Original Research by School Decision on 917 Case
917 CASE is a special education school that serves students from preschool through twelfth grade. This school is part of Intermediate School District 917, a regional cooperative in Minnesota that provides specialized instruction, career and technical education, and alternative learning services to nine member school districts in the Twin Cities south metro area. The school is located in Rosemount, a rapidly growing mix of heavy industry, agriculture, and residential development situated a moderate drive south of Minneapolis and Saint Paul.
The student body is very small. The racial composition includes students who are white and students who are Asian. Data on how many students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, how many receive special education services through an Individualized Education Program, and how many are English learners was not available in the provided records. Given that this is a special education school, a family should expect that the student population is specifically placed here to receive services and instruction tailored to their needs, a context that shapes every aspect of the school day.
State testing data was largely suppressed, as is common in schools with very small student populations where results could identify individual students. Only a handful of students were tested in math, reading, and science. Because the numbers are suppressed, it is not possible to characterize the school's academic performance through the usual achievement metrics. This is not a school that operates on a typical public school testing model, and a parent making a placement decision here would rely on the Individualized Education Program team and the school's own internal assessments rather than on published state proficiency rates.
A graduation rate was not available, likely because this is a special education school serving a population for whom a standard four-year graduation time frame may not apply. The school serves students across a wide grade span, from early childhood through high school, but the data does not describe specific course offerings, career pathways, or dual-credit options. Program offerings were not listed in the data.
The School District 917 itself is an intermediate district, meaning it does not have its own attendance boundaries like a traditional public school district. Instead, it operates specialized programs on behalf of neighboring districts such as Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan, Burnsville, Lakeville, and others. A search for recent district-level changes that would matter to parents did not turn up specific findings; the district focuses on its technical and special education mission rather than on the kind of annual adjustments a home district might report.
Rosemount, where the school is located, has a strong industrial base anchored by a major oil refinery and other heavy industry, along with an established agricultural research presence through the University of Minnesota's UMore Park. The residential side of the city is expanding quickly, with hundreds of new homes under construction and a pro-growth municipal stance. Housing values in the area are somewhat above the national median. The community retains a historic downtown and hosts an annual Leprechaun Days festival. The city is auto-oriented, with four major highways running through it.
For a family considering 917 CASE, the relevant question is not how its test scores compare to other schools in Dakota County. The school exists outside that comparison framework. The key consideration is what specific special education program and therapeutic model the school offers for a given student, information the data provided here does not contain. A parent would need to contact the school or the Intermediate District 917 central office directly to learn about the particular classrooms, related services, and transition programming available at this location.
See more original research from School Decision →