Friendship Academy of Arts - Interm, Minneapolis MN

Original Research by School Decision on Friendship Academy of Arts - Interm

Friendship Academy of Arts - Interm is a charter school in Minneapolis serving students in third through eighth grade. It operates under the Friendship Academy of the Arts district, which as of 2025 consolidated all grade levels to a single location, a change from earlier years when the school ran two separate sites. The school is small, and its student body is overwhelmingly Black, with a very small number of Hispanic, white, and multiracial students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the information we reviewed.

State assessment results for the most recent school year show low proficiency in both math and reading across all tested grades. In math, proficiency rates were in the single digits or low double digits for most grades, and in reading they were similarly low, though the eighth-grade reading rate was higher than others. Science results, available for fifth grade, were also low. The school’s overall proficiency across subjects and grades, when compared with other districts in Hennepin County, falls below the midpoint. No graduation rate is reported because the school does not serve high school students. No data on chronic absenteeism was provided, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about attendance patterns.

Minneapolis is a large, dense urban center with a strong downtown core, major universities, arts institutions, and professional sports. The school is located in a residential area of the city. Housing costs in the surrounding zip code are roughly in line with state averages, and the rental market is similarly priced. For families considering relocation or enrollment, these factors shape the broader context.

The school’s name points to an arts emphasis, and the district’s website notes that it expanded and then consolidated in response to family demand, but no specific program or curriculum details were available in the data we examined. That means a parent interested in the nature of the arts instruction, or in any extracurricular offerings, should reach out to the school directly for specifics.

This is a small charter option within a large city, and its student composition reflects a predominantly Black and low-income community. The academic proficiency numbers are clearly a point of concern. A parent weighing this school would likely want to understand what supports, interventions, or programmatic strengths accompany these results, and how the school measures progress beyond the state assessments. The recent consolidation to a single site may simplify logistics for families with children across grade levels, but it also may shift the daily experience compared to when the school operated split campuses.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 319%

School 19% · District 19%

▼ 36 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

Grade 425%

School 25% · District 25%

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 59%

School 9% · District 9%

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 64%

School 4% · District 4%

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 70%

School 0% · District 0%

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 810%

School 10% · District 10%

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 319%

School 19% · District 19%

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 422%

School 22% · District 22%

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 29%

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 616%

School 16% · District 16%

▼ 30 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 74%

School 4% · District 4%

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

Grade 842%

School 42% · District 42%

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Science

Grade 55%

School 5% · District 5%

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

This schoolFriendship Academy of the Arts, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.