South St. Paul Public School District

The South St. Paul Public School District operates 6 schools, including 2 elementary schools, 1 middle school, 3 high schools, and 0 alternative schools, serving students in the South St. Paul area. The district's performance is mixed, with some standout elementary schools but struggling middle and high schools, particularly an alternative high school serving a high-need population.

The two elementary schools, Lincoln Center Elementary and Kaposia Education Center Elementary, are the district's strongest performers, with high proficiency rates in Math, Reading, and Science that exceed state and district averages. These schools also have low student-teacher ratios, indicating a focus on personalized instruction. In contrast, the alternative high school, S St. Paul Community Learning Cntr., struggles significantly, with low proficiency, graduation, and high dropout rates, highlighting the challenges faced by high-need student populations.

The district as a whole is underperforming compared to state averages, ranking 360 out of 463 districts in Minnesota and receiving an overall 1-star rating from SchoolDigger. This points to the need for comprehensive improvement efforts across the district, particularly in addressing the high percentage of free/reduced lunch recipients, which ranges from 54.93% to 78.82% across the schools. The wide gap in performance between the elementary schools and the middle/high schools also suggests a need to examine instructional practices and support systems as students transition between school levels.