Schaeffer Academy was begun by a group of families in Rochester, Minnesota, in 1993, who wanted to create an school for their children which was both Christian and classical in nature.  The school opened its doors that year with 78 students in grades Kindergarten through six.  As a nondenominational, evangelical body it was financially independent of any specific church, and began its work through the funds donated and tuition paid by the founding families.

 

Schaeffer Academy was named after Dr. Francis Schaeffer, a Christian philosopher, evangelist and theologian who began the L'Abri movement in the 1960's.  For a time Dr. Schaeffer made his home in Rochester.  He was committed to scriptural truth, passionate about understanding culture, compassionate towards people and a lover of God.    The school's founders made the connection between Francis Schaeffer's ideas and their own desire to convey the permanent things -  truth, beauty and goodness -  to their children. 

The school rented four different locations before raising the funds to buy land and build in northeast Rochester in 1999.  Today, Schaeffer Academy owns 37 acres of land, serves a student body of 360 in grades kindergarten through twelve, and has completed four building projects to expand the area of the original structure.  These include a competition gym with bleachers and stage, locker rooms, music studio and commons area, and ten additional classrooms including state of the art science labs.  Completed during the summer of 2008 were a competition soccer field and a Physics lab.  The lab was the result of a major gift from an anonymous family within the school.