The top reported proficiency rate is 29% in Math. The lowest is 6% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Prodeo Academy
Prodeo Academy is a Minnesota school district serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade across multiple campuses in the Twin Cities area. The district operates schools in Columbia Heights and St. Paul, offering families a single PreK-8 pathway. Because the district does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report; the academic picture comes entirely from state assessments given in grades three through eight.
On those assessments, Prodeo Academy's results place it among the lowest-performing districts in Anoka County when looking at overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades. In math, the share of students meeting state standards was modest across most grade levels, with a notable drop in eighth grade. Reading proficiency followed a similar pattern, hovering around the same range. Science proficiency was particularly low, with only a small fraction of students scoring at the proficient level in both fifth and eighth grade. These numbers suggest that many students are working below grade-level expectations, and parents may want to discuss with the school what academic interventions and supports are in place.
The district's enrollment of roughly a thousand students is spread unevenly across grades, with larger classes in the early elementary years and thinner numbers in seventh and eighth grade. The student body is diverse: a substantial majority of students are Black, with sizable shares of Asian and Hispanic students and a very small white enrollment. Data on economic disadvantage, special education, and English learner status were not available in the source materials, so a family looking to understand the full support landscape would need to ask the district directly.
Chronic absenteeism is a significant concern. The district's rate of students missing many school days places it among the highest in Anoka County, in the bottom quartile. That pattern often correlates with academic struggles and may point to challenges around engagement or family circumstances. On the other hand, per-pupil spending is in the upper range among the county's districts, indicating that the district invests more than many of its neighbors. How that spending translates into classroom resources and staffing is a question the school itself could answer.
The district's campuses include separate primary, elementary, and middle schools in Columbia Heights, plus a primary and elementary campus in St. Paul with a middle school. According to publicly reported information, the St. Paul campus has been expanding grade by grade and will add eighth grade for the 2025-26 school year, completing its PreK-8 span. That means St. Paul families will no longer need to find a different school for the final year of middle school.
For a parent considering Prodeo Academy, the core trade-off is straightforward. The district offers a continuous program from early childhood through middle school, with campuses in two metro locations and above-average spending per student. But the academic performance data is weak across the board, and chronic absenteeism is high. A family with a child who is already on grade level or needs enrichment may find the academic environment less demanding than other options in the area. A family whose child needs significant academic support may want to investigate what targeted help the school provides and how it addresses the attendance challenges that appear to be widespread.
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