Academy of Holy Angels (AHA) is a private Catholic high school in Richfield, Minnesota. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, the nationally recognized college-preparatory school educates more than 600 students each year, with students in grades nine through twelve coming from across the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
History
The Academy of Holy Angels was founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet on October 2, 1877, the feast of the Holy Guardian Angels.[1] Originally a day school for girls, it was housed in the Merritt House in Minneapolis, but moved several times in its early years (first to the Ankeny home, then the Skyles house, and finally the Bassett property in 1882). The same year, it became a boarding school and day school for girls in grade school and high school. Sister St. John Ireland, CSJ, was the first directress.[2]
It moved to its present-day location at Nicollet and 66th Street on Sept. 15, 1931, amidst a record-breaking heat wave of 104 degrees.[3] It opened its doors to 107 students grades 1–12, having merged with the nearby St. Margaret's Academy high school some years before, with Sister Eugenia Maginnis, CSJ, as principal. Still an all-girls school, it attracted students from across the Midwest, and 182 girls enrolled by the end of the first year. The original grounds included a formal English garden in the courtyard, tennis courts, a 9-hole golf course, and an ice skating rink during the winter. High school tuition (grades 9–12) was $50.
On May 2, 1932, Academy of Holy Angels was formally accredited, and has maintained an accreditation ever since. The first graduating class contained just 13 girls. By 1943, Holy Angels had discontinued its grade school but continued to offer Kindergarten until 1946, when St. Peter's Church next door opened its parish elementary school. The 1952–53 school year was the last year for boarders to live at Holy Angels, and 1953 marked the beginning of Holy Angels solely as a day school.
In 1972, the school officially became coeducational, opening its doors to 128 new male students; the first four-year, co-ed class graduated in 1976. Because the school was now co-ed, the Angies became the co*Stars and varsity athletics began. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet "turned governance of the school over to a lay board of directors", but continue to own the school for the time being, renting it to AHA at a cost of $1 per year. In 1989, the Holy Angels theater school officially opened; a middle school was also established, but closed just 9 years later.
The first of two StarDomes was built in 1996, adding "a $2 million, year-round athletic facility" to campus (making Holy Angels the first high school in the United States to have a facility of this type). The complex includes bleachers, a concession building and a playing field, which consists of field turf, and features a removable dome to make the field playable during the winter months. Two years later, campus classroom space was expanded by 15% in a substantial renovation project. The 26-acre campus was officially purchased from the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in 2003; the same year, a 70,000-square-foot addition opened. Both projects were supported by a $5 million fundraising campaign.[2]
In 2000, Holy Angels became the first private school to receive an Ethics in Curriculum Award from the Minnesota Academic Excellence Foundation. The same year, the St. John the Evangelist Chapel was refurbished and rededicated, and the new greenhouse opened. Athletic programs continued to grow, and in 2005, Holy Angels became the first high school ever in Minnesota to win both girls' (Class A) and boys' (Class AA) hockey state championships the same year.
By 2007, AHA had begun Project Laptop, equipping the 9th grade class with a personal computer for academic use. A version of the program continues today, although technology has been updated and improved substantially over the years. 2011 saw the retirement of former AHA President Jill Reilly, to be succeeded by current President Tom Shipley. The same year, the STEM diploma program opened. In 2019, a second StarDome was completed.
Service day
Service: In addition to yearly service requirements (75 hours to be completed before graduation),[4] students participate in an annual All School Service Day, a yearly family Christmas Basket Drive (a tradition continued since the 1940s), and Campus Ministry Team, among other opportunities. AHA's Faith in Action program also aims to "incorporate service and spirituality into all aspects of AHA life",[4] including sports, activities, and clubs; over 25 teams participate, contributing 2,000+ service hours.
Academics
The Academy of Holy Angels is currently accredited through AdvancedED. 19 AP courses are offered to sophomores, juniors, and seniors; in 2015, 230 students participated in the AP program (81% of senior class, 72% of junior class).[5]
Holy Angels currently offers 52 extra-curricular activities. These include Book Club, bowling, Knowledge Bowl, Math Stars, music, National Honor Society, Respect Life, robotics, skeet & trap, Social Justice Club, speech, student newspaper (the Blue & Gold), table tennis, theater (Starlight Productions), and Writers' Club, among others.
Athletics
Holy Angels participates in the Tri-Metro Conference, which is part of the Minnesota State High School League. Since 2017, AHA has made over 37 state appearances.[6] The AHA mascot, Shiner the Angel, though retired for some years, was reintroduced recently.
Fall sports: cross country, dance club, football, soccer, swimming, tennis, and volleyball.
Since 1931, Holy Angels has been a sponsor of theatrical arts. Besides offering 15 courses in the acting and design/technical disciplines, students can choose to enroll in the AHA Theater School, working toward a theater diploma in addition to their regular programs of study.
Today, the Holy Angels theater department, Starlight Productions, produces three shows each year: a fall play, a spring musical, and an entry into the MSHSL State One Act competition. Since first participating in 1989, Holy Angels has received a star rating ten times: in 1989, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2015, and 2016. AHA currently participates in the Section 6AA One Act class.[10]
Graduates have gone on to perform and study at the Guthrie Theater, Theatre de la Jeune, the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Carnegie Mellon University, Webster Conservatory, Tisch School for the Arts, and Broadway.
^"Jack Hillen". Minnetonka Boys High School Hockey. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
^"Erik Johnson's Number Retired by his Former High School". Mile High Sticking. July 22, 2015. Retrieved November 3, 2019. ... the Academy of Holy Angels retired another alumnus's, Jack Hillen. Hillen is currently a defenseman for the Carolina Hurricanes. He spent his entire high school career at AHA.
