Original Research by School Decision on Becker Alternative Learning Program
Becker Alternative Learning Program serves high school students in grades nine through twelve and is designated as an alternative school within the Becker Public School District. The program operates in Becker, a small exurban city in Sherburne County situated roughly midway between Minneapolis and St. Cloud. This is a school with a specific mission, and its identity shapes everything about the experience a family would encounter.
The enrollment is small, with a student body that is predominantly white. A modest share of students come from low-income backgrounds based on federal meal program eligibility. The school serves only eleventh and twelfth graders by enrollment count, with no ninth or tenth graders reported in the latest data. The student body is concentrated in the final two years of high school, suggesting the program functions as a pathway for older students who need a different setting to complete their diploma.
The academic picture comes with significant caveats. State testing data was available for the most recent school year, but it covers a single year with no trend line and the results are very low. Proficiency rates on the state English language arts assessment were not achieved by any tested student, and the mathematics proficiency rate was a small share of students. These numbers represent a snapshot, not a pattern, but they are the only available measure. A parent would want to discuss directly with the school how the program’s academic instruction supports student progress and where those results fit relative to the school’s mission and student needs.
No graduation rate was reported, which is common for alternative programs where the cohort structure may not align with the traditional four-year timeline. No chronic absenteeism data was available either. The comparison set against other districts in Sherburne County could not be applied because the required metrics were missing. The school’s staffing, course access, and discipline data were also not available, leaving significant unknowns about daily operations and what classes a student would actually take.
The district itself, Becker Public Schools, recently undertook major capital construction projects that suggest significant investment in school facilities, which could include program spaces that benefit alternative learning students.
Becker is a community anchored by a large coal-fired power plant that dominates the local economy and tax base, though the plant is scheduled to close by the end of the decade. The city has seen population growth and is preparing for a Microsoft data center development. Housing values in the area are near the state average, and the area is car-dependent with a highway-oriented commercial strip. The economic transition from the power plant closure will reshape the community over the coming years.
For a family considering this program, the central question is whether the school’s alternative model matches the student’s needs. The available data is thin and the academic results are weak by conventional measures, but alternative schools exist precisely for students who have not thrived in a traditional high school environment. The lack of broader operational data means a family would need to rely heavily on a direct conversation with the program staff to understand the daily structure, the curriculum, the supports in place, and how the school measures success beyond the state test.
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