Lift for Life Academy

In 2000, Lift For Life Academy (LFLA) became the first independent charter school to open in the City of St. Louis.

The academy, located in what was originally the Manufacturers Bank and Trust building, then later a Mercantile Bank, was established to provide an education to middle school students. It is now serving nearly 800 students in grades K–12. The elementary school is a half block south at 1920 South 7th Street.

The idea for the academy grew out of Marshall Cohen's other nonprofit agency, Lift For Life Gym, established in 1988 as a weightlifting organization for at-risk children located on the north side of St. Louis, 14th & Cass.