Face to Face Academy (Official)

It has been an exciting (and busy) few weeks for Face to Face Academy!

Yesterday, we celebrated Jay Bachman, Tanajha Davis, Koda Mims, and Jada Peterson, our four graduates for December, 2026. They have all put in a lot of work to get where they are now, and we could not be more proud of them.
These four amazing women have faced an abundance of obstacles throughout their high school careers, yet they preserved, learned to rely on friends, family, and the staff here at F2F. Now, they have diplomas to prove it.
If you would like to hear their speeches, Anton, our podcast producer, has kindly recorded and posted them to this link: https://f2fpodcastnetwork.com/episodes/class-of-december-2025.

During our graduation ceremony, we also had the privilege to welcome Mayor Melvin Carter III, who addressed the graduating class, uplifting them and congratulating them on their hard work and leadership.

Our graduates were presented with the Live for Olivia Scholarship, an award in honor of Olivia McIntosh. The Live for Olivia Scholarship is a $1,000 postsecondary award that honors graduates of Face to Face Academy. We are proud to announce that this scholarship was given to all four graduates.

In honor of Sam Nordquist, made in coordination with his mother, Linda, Face to Face Academy has created a new scholarship named the Stand Up for Sam Scholarship. This is a $1,000 postsecondary award that honors a graduating senior from Face to Face Academy that is actively involved in community service, promotes a positive and welcoming school culture, and serves as an advocate for individuals and groups most in need. The winner for the very first Stand Up with Sam Scholarship was Tanajha Davis. Along with this award, Dave Boquist, the school’s Music Director, wrote and performed an original song, titled “We Stand Together,” in honor of Sam.

The graduation was beautiful, emotional, and full of joy. The staff of F2F wishes our graduates nothing but love, happiness, and a life well lived. And, as many of you know, this is not a goodbye, the F2F community will always be here for them and all of our students even after graduation.

We are 3 weeks into our 2nd quarter of the school year!

Starting the quarter off with Academic Awards, the staff presented awards to students to acknowledge their achievements and hard work. We also recognized students who earned full credit.

Face to Face Academy was invited by the mayor to attend a press conference, held by a coalition of mayors from the major Twin Cities areas, advocating for the ability to enact local gun violence prevention laws. Due to our “Goals Not Guns” campaign, Face to Face Academy was invited to share some thoughts on the matter at hand. Without any time to prepare, two of our students, Tajhon Davis and Jay Dreher, gave some of their thoughts on the matter of gun safety and their own experiences related to gun violence.

We are very proud of our students for attending such an important event and being willing to speak about their own experiences.

Here is a Youtube video of the entire press conference, you can see our students speaking at timestamp 21:35 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd5C5qwIxJ8

If you want to see the full news story, here is the link to KARE 11’s coverage of the story: https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/mayors-minnesota-largest-cities-ask-more-authority-implement-local-gun-regulations/89-bdb10d96-5936-4078-beb8-8c0148a074d4

Here is an article that Pioneer Press wrote about the press conference: https://www.twincities.com/2025/10/14/st-paul-mayor-calls-for-city-measures-on-firearms/

Here is a link to the official press release: https://www.stpaul.gov/news/mayor-carter-and-minnesota-leaders-ready-take-action-gun-violence-prevention

Last week, Face to Face celebrated Spirit Week! The week consisted of fun dress-up days and events such as indulging in root beer floats one afternoon.

The highlight of the week was the Fall Festival! The Festival included events such as an art station, bingo, a raffle, and a dunk tank. Jason was on the grill and we had a parent kindly bring in a snow cone machine (much needed on a warm day!) and a mini donut truck.

The event was a huge success and it was our largest turn out for an event yet! We rounding off the week with a trip to the Minnesota Zoo where students were able to earn some science credit.

Overall, the quarter has been a huge success with a lot of activities, making it one of the most ambitious quarters to date! As we end this quarter, we are looking forward to the next one being just as exciting and successful!

As the Minneapolis & St. Paul Community grapples with the devastation of yet another senseless act of gun violence targeting our youth, we stand in remembrance of one Face to Face Academy's best and brightest who was taken away from us four years ago today.

Lavonte Baymon Love was a joy and inspiration to be around to his family, friends, and teachers. Having just graduated from F2F, he was on the verge of doing great things and making a difference in the lives of others who faced similar obstacles.

Today, in honor of Lavonte, we reshare a podcast with Lavonte's mom and former Face to Face student, Coco. This episode is NOT an easy listen. But it is necessary if we are ever to have the courage to take action so no mother or parent has to ever go through this type of unspeakable tragedy again.

Coco bravely confronts the unimaginable grief, loss, and fear that gun violence casts upon our daily lives. Within this experience of pain emerges glimmers of hope -- a pathway of how we may move forward together.

We love you Lavonte and we will never forget the positive impact you have had on our lives.

Listen to the episdode here ⬇️
https://f2fpodcastnetwork.com/episodes/the-gundemic-part-ii-a-mothers-grief-rerelease

Face to Face Academy is dedicated to teaching students a lot of different skills, such as engagement with environmental issues. This includes learning about food and water scarcity, air pollution, how to be sustainable and give back to the earth, and being more engaged with how to grow and cultivate vegetables, fruits, herbs, and flowers.

Recently, the backyard space has gotten a lot of love poured into it, from the gardening class to the multiple events held out there. This year Face to Face Academy wanted to transform the space to be more accessible and accommodating! Our goal is to use the space for recreational activities, such as basketball and volleyball, to have classes meet outside when the weather is beautiful, to have a space for the garden class to call their own, and to honor past students who were taken away from the community.

The new space features a sports court (which will be painted soon), a new gardening space (not finished yet), an amphitheater for classes to gather or to hold meetings, and features are the rocks Face To Face has made to honor students.

We are still working on the space! In the mulch areas there will be an abundance of plants to liven up the place. We also have plans to create a memorial garden where the rocks dedicated to students who have passed on will live on in their memory. We are unsure about the timing of this project but are excited to share when it all comes into fruition.

This has been a long process, but we are happy to be able to provide a place where students can get out of the basement and enjoy the fresh air.

The last contact period was full of excitement! We kicked off the year with a trip to Valley Fair, fun for both students and the staff! The next day Academic Awards were held, a time where teachers honor the students' hard work and dedication to the school. We even introduced a new award this year: The Spike Award (named after our mascot, Spike). This award honors a student who exhibits positivity, dedication, school spirit, leadership, and overall inspires others to work hard and be kind to others. During the awards Face To Face Academy celebrated Rachel's 10th year at the school!

To end the first week of the school year we had a Fun Friday planned. Some students went paddling, some went to paint pottery, and still others went to The Science Museum.

We also started our Summer of Fun, a time where staff can choose a fun event or location to go to and bring some students with them! The first Fun was going to Catzen Coffee / Cafe in St. Paul. The following week we had a fun time at Lake Elmo where students paddled, swam, bathed in the sun, and saw how many volleys we could get in a row.

Face To Face has also partnered with Philadelphia Community Farms in Wisconsin, which is “a rural based intentional community farm located on occupied land of Anishinaabe, Dakota, and Ho-chunk Nations, along the St. Croix River Valley.” At the farm students are able to explore the natural environment, help cultivate the land, harvest crops, and learn about how to live a sustainable life.

Along with the visits to Philly Farm, a lot of the Outdoor Adventure students went on a camping trip to Brule River and stayed at Copper Range Campground, including some first-time campers! There students were given the opportunity to swim, canoe, hike, and visit historical sites such as a Myer’s Beach and a fur trading post.

The same week, the Podcast class went to the Guthrie to see a performance of Cabaret, and was able to explore the yellow glass room and the infinite hallway.

Throughout the quarter, Face To Face Academy is offering a lot of fun 4th hour classes such as: Bike Club, Outdoor Games, Garden class, Podcasting/Youtube, Debate, Career Exploration, Music class, Community Leadership, Recreation, Art and Mental Health, and, of course, Study Skills.

Face to Face Academy has a lot more planned for the current contact period! We look forward to teaching and supporting our students as they continue to grow their knowledge and their engagement in the community.

The Face to Face Academy Podcast Presents: The Power of Resilience.

Resilience has long been known as a core building block for life success and overall wellness. Jim and Darius discuss the ingredients for resiliency and how educators and those in the helping professions can help cultivate this ability in the communities they serve.

Listen to the full episode: https://f2fpodcastnetwork.com/episodes/the-power-of-resilience

St. Paul’s Face to Face Academy to honor slain graduate Sam Nordquist “The circumstances of Sam’s death are beyond a tragedy and are indescribable,” said the school’s executive director.

The Nordquist family, with the blessing of Sam’s mother, Linda, and with the unanimous support of the Face to Face Academy School Board and the school community announces the establishment of two initiatives to honor Sam's legacy and positive impact:
*Stand with Sam Scholarship Fund
*Memorial Garden at the school's Outdoor & Experiential Space

To Learn More and Donate, follow this link: https://face-to-face-academy.square.site/

Also, please take a moment to read this moving article by reporter Mary Divine from the St. Paul Pioneer Press. It is subscribers only ($1 for 1 year), but is beautifully and respectfully done. Thank you Mary & the Pioneer Press for showing your support.

Here is a quick quote by Academy Director, Darius Husain, from the article:

“There’s a tremendous amount of energy, in a way that I have never seen before, to do something positive in Sam’s memory,” Husain said. “We’re conscientious of the fact that as this case continues, there are going to be many details that are going to be tragic and difficult to read about — and those things need to be read about and those things need to be talked about. But we don’t want that to be the definition of who Sam was. We want them to be known for who they were in life and the dignity that they brought day in and day out and not to be remembered for this heinous act.”

St. Paul’s Face to Face Academy to honor slain graduate Sam Nordquist “The circumstances of Sam’s death are beyond a tragedy and are indescribable,” said the school’s executive director.

I write with the heavy burden of informing our school community of the passing of Academy graduate, Sam Nordquist (Class of June 2020).
For someone who preferred helping others in the background, there will be plenty written about Sam that will be a part of a very public conversation especially about how and why he died. What we hope to add to the discussion is who Sam was as a person in life and the impact he had on us during our time together. In that spirit, please take a moment to read the Academy's tribute to Sam:

https://www.f2facademyblog.com/post/stand-up-for-sam

As we begin a New Year, we celebrate the December 2024 Graduating Class. Ida, Vita, Hunter, Sheree, Erica, Angelo, & Jasmyn all began their Face to Face careers during a Pandemic with mask wearing and social distancing. Despite the challenging start, they have been such a big part of making the Academy better than ever by being active participants in the Wilderness & Outdoor Program, spearheading the school’s award winning podcast, motivating their peers to be the best they can be, and creating a warm and supportive for all students.

We are so proud of their accomplishments and look forward to how far they will go in the next Chapter of their lives!

Summer has officially arrived, and we want to take a moment to recognize our fantastic group of June 2024 Graduates. They have persevered through and overcome every obstacle place in front of them. Learn more about the journey and future plans of Vianna, Marissa, Pamela, Tahjionna, Alice, Q, and Lilianna by listening to a special podcast dedicated to the Seniors! You won't want to miss these inspiring stories . . .

https://www.f2fpodcastnetwork.com/episodes/graduation-speeches-class-of-2024