Original Research by School Decision on Simley Alternative Program
Simley Alternative Program is the small alternative high school within the Inver Grove Heights Schools district, serving ninth through twelfth graders. Inver Grove Heights is a suburban city southeast of Saint Paul, home to major employers like the CHS agricultural cooperative and the Pine Bend Refinery, and the district spans the city. The school is housed at 2920 80th Street East.
The student body is small and predominantly composed of juniors and seniors, with no ninth or tenth graders reported, which is a structure parents will want to understand directly from the school. Hispanic students make up the largest single group, followed by white students and Black students; Asian students and students of two or more races are also present. A very large share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a high level of economic need in the population the program serves. The school is a public, non-charter alternative school, and information on its Title I status was not available.
State testing data for Simley Alternative Program is effectively absent. The most recent math assessment data reports a proficiency rate of zero percent, but with only a single year of data and the nature of an alternative program, this figure carries limited meaning for families comparing schools on conventional academic metrics. State testing is often not designed to capture the academic progress of students in alternative settings, where many enter below grade level or with interrupted education. A parent looking for typical proficiency rates will not find them for this school, and that gap is an expected feature of the program's design rather than a sign of missing data. The comparison fact-set for districts in Dakota County also could not generate a proficiency index, graduation rate, or chronic absenteeism rate for this school because the necessary values were missing.
No graduation rate was available from the data. Alternative programs often measure success through credit recovery, postsecondary transition, or other completion benchmarks that differ from the standard four-year cohort graduation rate. The school website’s district-level search did not turn up recent referendums, curriculum changes, or property tax shifts of lasting parent impact, so the district appears to be operating without major recent disruption.
This is not a school that a parent would evaluate using test scores or a graduation rate. It is a small, targeted program for students who have not succeeded in a traditional high school setting. The peer group is small, economically diverse, and specific to students who need an alternative pathway. The housing market in Inver Grove Heights carries a home value roughly around the state benchmark and a rent level that is moderate relative to income, but the school’s small size and specialized mission mean the decision to attend is driven by a student’s individual academic and social needs rather than by neighborhood attendance boundaries. Parents considering this program should contact the school directly to understand its curriculum, graduation pathways, and what supports are in place for students who have struggled elsewhere. The available data gives a basic picture of a small alternative school serving a high-need population, but the detailed academic and operational picture remains with the school itself.
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