Our Founder

William L "Bill" Wilson founded Higher Ground Academy in 1998 . He and his collaborators felt compelled to establish the school out of a concern for students falling behind in traditional public schools and his belief that the charter school environment could offer greater flexibility to serve those students.

Before the founding of Higher Ground Academy, Mr. Wilson served as the first African American member of St. Paul’s City Council and he was re-elected several times to that public office until 1989 when he became the President of the St. Paul City Council. He served in this capacity until his retirement from the Council in 1993. Mr. Wilson also served as Chairman of the St. Paul Housing and Redevelopment Authority as well as the Vice President of the St. Paul Port Authority. He served as the Commissioner of the Minnesota State Department of Human Rights during two gubernatorial terms of office.

When Mr. Wilson left public office in 1993, he returned to the University of Minnesota as the Coordinator of Diversity Programs in the College of Education and Human Development. Some years earlier he had served as the Coordinator of Inter-Cultural Programs in the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs at the University of Minnesota.