Sandburg Middle School held its school closing celebration event on Saturday, May 1, 2010. Listed in this photo album are photos taken at the event. Click here to read more school memories in the A-H Newsroom.
History
The building currently known as Sandburg Middle School is the original site of Anoka High School.
The first portion of the building (what is now the center section of Sandburg, with the brick archway) was built in 1904 as Anoka High School to serve the growing number of secondary students, which up to that point attended school in the old four room Irving School.
A public meeting was held in March 1893 to discuss a proposed new high school to cost $35,000 and officials learned that the majority of voters opposed the project. Bond issues to build the building were defeated by voters in 1895 and 1897 before voters approved (587 to 11) a bond issue of $30,000 in 1904 to build a new high school. Additions were added in 1929, 1939, 1956 and 1961 to accommodate major population growth.
In 1954, the school was converted into a junior high school (Anoka Junior High School) to serve the entire district when a new high school was built at the current Fred Moore Middle School Center for the Arts site (to become Anoka Middle School Center for the Arts in fall 2010). During the transition years (1968-71) to Anoka High School's current site (which opened in 1971), the junior high was moved to the old high school (current site of Fred Moore) and was remaned Fred Moore Junior High School.
The site served many other purposes through the years after the junior high moved. From 1969 to 1975, it once housed the district offices, carpentry shop, Teen Parent Program and served as an "annex" for Franklin, Northdale and Ramsey students until additions or new buildings could be completed.
In 1976, the school became Sandburg Middle School, the first middle school in Anoka-Hennepin. It began with grades five through seven and then changed to grades six through eight in the fall of 1992.
Moving Forward
Due to school closings, Sandburg Middle School students will attend Fred Moore Middle School Center for the Arts beginning the 2010-11 school year. Sixth-graders from the combined schools will attend classes at the former Washington Elementary School. Beginning fall 2010, the combined school will be known as Anoka Middle School for the Arts with the Fred Moore Campus and Washington Campus.
