--Dakota Conference Administrators with Jodi Dossenko, communication director
On April 6, 2025, 267 delegates gathered on the campus of Dakota Adventist Academy for a special constituency session to prayerfully consider its future. After thoughtful discussion, 78 percent of delegates voted in favor of Option B: to cease operations at DAA, effective at the end of the current school year.
This decision was not made lightly. For more than 40 years, Dakota Adventist Academy has been a place where faith and learning were shared, and where many students formed lifelong friendships. Generations have experienced Christ-centered education, mentorship, and spiritual growth on this campus. Dakota Conference administrators praise God for the legacy of DAA and the impact it has had across the Dakota Conference and beyond.
We know this decision brings grief to many. We want to acknowledge the faithful students, staff, parents, and alumni who have poured their hearts into this school. Your love and commitment have not gone unnoticed—or in vain. The impact of your faithfulness lives on in the lives changed and the seeds planted through this ministry.
As we move forward, our commitment to Adventist Education remains unwavering. The Dakota Conference will continue to support our elementary schools and will actively explore different ways to provide scholarship opportunities for Dakota academy-age students to access Adventist Education. We ask you to partner with us through your prayers and support during this time of transition—especially for the students and families now making decisions about where to continue their education and for the dedicated staff and teachers who will be seeking new places to serve. May we continue to seek God’s guidance as we move forward.
Even as this chapter closes, we hold tightly to the promise of Jeremiah 29:11—“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord... “plans to give you a future and a hope.”