History

Twin Cities Academy and Twin Cities Academy High School were originally opened as two separate charter school districts. Twin Cities Academy was opened in 1999 and Twin Cities Academy High School was opened in 2006. As of July 1, 2016, both schools were merged into one 6th through 12th grade secondary charter school.

Twin Cities Academy was opened to offer a college-preparatory school experience for St. Paul students, with a particular focus on attracting a diverse student-body focusing on high academic achievement and serving the community at large through volunteering and service-learning.

Twin Cities Academy was started by Mr. Jon Bacal, Mr. Alberto Monserrat, Dr. Michael Hartoonian and a group of community leaders, educators and parents. Ms. Helen “Liz” Wynne was the school’s first executive director and principal, and served as the leader of the school until 2012. Ms. Betsy Lueth was hired at that time and currently is the executive director of the school.

During the first sixteen years of operation, Twin Cities Academy moved three times due to continued growth in enrollment. In June 2016, Twin Cities Academy moved for the fourth time to a newly built 63,000 square foot building at 690 Birmingham on St. Paul’s east side. The building is the permanent home of Twin Cities Academy and serves over 600 students in a state-of-art home, complete with green space, ball fields, a full-size gymnasium, stage, and science labs.

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