SECOND FOUNDATION SCHOOL (SFS) was founded in 1970 by a group of visionary teachers who wanted to create a learning environment where each student’s unique abilities are given space to flourish and their learning styles are respected and celebrated.
Today, our school – and our mission – continues to thrive on the edge of Dinkytown, near the University of Minnesota’s Minneapolis campus. We are democratically-run and student-centered; the projects students work on are determined by the interests, skills, and abilities of the students attending.
We are an independent, K-12 grade, democratically run, "Unschool." We provide a true alternative to schools that teach to tests, use the same curriculum every year, discount student input, and discourage parent participation. What we believe: school is a state of mind. School is the world we live in. School is what you carry around with you as you work, play, and live.
Students receive individualized instruction and are allowed to study what they want, when they want to. Students of all ages interact with each other and staff (which includes parent volunteers and professionals from the community) as equal participants in the learning environment.
Our graduates have gone on to fight fires, teach, earn law degrees social work licenses and masters degrees, run their own businesses, paint giant murals, run technical programs, make films and plays, and be rock stars, just to name a few typical examples.
Since 1970, we have helped many brilliant youth who did not "fit in" academically or otherwise in normal schools. Many would not have graduated from High School without SFS and many more found a community that nourished them and helped them grow academically and otherwise. Others simply enjoyed the supportive environment that accepts and honors student differences.
We are specifically fundraising to support students from low-income families. Your donation goes directly to a student in need of a scholarship (currently 100% of our students, awarded by lottery) or to the field trip fund (which allows low-income students to participate in field trips and other events at no cost to them), depending on the amount of your donation. We are also fundraising for our 40th Anniversary "REUNION" as well as general operating expenses and you are welcome to specify any amount for either of these categories in addition to the ones listed. Thanks!
Technology Fund
