History

Mission Dolores Academy is a richly diverse kindergarten through eighth grade, independent Catholic school located in San Francisco's Mission District. Founded in 2011, MDA was the result of a merging of two San Francisco Catholic schools: the Megan Furth Catholic Academy (MFCA), and Mission Dolores School (MDS). 

MFCA sought a new location to accommodate increasing enrollment and a changing neighborhood landscape. MDS was experiencing rapidly declining enrollment and continued financial reliance on the Archdiocese. The two schools merged to form Mission Dolores Academy, located at 16th and Church streets, a location that provided room to evolve while supporting the needs of the Bay Area's most deserving youth. 

In 2021, MDA celebrated its tenth anniversary and remarkable accomplishments of that first decade. These milestone achievements include the development of an individualized curriculum that teaches critical thinking in mathematics, language arts, science, and social studies; and our comprehensive Wellness Program, which addresses Mental Health, Social-Emotional Learning, Speech and Language Therapy, and Nutrition. This innovative Wellness Program includes a partnership with the UCSF Dyslexia Center.

Each year, MDA's graduating class carry the core values of empathy, compassion, inclusion, determination, and integrity with them as they continue their academic rigor at top preparatory high schools throughout the Bay Area. The majority of our graduates apply to and are accepted to local Catholic and independent high schools, including Archbishop Riordan, The Bay School of San Francisco, Convent of the Sacred Heart, Crystal Springs Uplands, ICA Cristo Rey, Junipero Serra High School, Lick-Wilmerding High School, Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, San Francisco University High School, and St. Ignatius College Preparatory. Historically, more than 80 percent of our graduates attend Catholic, private, or select public/charter schools.