Where Every Scholar Reaches Higher Ground

Dear Parents, Students, and Staff,

Happy New School Year!

I hope everyone had a joyful and fulfilling summer. In many ways, the 2025–2026 school year was a successful one. The school met almost all of its contractual goals and, as a result, remains in good standing with its authorizer. We hope that we also continued to fulfill our commitments to all of our constituents.

At the same time, we faced some challenges, particularly in pupil transportation and food service. We have made significant changes in both areas. We ended our partnership with our previous transportation provider and entered into contracts with new providers. We also ended our partnership with the third-party provider of vended meals. Beginning this school year, meals will be prepared in-house. Having made these changes, we are hopeful that the issues surrounding these two areas will be resolved this year and that we will provide our students with the quality of service they deserve.

As many of you know, our plan to open a third campus was denied by the Minnesota Department of Education last school year. We remain committed to this goal and plan to continue working closely with our authorizer, Osprey Wilds, to strengthen our application and seek approval this year.

One of the distinguishing qualities of our school is that we operate with a “Growth Mindset” philosophy. With each new school year, we aspire to become better than we were the year before. In keeping with this philosophy, toward the end of the previous school year, we initiated a school rebranding effort.

Several factors inspired this effort. The charter school landscape has changed significantly over the years. The ways in which charter schools are held accountable today are different from what they were ten or fifteen years ago. There are also more charter schools than before, and we have witnessed changes in the student population interested in attending charter schools. In addition, there are other emerging challenges and opportunities that require our serious attention.

We therefore felt it was important to examine these changes carefully and make the necessary adjustments. Hence, the need for rebranding. As is well known, rebranding is a multifaceted effort that touches many aspects of a school and requires time, reflection, and collaboration. It is, therefore, an ongoing process. We hope that the end result will be a stronger, more resilient school—one that is well positioned to withstand the changes and challenges we face today while remaining true to our mission and values.

Despite the real and potential challenges before us, I strongly believe that HGA is one of the great schools in Minnesota. This is because of the commitment of all of you, as well as those who served this school before us. It is because of the parents who have trusted us and stood by us through the good, the bad, and the ugly. And it is because of our Board of Directors, which continues to provide strong leadership and guidance.

Therefore, let us remind ourselves today: HGA can be as good as we want it to be.

Let us all strive to make HGA the best school it can be. Let us work together to build a school where everyone feels happy, successful, valued, and treated with dignity. This is a goal worthy of all of us, and I am confident that, together, we can achieve it.

Thank you deeply for your continued trust, support, and commitment to HGA.

May this be a very successful and fulfilling school year for all of us!