Original Research by School Decision on Project Return
Project Return is a regular public school in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, serving grades six through twelve, and it operates as part of Northeast Metro 916, an intermediate school district. This type of district is not a traditional geographic school system. Instead, it provides specialized programs—such as alternative learning, career and technical education, and shared special education services—to students from multiple surrounding member districts. That context is essential for understanding what Project Return is: it is a program, not a neighborhood school, and a student would enroll here by referral or placement from their home district rather than by residential address.
The school is very small by every measure. Its total enrollment is minimal, and the student body in the most recent data consisted of a single sixth-grade student who was white. No other grades, from seven through twelve, had enrolled students reported. Because the school serves a population of one at the time of record, all demographic categories beyond that individual are effectively zero. Data on how many students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, how many receive special education services under an IEP, and how many are English learners were all marked as missing, which can happen when counts are too small to report reliably.
State testing data is likewise extremely limited, and what exists is suppressed for privacy. In the 2022-23 school year, the single sixth-grade student took the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment in math and English language arts, and participation was reported at full. However, the proficiency results for both subjects were suppressed. The only other test record available is a science assessment from the 2017-18 school year for a now-distant eighth-grade cohort, also a single student whose proficiency result was likewise suppressed. Because the enrollment is extraordinarily small and the state withholds results to protect student privacy, there is no usable achievement picture to describe. No graduation rate is available; the school enrolls grades up through twelve, but in the record there were no students in the upper grades at all.
There is no chronic absenteeism data, no discipline data, and no course access or staffing information reported. No program offerings were listed in the available records.
The district, Northeast Metro 916, did not have any parent-relevant changes such as a referendum, curriculum overhaul, or tax shift noted in the recent period.
White Bear Lake is a lakeside suburban city a short drive north of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, with a walkable downtown core and a strong community identity centered on the lake itself. It is an established, largely built-out suburb, and recent discussion around the area has centered on lake water level management rather than new housing development. Housing values in the area are near the state benchmark, and home prices have risen modestly in the past year.
For a parent or resident looking at Project Return, the question is not whether this is a traditional school with standard academic metrics. The data simply does not support any evaluation of academic performance. The question is whether this program matches a student's needs. The school exists as an alternative placement, likely for students who require a setting very different from a comprehensive middle or high school. The enrollment of exactly one student suggests it may operate on a highly individualized, case-by-case basis. A parent should contact Northeast Metro 916 directly to understand what Project Return offers, who it serves, and how a student would be placed there. The school's purpose and design are not visible from the testing and demographic data available here.
See more original research from School Decision →