Original Research by School Decision on Hope Community Academy High School
HOPE Community Academy High School is a small charter school in Saint Paul serving grades nine through eleven. It is part of the HOPE Community Academy district, a single-charter district that also operates a K-8 school. The high school is young, with only three grade levels, and its enrollment is small. The student body is overwhelmingly Asian, with a very small number of Black, white, Hispanic, and multiracial students. A very large share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high level of economic need. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the school's reporting.
The school sits in Saint Paul, Minnesota's capital and second-largest city, which anchors the eastern half of the Twin Cities metro area. Saint Paul is a dense, diverse city shaped by the Mississippi River, the state capitol complex, and a strong park system. The neighborhood around Payne Avenue, where the school is located, is part of the city's East Side, a historically working-class area with a mix of older housing stock and small commercial corridors. Housing values in the school's zip code are below the state median, and rents are moderate relative to the broader metro. The city's population has been stable with a slight recent decline, and the local economy is anchored by state government, county government, and healthcare.
The school itself is a charter, meaning it operates independently of the Saint Paul Public Schools district. It is part of the HOPE Community Academy district, which runs a single K-8 school and this high school. The high school is very small, with enrollment concentrated in grades nine through eleven. It does not yet serve twelfth grade, so there is no graduation rate to report. State testing data is available for a single year, the 2024-25 school year, and shows that proficiency rates in both English language arts and math are low. Because only one year of data exists, there is no trend to examine. A parent may want to ask the school directly about academic progress over time and how the school supports students who are below grade-level benchmarks.
The district's publicly reported financial picture shows that per-pupil revenue and spending have declined over the past four school years and are well below state medians. This is a concrete constraint that families should consider when evaluating the resources available for instruction, materials, and staffing. The district has also publicly stated a strategic vision that includes growing enrollment and adding Karen language and culture programs alongside the existing Hmong focus. That vision targets a fully integrated pre-K through grade twelve charter school, which means the high school is part of a longer-term plan to build out the full grade span.
The school's student body is almost entirely Asian, reflecting the Hmong and Karen communities the district explicitly serves. The economic profile is one of high need, with a very large share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The school is small, with enrollment spread across three grades, and it is still building toward a full high school program. The academic picture is limited to a single year of state test results, which show low proficiency in both English language arts and math. There is no multi-year trend to assess, and no data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, or course access was available. The school does not yet have a graduation rate because it does not serve twelfth grade.
For a family considering this school, the central facts are these. It is a very small, early-stage high school within a charter district that has a clear cultural focus on Hmong and Karen language and programs. The student body is almost entirely Asian and economically disadvantaged. The district's per-pupil funding has been declining and is well below state medians, which likely limits what the school can offer in terms of electives, advanced coursework, and support staff. Academic performance, based on the single year of available data, is low. The school is still building toward a full high school program, and a parent may want to ask directly about plans for twelfth grade, course offerings, and how the school addresses the academic needs of students who are below grade level.
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