Original Research by School Decision on El Colegio Charter School
El Colegio Charter School, a single-school district serving ninth through twelfth grade in Hennepin County, operates as a charter high school with a notably homogeneous student body. Every enrolled student is Hispanic, and the total enrollment is small for a high school, with the largest numbers in grades ten and eleven and a much smaller senior class. Information about the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, receive special education services, or are English learners is not reported, so a fuller picture of the student supports in place is unavailable.
Academic performance data from state assessments is absent from the available record, as is the school’s four-year graduation rate. For a high school, both are standard indicators that families typically rely on, and their absence means readers cannot gauge how students here perform on state tests or how many complete high school on time. It is worth asking the school directly about these outcomes, since no public numbers are available here.
Chronic absenteeism, however, is reported and stands out sharply. The rate is very high, placing El Colegio in the bottom quartile among Hennepin County’s districts. This means a large proportion of students miss a substantial number of school days, a pattern that often correlates with disengagement and academic difficulty. A parent considering this school may want to discuss what the school is doing to address attendance and whether the environment supports consistent participation.
Per-pupil spending is high relative to other districts in the county, but given the school’s small enrollment, such spending figures can reflect the fixed costs of running a small high school rather than an unusually rich program. No information about specific programs, course offerings, or extracurriculars is included, so it is not clear what that spending translates to in the classroom.
A major structural change has occurred since the data for this profile was gathered. As of July 2024, El Colegio merged with another charter school to form a new unified charter district, Academias La Paz, serving pre-K through grade twelve. That means the district described here no longer exists as an independent entity. Families in the area now fall under a different governance structure with a wider grade span, and any future planning should take that new district into account. The present account reflects El Colegio as it was before that merger.
See more original research from School Decision →