Original Research by School Decision on Roosevelt High - Sws
Roosevelt High – SWS is an alternative school in Minneapolis, serving grades nine through twelve. Its enrollment is very small, with a single student reported in grade twelve and none in the other grades. All of that student body is Black. The school is part of the Minneapolis Public School District and is not a charter or magnet school.
Because the school is an alternative program and has such a tiny reported enrollment, almost all of the standard public-facing academic metrics are absent. There are no state assessment results, no graduation rate, no chronic absenteeism rate, and no data on discipline, course access, or staffing. The comparison to other districts in Hennepin County could not be made for proficiency, graduation rate, or absenteeism because the school lacks the necessary figures. A family considering this school would need to look into what data the school itself holds and what its particular alternative model is, since the publicly reported profile provides no academic track record to evaluate.
Minneapolis itself is the most populous city in Minnesota and a dense urban center. It sits on both banks of the Mississippi River and is home to the University of Minnesota’s main campus, a major arts scene, and four professional sports teams downtown. Its park system is extensive, with many lakes and a linked scenic byway. The housing market in the school’s surrounding area shows home values and rents near the middle of the national range. The city’s population has seen a slight decline in recent years, while the broader metro area continues to be a major economic hub anchored by companies such as Target, General Mills, and the University.
The broader Minneapolis Public School District has been under significant financial and structural pressure. The district faced a large budget deficit for a recent school year, driven by declining enrollment and the end of federal COVID relief funds, leading to staff reductions, program cuts, and school closures. In a prior year, the board voted to close three schools. A comprehensive redesign of attendance boundaries and magnet program placements has also been phased in, changing which schools feed into others. A technology levy was renewed by voters, but an operating levy increase was rejected. These conditions mean that families in the district experience ongoing shifts in school assignments and program offerings, and the stability of any given school is tied to the district’s fiscal situation.
Roosevelt High – SWS is not a conventional comprehensive high school. It is a small alternative program, and its public data gives essentially no information about academic performance, student support, or post-graduation outcomes. A parent considering this placement would need to seek direct information from the school or the district about what the program offers, who it serves, and what its completion or transition results look like. The lack of publicly reported metrics is not unusual for a very small alternative school, but it means a family has little to go on without contacting the school directly.
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