Hillcrest Lutheran Academy

Coordinates: 46°16′41″N 96°05′10″W / 46.27805283°N 96.08600736°W / 46.27805283; -96.08600736

Hillcrest Lutheran Academy is a private Christian junior high and boarding high school in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Established in 1916, Hillcrest has a strong affiliation with the Church of the Lutheran Brethren of America. Hillcrest is sometimes referred to as HLA or the "Castle on the Hill."

Hillcrest's mission is "to provide a quality academic, social and extracurricular experience which challenges students to think critically and examine topics through the lens of God’s Word."

Hillcrest holds accreditation as a non-public high school through the Minnesota Nonpublic School Accrediting Association (MNSAA).

Campus

Hillcrest occupies an historic building constructed in 1901 by the Norwegian Lutheran Synod to house the Park Region Luther College. The four-story red brick and sandstone building, located on a hilltop overlooking the city, is in the Romanesque Revival style and was designed by Twin Cities architects Omeyer and Thori, who also designed educational buildings at St. Olaf College, courthouses in Windom and Ada, and the E.J. Webber house and Ole Hagen's Autograph Block in Fergus Falls. Its construction, supervised by contractor John Lauritzen, required all of the brick masons available in the area. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.^[1]

Hillcrest Lutheran Academy is a private Christian junior high and boarding high school in Fergus Falls, MN, and is affiliated with the Church of the Lutheran Brethren of America.

Park Region Luther College operated on the site until 1932, when the synod decided to concentrate its academic efforts on Concordia College in Moorhead. Three years later, the campus was sold to the Church of the Lutheran Brethren, which operates Hillcrest Academy.^[1]

Hillcrest served as the high school department of Lutheran Brethren Schools from its founding until 2003, when it was incorporated as a separate school directly under the Church of the Lutheran Brethren, with its own president and school board. HLA continues to share the campus with Lutheran Brethren Seminary, the theological training institute of the Church of the Lutheran Brethren.

Athletics

Hillcrest has a strong athletic program winning the Minnesota 9-Man State Football Title in 2001 and participating at the state level in basketball and soccer as well. Hillcrest's mascot is the Mighty Comet and the school colors are red and white with a touch of black. Many of the school's alumni, as well as members and attenders of Lutheran Brethren Churches from across the country send their children to live in the dorms and attend Hillcrest.

International partnerships

For the last two decades, Hillcrest has had a unique partnership with the Lutheran high school Danielsen Videregående Skole (Danielsen High School) in Bergen, Norway. Each year, some 25-30 Norwegian students attend Hillcrest as Juniors, providing a great cultural experience for the American students. In recent years, many Korean students have attended HLA as well, adding to the international flavor of the school, as well as upholding the strong tradition of mission that the Church of the Lutheran Brethren was founded upon.

Notable alumni

Hillcrest has had some notable alumni including former Chief of Chaplains of the United States Army, General Gaylord T. Gunhus

References

External links

• Official Website