(09/07/2023) On Tuesday, Sept. 5, school buses pulled up to the front of Sandburg Educational Center, the new home of Sandburg Regional High School, for the first time since 2010. The move also celebrates the return of a high school to downtown Anoka after 70 years.

Sandburg Regional, which serves around 300 students from all around the district, moved to the Sandburg Educational Center this summer and made the name change to Sandburg Regional High School from Anoka-Hennepin Regional High School. The school adopted the nickname ‘Sabers,’ which was previously used by Sandburg Middle School. 

The building was built in 1904 and started as a new site for Anoka High School. In 1954 the building became Anoka Junior High School and in the fall of 1976 became Sandburg Middle School until 2010 when it closed as a school site. Two years later the Sandburg Educational Center opened to serve the district in a different capacity, hosting School Board meetings, professional development and community education classes, and work space for special education and early childhood screenings.

Administrative office spaces, classrooms and the cafeteria were retrofitted to serve students again. At the new site, students have access to a gymnasium and a full cafeteria, which supports the goal of helping improve the student experience to lead to better academic outcomes. View photos from the first day of school at Sandburg Regional High School.

Sandburg Regional provides an opportunity for students who feel a traditional large high school isn't the best fit for them. The school focuses on the individual student while still providing a rigorous diploma program using the Anoka-Hennepin School District's high school curriculum.