Join the ERA Booster Club for a fun Valentines-themed Bingo Night at Unmapped Brewing TONIGHT, February 12! No date required—just bring friends, grab a drink, and play for cash prizes. Proceeds will support ERA athletes and activities. Hope to see you there!

Friday, February 13, is a Spirit Wear Day. On Spirit Wear Days, students K-12 can wear any spirit wear and uniform combinations. (No streetwear allowed and the shoe policy still applies.) Learn more here.

There's still time to win the Battle of the Coins! The leading classes as of Thursday morning are first grade in the School of Grammar, Team Probitas in the School of Logic, and ninth grade in the School of Rhetoric. 

Battle of the Coins is a fun, competitive fundraiser run by the Eagle Ridge Academy PTO where grades compete to earn the most points and win a special reward. Pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, and online donations add points to your grade's total, while dollar bills subtract from another grade’s total. Online donations count DOUBLE, so be sure to label your student’s grade when donating!

Coins will only be collected from 7:30-7:55 a.m. at the Forum fireplace (School of Grammar) and outside the Auditorium (Schools of Logic & Rhetoric) tomorrow. No coins can be dropped off in classrooms. All proceeds support the celebration of ERA’s amazing staff during Staff Appreciation Week! 

Winter Parent-Teacher Conferences will take place after school on Thursday, February 19 (In-person conferences only: 4:00-8:00 p.m.) and during the day on Friday, February 20 (In-person conferences only: 7:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. / Virtual conferences only: 2:30-5:30 p.m.) Teacher virtual conference links will be sent via email the morning of Friday, February 20.

The online conference scheduler will close next Wednesday, February 18, at 9:00 p.m. The master password to log into the scheduler has been sent via email. Families may request a translator by going to Change My Account Info. If you need assistance with the conference reservation system, please email Janice Gerheart at jgerheart@eagleridgeacademy.org.

Come to the Winter Used Uniform sale during Winter Parent-Teacher Conferences to refresh your uniform supply for the second half of the year! The sale will take place in the ERA Forum during in-person conferences on Thursday, February 19, 4:00-8:00 p.m., AND Friday, February 20, 7:30-11:45 a.m.

Here are some ways you can participate:

The Spring Book Fair by Literati is open online and will also take place in person February 16-20! Shop online now, access to teacher wish lists, and add money on a gift card for your child to shop the fair during their library visit the week of February 16-20.

The in-person Literati Book Fair will be open in the ERA Library during Parent-Teacher Conferences February 19-20. Thank you for your support of reading at home and at school! Please volunteer to ensure that the fair can be open during conferences. Direct your questions to Carolyn Sommers Tillotson.

Eagle Ridge Academy is opening in Brooklyn Center (7025 Halifax Ave N, 55429) in August 2026! We are now enrolling students in kindergarten and first grade for the 2026-27 school year.

Thank you to everyone that came out to our first information session at the new location on January 31. It was so wonderful to meet new families and share why Eagle Ridge Academy is a truly exceptional place to learn and grow.

Couldn't make it last month? Join us at our next information session on Saturday, February 28, at 1:00 p.m. Learn more and register now!

Nominations for the 2026 Eagle Ridge Academy Board of Directors election closed February 6. Please read on for more information regarding the election process and view the Board webpage here.

Board of Directors Composition

The 2026-2027 Board of Directors will consist of seven seats. The Board of Directors includes teacher, parent, and community member seats. The bylaws were amended over the last year to ensure that no single group can hold a majority of the seats. There must be at least one member from each group.

According to Board bylaws, no more than three members can be up for re-election in a single election cycle. To ideally ensure continuity in Board leadership, the Board has decided to offer Sam Sundermeyer (Current Board Secretary) and Elliott Loutsch (Current Board Chair) a one-year extension to their terms, which were originally set to expire June 2026. While Board leadership roles are elected annually and there’s no guarantee that the current Board Secretary and current Board Chair will continue in these positions, the extensions help maintain stability. These extensions have been accepted.

There will be two seats open for the 2025 Board of Directors election. Based on the current makeup of the Board of Directors, the following seats will be opening:

Under the new by-laws, this means that the following groups can fill the seat openings:

Board Member Election Process

The election process will follow this sequence:

Election Communications

Please note that all communications regarding this year’s election will take place primarily through email. If you do not have access to email or Infinite Campus inbox, please contact the school office by calling 952-746-7760 so that other arrangements can be made. If you have any questions about the election, please contact Elliott Loutsch, Board Election Coordinator, at eloutsch@eagleridgeacademy.org.

As parents, we all feel it. The phone battles. The negotiations. The quiet worry that something is slipping away while our children scroll. None of us set out to hand our kids a device that competes for their attention, shapes their emotions, and sometimes exposes them to content far beyond their maturity. And yet here we are, doing our best, often feeling behind and unsure.

Tuesday’s Associated Press reporting by Huamani and Ortutay underscores why this concern is not just parental anxiety but a growing national issue. 

In their recent article, they report on major lawsuits against social media companies including TikTok, Meta, and YouTube, arguing that these platforms were intentionally designed to be addictive to young users. TikTok recently settled one such case just before trial, while others continue, alleging harm to children’s mental health and well-being. This legal scrutiny reflects what many families already experience at home: these platforms are not neutral tools but highly engineered products built to keep users scrolling.

The data behind these concerns is sobering. According to the American Psychological Association, U.S. teenagers now spend close to five hours per day on social media, most often on apps like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Teens with the highest usage rates are significantly more likely to report poor mental health, including anxiety and depression. The U.S. Surgeon General has warned that adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media face nearly double the risk of depressive symptoms. Importantly, researchers from Weill Cornell Medicine and other institutions have found that it is not only the amount of screen time that matters but addictive patterns of use, which are associated with higher risks of emotional distress and suicidal thoughts.

Attention is another casualty. Short-form videos and rapid-fire content condition the brain to expect constant novelty and instant reward. Research increasingly suggests that frequent exposure to this type of media can make sustained attention more difficult, particularly for students. In classrooms and at home, we see the effects when children struggle to focus on reading, writing, or thoughtful conversation without reaching for a device. Learning, especially deep learning, requires patience, quiet, and the ability to stay with an idea over time, skills that are actively undermined by endless scrolling.

There is also the matter of appropriateness. Smartphones provide children with near-unfiltered access to the internet, which means exposure to content involving violence, sexuality, cyberbullying, and unrealistic portrayals of life and body image. The World Health Organization and other global health bodies have reported rising concerns about problematic social media use and its connection to anxiety, sleep disruption, and reduced self-esteem among young people.

This is where the vision of Classical education at Eagle Ridge Academy offers a compelling contrast. Classical education is built on deep attention, rich language, meaningful discussion, and sustained engagement with ideas that have endured for centuries. It values contemplation over consumption and wisdom over immediacy. Where social media rewards speed and surface-level engagement, Classical Education cultivates patience, memory, and critical thought. These habits of mind do not develop accidentally; they must be protected and practiced, especially in a digital age that pulls in the opposite direction.

None of this is easy. We all struggle. Most parents I know are not trying to be permissive or careless; they are tired, busy, and navigating technology that changes faster than our instincts can keep up. The goal is not perfection or total prohibition but intentional guidance.

There are practical steps that can help. Most smartphones include built-in tools such as Apple’s Screen Time or Android’s Digital Wellbeing, which allow families to set daily app limits, schedule downtime, and monitor usage patterns. Parental monitoring tools like Bark, Qustodio, and Net Nanny can provide additional oversight and alerts for concerning content. Many families also find it helpful to establish simple household norms, such as charging phones overnight outside of bedrooms, keeping devices out of sight during homework and meals, and reviewing app usage together as a conversation rather than a punishment.

Most importantly, children need to know that boundaries come from care, not control. When we explain why we limit phones—because attention matters, because sleep matters, because their minds and hearts matter, we teach discernment rather than fear.

If your family struggles with this, you are not alone. This is one of the defining challenges of modern parenting, and none of us has mastered it. But by supporting one another, grounding our choices in research and wisdom, and holding fast to an educational vision that honors depth over distraction, we can help our children grow into thoughtful, attentive, and flourishing adults.

Parent to parent, we are in this together.

The Eagle Ridge Academy Board of Directors will convene for its monthly meeting at Eagle Ridge Academy in Conference Room 1114, 6:00-9:00 p.m. Decisions on the agenda items will be made during this event. You may attend School Board Meetings in-person or virtually via the information here.

It's time to order your annual Art Expo t-shirt! This year's shirt was designed by Eagle Ridge Academy senior Maria Dorland. Order your shirt by Friday, February 27.

Our annual juried art exhibition for students in grades 6-12 will be held at Eagle Ridge Academy on Friday, May 8. Art will be displayed outside the gymnasium, and prizes will be presented for various works selected by the judges during the awards ceremony that will take place in the auditorium at 7:00 p.m. Art will be available for purchase with cash or check. Please enter through the Activities Entrance.

The entire community is invited to Eagle Ridge Academy on Saturday, May 9, for the 12th Annual Donut Dash 5K and Mini-Donut 1/2 Mile for Kids! Whether you are a runner, a walker, or a donut enthusiast, this is the event for you. Leaving and finishing at Eagle Ridge Academy, this Minnetonka route is an accurately measured 5K course, is chip- and mat-timed, and takes you on a picturesque run or walk just north of Bren Road. There will be complimentary chair massages, rock tape applications, DJ music, giveaways, fun youth activities, post-race refreshments, and DONUTS!

All 5K registrants will receive a commemorative 2026 Donut Dash tech shirt (tri-blend, adult and youth sizing), post-race refreshments, and donuts. Mini-dashers will receive a 2026 Donut Dash shirt (50/50% poly/cotton), a participation medal, and a bag of mini- donuts.

Online registration will close May 7. Registrations placed after April 12 are not guaranteed a shirt. All registrations are nonrefundable. To register via mail with cash or check (made payable to FERA), please download the registration brochure and return with your payment to Eagle Ridge Academy. Your participation will help support Eagle Ridge Academy, offering a time-tested, Classical liberal arts education to students in grades K-12.

Learn more about this beloved event, view pictures from previous years, and register now here. See you there!

Taher is proud to be Eagle Ridge Academy's food service provider and they would like to know how they're doing. Please take this short survey and let them know what you think. Your voice matters! Thank you in advance for your participation.

Spring athletics and activities registration is now open for grades 7-12. Register today for Boys Baseball, Track and Field, the brand new Girls Flag Football team, and more!

The Variety Club is designed for those who want to try something new every week in a relaxed, inclusive environment.

The club will rotate through activities such as:

Whether you are looking to discover a new passion or simply unwind with friends after the school day, the club offers something for everyone. Bring your curiosity and school spirit!

The ERA DECA team competed in the District competition at Wayzata High School on January 25. Nine students competed and three are advancing to the State competition!

Senior Bhavik P. placed first in his division for Principles of Finance and sophomores Amaar M. and Geoffrey M. placed 3rd in their division for Hospitality Team Decision Making.

Congratulations to all the members of the ERA DECA team: Spencer L., Leo G., Violet L., Bhavik P., Jesse T., Muhammad I., Arun S., Amaar M., and Geofrey M.!

On February 9, Math Team participated in a competition at Lakeville South and earned first place in the Canterbury district! Along with winning their competition, three ERA students earned spots in the top five of the entire district: Sai Potini (#1), Lakshitha Potini (#4), and Matthew Mou (#5)! This is another INCREDIBLE accomplishment from our Math Team, and we are so proud of their performance this year! They will now begin training for the State Competition later this season.

School of Rhetoric Winter Formal will take place in the Bassett Creek Room at Brookview Golden Valley on Saturday, February 21, 7:00-10:00 p.m. Tickets will be sold during School of Rhetoric lunch for $30 each February 16-17, and $35 each February 18-19. This year’s theme is “Met Gala”.

The Winter Formal is an evening dance event designed to provide students with a structured and enjoyable social experience. The event will feature music and dancing in a supervised setting, along with the availability of food and beverages for attendees. Faculty and staff chaperones will be present throughout the duration of the event to ensure student safety and adherence to school policies.

PSEO (Post-Secondary Enrollment Opportunity) registration for the 2026-2027 school year has opened.

Students are registered as full-time Eagle Ridge Academy students until their participating institution accepts them into the PSEO program. Once accepted, the students will meet with Mrs. Kaiser, Academic Counselor, to adjust their 26-27 schedule.

Minnesota Association for College Admission Counseling is sponsoring free Minnesota Education Fairs throughout the metro area. Various locations and dates are available between February 22-26, and listed below are the after school locations.

This is a great opportunity for students and their families to visit with representatives and explore a variety of options for continued education beyond high school. It is also a great learning tool for career exploration. Click here to see schools attending the Spring 2026 Minnesota Education Fairs.

Students attending the fairs should go to the registration page at StriveFair and fill out a quick form on their phone or computer (in advance or at the door). When they sign up, StriveScan sends them a barcode via text message and email. The next day, students receive an email with a report on all of the colleges and representatives they met along with their contact information and social media profiles. There is no cost for students.

If you would like to receive the weekly Scholarship Newsletter, please sign up here.

On February 7, with the help of 35 fabulous volunteers, the School of Logic hosted their 2nd Annual Gryphon Games. More than 200 School of Logic students came out for a day of challenges, community, and games. Thank you for creating community at Eagle Ridge Academy!

Pledge your annual support to Eagle Ridge Academy with an affordable monthly gift, broken down into smaller amounts, which makes giving easier and allows a predictable revenue source for Eagle Ridge Academy. Click here to pledge your annual support.

Box Tops for Education helps families earn money for ERA with products they already buy. Download the app, set up your account, and scan your grocery store receipts. The app automatically finds eligible items and credits them to ERA!

Consider reaching out to your Community Relations or HR Department to ask about their community support and employee giving opportunities! Many employers match employee gifts. Search here to see if your workplace matches.

Did you know that there's an Eagle Ridge Academy mobile app available for iPhone and Android? To download the app, click here on your phone and follow the prompts or search Eagle Ridge Academy in your app store and look for the ERA logo. You do not need a username or password to use the app. 

On the app, you can see a live feed of notifications and announcements, view upcoming events, locate staff contact information quickly, review the day's breakfast and lunch menu, access Infinite Campus and Silent Dismissal, and more. 

Don't miss any notifications from Eagle Ridge Academy! Allow app notifications when prompted on initial download to ensure you don't miss any messages.

Thank you for reading the Eagle Eye newsletter and for staying updated on what's going on at Eagle Ridge Academy. If you haven't already, please make sure bookmark the ERA website, like the ERA Facebook page and follow the ERA Instagram to see more frequent updates.

The next issue of the Eagle Eye newsletter will be published on Thursday, February 26.