Original Research by School Decision on Academic Arts High School
Academic Arts High School in West St. Paul is a charter high school that serves grades 9 through 12 with a small enrollment. One point for families to be aware of upfront: this school operates as its own single-school district, distinct from the larger Independent School District that serves most other public schools in West St. Paul. A charter school is a public school, but it operates with its own governing board and admissions process, so enrollment requires a separate application and is not tied solely to where a family lives.
The student body is diverse and small. White students make up less than half of the enrollment. Hispanic students account for a substantial share, and Black students for a meaningful portion as well. Students who identify as two or more races and American Indian or Alaska Native students are also represented. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, who receive special education services, or who are English learners was not reported, so a family considering the school would want to ask the school directly about the range of support available.
On state testing, recent results are mixed and come with an important caveat about the size of the school. With a high school student population that is small even for a charter, any proficiency rate is based on a very small number of test-takers, which makes year-to-year comparisons unreliable. In the most recent year for which data is available, the proficiency rate in English language arts was around a third of students, while the math proficiency rate was notably lower, below one in ten. As the data compares only a single year, it offers no trend line. A parent would want to ask how this performance aligns with the school’s curriculum and what happens when students arrive below grade level or well above it.
This is a project-based learning school with an arts focus, as its name suggests. The academic program is built around interdisciplinary and teacher-powered models, meaning teachers share in school governance and curriculum decisions in ways that are unusual at a typical district high school. The school was established with these models a number of years ago, and the district brief found no recent major changes to note. For a student who thrives on hands-on, collaborative work and who wants a close-knit environment, this setup can be a significant draw. For a student who prefers a traditional lecture-and-textbook approach or a wide menu of extracurriculars and sports, the small size may feel limiting.
West St. Paul is a first-ring suburb of Saint Paul with a heavy-traffic commercial corridor along Robert Street and good access to highways. The housing stock trends towards the affordable side for the metro area. Home values and rents in the zip code around the school sit close to state and national medians, with modest year-over-year increases. The city has parks, an indoor ice arena, and a nature preserve, but its daily life is auto-oriented along the main commercial strip rather than centered on a walkable downtown. The school itself is located in an office or mixed-use building on Marie Avenue, not on a stand-alone campus like many traditional high schools.
See more original research from School Decision →