not just smarter students, but better people, prepared to lead abundant and responsible lives as contributing members of our great country.
Vision
Eagle Ridge Academy will offer an academically rigorous, time-tested Classical, liberal arts curriculum that:
- prepares students to be exemplary and knowledgeable citizens;
- instills a life-long passion for learning;
- values self-discipline, respect, perseverance, and achievement;
- teaches truth, beauty and goodness; and
- fosters an appreciation for the United States of America and her unique role in the world.
CIPHER
At Eagle Ridge Academy, faculty, staff, and students follow the pursuit of “Veritas, Pulchritudo, Probitas”; identifying in Latin the central tenants of our school: Truth, Beauty, and Goodness. Eagle Ridge Academy also teaches the pillars using the acronym CIPHER.
Classical Education at Eagle Ridge Academy
The greatest thinkers throughout the ages, including Archimedes, Galileo, Sir Isaac Newton, Shakespeare, and Thomas Jefferson, all had one thing in common: a Classical Education. Classical Education represents a return to a time-tested educational philosophy that was standard in the United States and the western world until the early 20th century. In recent years, Classical schools have revived across the nation, with amazing results.
Classical education utilizes:
- a systematic, building-block approach to learning
- a focus on core academic subjects and the study of some of the greatest works in the history of the western world
- historical time frames to structure learning (Ancient, Medieval, Modern)
- integration across subject disciplines
- a pattern of education known as the Trivium
Read more about Classical Education at Eagle Ridge Academy
Benefits of a Classical Education include:
- higher student achievement
- greater satisfaction among teachers and parents
- inspiration for a life-long passion for learning
- the encouragement of each student’s natural sense of curiosity and discovery
- training of the mind in the fundamental intellectual habits of critical and logical thought, persuasive writing and speaking, and the recognition of truth, beauty and goodness
- preparation for participation in public life and debate
- cultivation of the character traits that lead to a virtuous life: integrity, honesty, respect, perseverance, self-discipline, and hard work
Read more about Friends of Education on Classical Education and the Trivium
Thank you for your interest and dedication to Eagle Ridge Academy!
Jason Ulbrich, Executive Director