The top reported proficiency rate is 23% in English language arts. The lowest is 3% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Community of Peace Academy
Community of Peace Academy is a public charter school district serving prekindergarten through twelfth grade with a single campus that houses an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school. It is located in Ramsey County, Minnesota, and it is the only district in its county that operates as a single-site charter system. The student body is highly diverse, with the largest groups being Asian students, Black students, and Hispanic students; white students and students of two or more races make up much smaller shares. The district’s enrollment is large enough for a full pre-K-to-12 program, and grade-level numbers are steady across the middle and high school grades, which indicates a relatively stable population through the pipeline.
On state assessments, the academy’s proficiency rates across math, reading, and science are low compared to many other districts within Ramsey County. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above hovers near the low end of the range in grades three through six, improves somewhat in grade seven to a modest level, and rises again in grade eight to a still-low level. In English language arts, the pattern is similar: early elementary results are weak, grade five shows a modest improvement to about a third of students proficient, and grade seven matches that moderate rate, but grade eight drops back down. Science results are very weak, with only a tiny fraction of students reaching proficiency in both grade five and grade eight. These figures place the district below the midpoint among Ramsey County’s districts in overall academic performance. The state changed the name of the science assessment and its cut scores for the tested year, which means those science results cannot be compared to earlier years, but even with that caveat the current numbers are very low. A parent should look into how the school supports students who are behind grade level and what interventions are in place for the youngest learners.
Chronic absenteeism is a notable concern. The district’s rate of students missing substantial amounts of school is above the midpoint among Ramsey County’s districts, meaning more students are chronically absent than at many nearby schools. High absenteeism can affect academic progress and school culture, so a family should ask what the school does to improve attendance and whether individual students receive follow-up.
Per-pupil spending is in the middle range for the county, but toward the lower half, which may reflect the charter model’s leaner administrative structure or different allocation priorities. Funding data were available from the state, but no information about free or reduced-price meal eligibility, special education identification, or English learner services was reported, so it is not possible to assess how many students come from low-income households or require additional academic supports. Those are important gaps for a parent to investigate directly.
No information about course access, staffing ratios, discipline practices, or Advanced Placement or career and technical education programs was available. Because the district operates its own high school, a parent would want to confirm what pathways are offered for college preparation and vocational training. A graduation rate for the district was also missing from the data, so it is not possible to know how many students who start high school finish in four years.
The district’s buildings are separate by grade band with an elementary, middle, and high school on the same campus. The school was publicly reported as a 2024 National School of Character, which suggests an explicit focus on character education and social-emotional development. The district brief searched for recent parent-relevant changes such as boundary shifts, referendums, or curriculum reforms but found none; the only notable fiscal data was related to construction spending. No recent reforms or district-wide initiatives with clear lasting impact were identified.
This is a school that serves a highly diverse student population, and it has a stated identity around character education. Academically, state test results are low across the board, absenteeism is high, and per-pupil spending is near the lower middle of Ramsey County’s range. A parent considering this school should visit, ask about academic interventions, attendance strategies, and course offerings at the high school, and request information about the school’s plan for raising student achievement.
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