Breck School
Breck School is an independent college-preparatory preK–12 school in Golden Valley, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. It was founded in 1886 and is affiliated with the Episcopal Church. The school includes a Lower School consisting of grades preschool through four, a Middle School consisting of grades five through eight, and an Upper School consisting of grades nine through twelve. Breck School is accredited by the National Association of Independent Schools. History Breck was established in 1886 in Wilder, Minnesota and named after Episcopal missionary the Rev. James Lloyd Breck. The school moved to 2095 Commonwealth Ave in Saint Paul under the direction of the Rev. Charles Haupt, in 1916. In 1920 it moved to 2102 Carter Ave., just a few blocks away in Saint Anthony Park. Then, in the fall of 1922 it moved a few more blocks west to Como and Hendon (now a part of the Luther Seminary). In 1938, the school became an exclusively boys' school, and military curriculum was added. This military aspect was eliminated in 1959. Girls were reintroduced in 1952 in grades one to three, and eventually throughout the school in 1967. A fire destroyed the original Chapel of the Holy Spirit at the school's River Road location in Minneapolis in 1979. In 1981, the school moved to its present location in Golden Valley at the campus of that city's former middle and high school, which were closed after a school district merger. Breck celebrated its centennial in 1986. That same year, John C. Littleford was succeeded by interim headmaster Kathryn C. Harper. Sam Salas served as headmaster from 1987 until retiring in June 2007. Edward Kim succeeded Salas as Head of School in July 2007. In January 2017, Natalia Rico Hernández was named 16th Head of School, beginning her tenure in July 2017. Language programs Breck School has an established language program. Breck's language programs, including Spanish, French, and Mandarin, extend from preschool to 12th grade. The Mandarin Chinese program was created by Margaret Wong. Community involvement 2008 U.S. Senate debate On Saturday, October 11, 2008, Breck hosted the second debate between U.S. Senate candidates Republican Norm Coleman, Democrat Al Franken, and Independence Party candidate Dean Barkley. The debate was aired locally on KARE-11 TV and nationally on C-SPAN. Several hundred local community members watched the debate live inside the Breck Cargill Theater and more than 200,000 Minnesotans watched the debate on television. Athletics Breck School is part of the Independent Metro Athletic Conference in the Minnesota State High School League and has won 28 state championship titles in 10 sports. Several players from the hockey and football programs have gone on to play for Division One programs. The boys hockey team won the state championship in 2000, 2004, 2009 and 2010. The girls' hockey program was established in 1994; it won the Minnesota state consolation tournament in 2007, and second place in the state tournament in 2008 and 2010, and won the state championship in 2012, 2018, 2019, 2020. Awards Notable alumni