Ogdensburg Free Academy was founded in 1868. In March 2020, Ogdensburg Free Academy, along with other schools in the area, closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It remained closed until the end of the school year, with classes being held online.
Academics
Ogdensburg Free Academy is ranked 425th in New York State, and 5,125th in the nation. The AP participation rate is 23%, minority enrollment is 2%, and 54% of enrolled students are economically disadvantaged. It performs slightly below the state median.
Athletics
Ogdensburg Free Academy’s sports teams are known as the Blue Devils. Despite consistently winning NYSPHSAA Section X championships across many sports, they have never won the state championships. The Blue Devils are notorious in the region for their fast speed in basketball. OFA is home to the Van Dusen track meet, one of the oldest sporting events in New York history. Ogdensburg Free Academy offers the following sports:
Ogdensburg Free Academy offers many opportunities to students interested in the arts.
Art
The art department offers a wide variety of classes such as Studio Art, which covers a wide range of different media, as well as more specialized classes such as sculpting, to grades 9 through 12. Students in 7th grade must also take one semester of an art class. Every year in the fall and spring, the school hosts an art show showcasing entries from grades K-12 throughout the school district in the James F. Montpelier art gallery.
Music
The music department offers both band and chorus for grades 9-12, as well as a separate middle school band and chorus for grades 7-8. There is also a separate Jazz Band for 7-12.
Theater
The OFA Drama Club puts an annual musical on between November and December. Participation is not mandatory. Grades 8-12 are allowed to audition for speaking roles, or alternatively participate in the ensemble alongside Grade 7. In addition, Grades 7-12 are allowed to join the crew to help with the lights, audio, and any props that need to be moved on and off stage. Only Grade 12 students taking Theater Tech as an elective are allowed to man the ropes.
Alumni
Pete Gogolak, the first soccer-style placekicker in American professional football, and his younger brother Charlie, who also became a professional football placekicker, both attended Ogdensburg Free Academy and played their first football games there.
