Original Research by School Decision on Community School of Excellence High
Community School of Excellence High is a small charter high school in Saint Paul, Minnesota, serving grades nine through twelve. It operates as a regular school and is part of the Community School of Excellence charter district. The student body is small and remarkably homogeneous in its ethnic composition: nearly all students are Asian. The school also serves a student population with very high economic need, with a substantial share qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Information on the share of students receiving special education services or classified as English learners was not reported in available data.
The school is located on the east side of Saint Paul, a city that serves as Minnesota’s capital and the seat of Ramsey County. Saint Paul is a densely populated urban center with a diverse population, a strong government and institutional employment base, and a well-regarded park system. The city sits on the Mississippi River and includes a mix of historic neighborhoods, cultural venues, and professional sports facilities. For families considering this school, the broader city context is that of a stable, mid-sized capital with a varied housing market and established public transit connections across the Twin Cities metro area.
State testing data is available for one recent year, giving a snapshot of academic performance but no trend. In English language arts, roughly two-fifths of students met proficiency standards. In mathematics, the share meeting proficiency was very low. This gap is wide and a parent may want to ask the school directly about math instruction, interventions, and the support available for students who need to build foundational skills. No state-level graduation rate was reported, which may reflect the school’s small size or reporting gaps; without that figure, families cannot assess how many students complete high school on time. Chronic absenteeism data was also not available, and we looked for program offerings such as Advanced Placement, career pathways, or dual-credit opportunities but found none in the provided records.
Because the school is a charter, it operates with some autonomy from Saint Paul Public Schools, though it is located within the city. The district-level brief found little publicly reported about recent changes or strategic priorities at the district level. The comparison framework that would position this school relative to other Ramsey County districts was not applicable because the necessary metrics were missing for this entity. That means a parent cannot use county comparisons to gauge where this school falls for overall proficiency, graduation, or attendance; the available data is limited to the school’s own reported numbers.
In short, Community School of Excellence High is a very small, nearly all-Asian charter high school in Saint Paul with a high concentration of students from low-income households. The available test results show a modest level of ELA proficiency and a low level in math. Key outcomes that many families use to evaluate a high school, such as graduation rate and post-secondary readiness indicators, are not present in the data. Parents considering this school should seek direct information from the school about academic support structures, math achievement, and what happens after students leave ninth through twelfth grade.
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