Original Research by School Decision on Face to Face Academy
Face to Face Academy is a small charter district in Ramsey County, Minnesota, serving only grades 9 through 12. It has a total enrollment of around a hundred students, making it very small even for a high-school-only district. The district operates two schools: a brick-and-mortar site and an online school. The student body is predominantly Black, with the remainder made up of smaller shares of White, Asian, Hispanic, and multiracial or American Indian students. Data on economic disadvantage, special education, and English learner status was not reported.
This is a district that serves an at-risk population, as noted in the district’s own description. The strongest signal in the available data is the chronic absenteeism rate: it sits in the bottom quartile among Ramsey County’s districts, meaning every student was counted as chronically absent. That is a very high rate, and a parent or resident should understand that regular attendance is not the norm here. No state testing results were reported, so there is no public information on academic proficiency or growth. The four-year graduation rate is also absent from the data, which likely reflects the nature of the school—an alternative program for students who may not follow a traditional timeline or who may earn diplomas through alternative pathways.
Per-pupil current spending falls in the upper half of the middle range among the county’s districts, which suggests the district invests somewhat more per student than many of its neighbors. This kind of spending pattern is common in small, specialized programs that need to cover fixed costs with a small enrollment.
Without test scores or a graduation rate, a family cannot judge academic outcomes from the data. What is clear is that Face to Face Academy is not a conventional comprehensive high school. It is a small, targeted program designed for students who have struggled in traditional settings. The high absenteeism and alternative structure mean that any parent considering this district should visit, talk to staff, and ask directly about academic expectations, student support, and the path to a diploma. The district brief turned up no recent property-tax changes, referendums, or major curriculum shifts, so the program appears stable but not publicly engaged in broader district-level initiatives.
Overall, this is a niche option within Ramsey County. It fits students who need a small setting and a flexible approach, but the absence of standard accountability metrics makes it hard to compare with other districts on academic grounds. The chronic absenteeism figure alone is a detail a family will want to discuss with the school to understand how attendance is handled and what the daily experience really looks like.
See more original research from School Decision →