Twin Cities German Immersion Chrtr, Saint Paul MN

Original Research by School Decision on Twin Cities German Immersion Chrtr

Twin Cities German Immersion Charter School is a K–8 public charter school in Saint Paul, offering a full German immersion program. The school is small, serving just under that grade range size, and draws a student body that is substantially white, with much smaller shares of students who identify as Hispanic, as two or more races, as Black, or as Asian. The share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch is a modest slice of the enrollment, meaning the school serves a population that is, on the whole, economically advantaged relative to the broader district. The school is a choice option, not tied to a home address, and its enrollment over the past few years has grown to three full sections per grade, suggesting steady demand for the immersion model.

A parent looking at this school will find an academic profile that shifts noticeably by subject. On state reading assessments, the school’s proficiency rates are strong, particularly in the upper elementary and middle school grades, where a large majority of tested students met or exceeded the bar. Performance is lower in the early elementary years, but by fourth grade and above it climbs and stays high, with a notable share of eighth graders scoring proficient. In math, the pattern is different. Proficiency rates are around the midpoint in the early grades, then they trend upward through middle school, and by eighth grade a clear majority of students are meeting the standard. Science results, tested in fifth and eighth grades, show a similar arc: the fifth-grade cohort does roughly as well as its reading cohort that year, but the eighth-grade science rate is lower. The overall proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades places the school in the top quartile among Ramsey County districts. Because the school does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to examine, which is expected for a K–8 campus.

The school’s location on Como Avenue in Saint Paul puts it in the city’s Midway or northern neighborhoods, not far from the Minnesota State Capitol and downtown. Saint Paul is the state capital, a dense and diverse city with a substantial government and civic workforce. The city’s park system, its lakes and river bluffs, and its concentration of cultural institutions define the area. Housing values in the zip code area are well below the statewide benchmark, and rents are moderate compared with state norms. The broader economic context is typical of the metro: a stable unemployment rate, median incomes near the national figure, and a cooling housing market in the recent period. For a family choosing this school, the commute is likely a short one from many parts of the city.

No data was available for chronic absenteeism or discipline, so those dimensions cannot be assessed. The school’s programs beyond the core immersion curriculum were not included in the available information, so a parent who wants to know about enrichment, music, art, or athletics should ask the school directly. The school is a single-site charter, not part of a larger district, which means its funding, governance, and enrollment policies operate independently of Saint Paul Public Schools.

The immersion model defines the experience. Students spend their early years learning primarily in German, transitioning to more English instruction by the upper grades. This is a language-acquisition program, not a dual-language or maintenance program, so a family considering it should be prepared for the immersion approach and its implications for early literacy in English. The school’s own history of expanding sections indicates that demand has grown as the program has added grades. For a family that values bilingual education and is comfortable with a small, choice-based school in an urban setting, Twin Cities German Immersion Charter School offers a reading-centered academic track that shows consistent strength, with math proficiency that improves markedly by middle school.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 341%

School 41% · District 41%

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 446%

School 46% · District 46%

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Grade 540%

School 40% · District 40%

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Grade 648%

School 48% · District 48%

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 33 pts above county median

Grade 756%

School 56% · District 56%

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 42 pts above county median

Grade 869%

School 69% · District 69%

▲ 44 pts above state median · ▲ 52 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 348%

School 48% · District 48%

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Grade 467%

School 67% · District 67%

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 43 pts above county median

Grade 580%

School 80% · District 80%

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 41 pts above county median

Grade 681%

School 81% · District 81%

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 47 pts above county median

Grade 769%

School 69% · District 69%

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 41 pts above county median

Grade 880%

School 80% · District 80%

▲ 45 pts above state median · ▲ 48 pts above county median

Science

Grade 552%

School 52% · District 52%

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 38 pts above county median

Grade 842%

School 42% · District 42%

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

This schoolTwin Cities German Immersion Chtr, 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.