Original Research by School Decision on El Colegio Charter School
El Colegio Charter School is a very small high school in Minneapolis serving grades nine through twelve, operating as a regular public charter school. Its enrollment is modest, and every student reported identifies as Hispanic. A substantial share qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. The school sits in a dense, urban part of the city on Bloomington Avenue, surrounded by the mix of commercial and residential blocks common to south Minneapolis.
State testing data was not available for this school, so there is no basis here to compare its academic proficiency against other schools. Similarly, a four-year graduation rate was not reported. A parent may want to ask the school or the new district that now governs it for current outcome information. The school’s own website may offer additional detail.
What is most important to know for a family considering this school is that El Colegio Charter School, as an independent entity, has recently undergone a major structural change. According to publicly reported sources, as of July 2024 it merged with another charter, Academia In Lak'ech, to form a new unified charter district called Academias La Paz, serving pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. The Minnesota Department of Education records show that the old El Colegio district was consolidated and is no longer active. This means that any family looking at this school today would actually be dealing with a different district governance and a broader grade-span arrangement than what the data here describes. The numbers and characteristics in this profile reflect the school before that merger.
Minneapolis itself is a major urban center, the most populous city in Minnesota, and a hub for corporate headquarters, arts institutions, and the University of Minnesota’s main campus. Housing in the area is above the national median home value but somewhat below the state median, and rents have been rising modestly. The city’s park system, lakes, riverfront, and public transit network are extensive. For a family residing in or near south Minneapolis, the location of this school is within a city that offers many civic and cultural anchors, but the specific neighborhood around the address is a mixed-use corridor with a variety of housing stock.
Because the school is a charter, it operates independently from the Minneapolis Public Schools district, though it is located within the city boundaries. Its small size means a close-knit environment; every student in the reported enrollment is Hispanic, and the high free-or-reduced-lunch rate indicates a student body with significant economic need. The absence of data on special education and English learner populations means those details would need to be obtained directly from the school or its successor.
In short, a parent or resident reading this profile should understand that El Colegio Charter School no longer exists as a standalone high school. It has been absorbed into a new unified charter district that now serves all grades. The data here gives a snapshot of what the school looked like before that change: a small, homogeneous, high-poverty high school with no test scores or graduation rate available for public review. Families interested in this location should direct their inquiries to Academias La Paz to understand the current program, performance, and enrollment options.
See more original research from School Decision →