Santa Fe Accelerated Elementary School, at 8908 Old Santa Fe Road, is located on a former campsite of the Santa Fe Trail.

Due to a strike at the factory where the air conditioners were being made for Santa Fe, staff and students were delayed in the originally proposed start date of the school. Students were housed in different schools throughout the district until classes could begin at Santa Fe. First grade met at Union Point, second and third grade at Holmes Park, fourth grade in Dobbs gym, fifth grade in Johnson's gym, and sixth grade in Truman's gym. Consequently, the move to the new school took place over the winter holidays, December 1970.

Work on the unfinished building continued after classes began. Additions were made to the school during the next two years, and the dedication of the building was in 1972.

In the fall of 1980, the district's kindergarteners moved into the elementary schools, including Santa Fe, from the various locations around the district were they had classes, including several churches.

The 20th Anniversary Quilt was completed and dedicated in May 1992 at an Open House for former teachers, alumni, and guests.

In 1995, Santa Fe became a recipient of the Caring Communities Grant. With this grant, the school is able to provide expanded services to the students and families of it's community.

In 2007, Santa Fe began a reading program for the Kindergarten through third grades called "Reading First." Hickman Mills was one of 17 districts in the state of Missouri to receive the Reading First grant for the 2007-2008 school year. It is part of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, is based on scientifically-based reading research, and is designed to ensure that every student can read well by the end of third grade. Santa Fe acquired a full time Reading First Coach for the school to teach teachers how to use the program, to aid students in their learning, and to teach parents skills and strategies to use at home to support their children's reading.