The top reported proficiency rate is 19% in English language arts. The lowest is 8% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on 279online Learning Program 6-8
279Online Learning Program 6-8 is the middle school segment of a full-time online school operated by Osseo Area Schools, District 279. It serves grades six through eight out of an office address on Boone Avenue in Brooklyn Park, though students access instruction remotely from their own homes, anywhere in Minnesota. The school is a regular public school, not a charter, and it functions as a fully virtual program within a traditional public school district.
Because the program draws from across the entire state, the "attendance zone" is not a walkable neighborhood. Brooklyn Park itself is the district's home base. It is a large suburban city northwest of Minneapolis, the sixth-largest in Minnesota, with a mix of residential neighborhoods, commercial strips, remaining farmland, and an extensive system of parks and trails. The city is car-oriented and lacks a walkable downtown core. Three separate school districts serve Brooklyn Park homes, with Osseo covering the majority. Housing values in the city are moderate compared to state averages, and home prices have seen modest growth in the recent period.
The student body of 279Online’s middle school is small in number and diverse. A large share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The racial and ethnic composition includes Black students as the largest single group, followed by White students, Asian students, Hispanic students, and students identifying as two or more races. Data on special education classification and English learner status was not reported, so a parent interested in those services would want to ask the school directly.
State test results are available for mathematics, English language arts, and science from the most recent school year. In math, proficiency rates are very low across all three grades tested. In English language arts, proficiency rates are also low, though they rise somewhat from sixth to eighth grade. In eighth-grade science, proficiency is similarly very low. When compared across districts in Hennepin County, the school’s overall proficiency index falls in the bottom quartile. Because the online learning model is inherently different from a traditional classroom setting, these results may not reflect the same instructional context as a brick-and-mortar school; still, the numbers are what the state reports, and they are far below county and state typical performance.
No multi-year trend data is available, so it is unclear whether this is a single-year low or part of a pattern. The district brief notes that 279Online has been expanded in recent years to serve grades K-12 across Minnesota, suggesting the program is a durable part of the district’s offerings, not a temporary experiment. A parent considering this school should ask how the program scaffolds academic support for students who are struggling, and whether the online format is delivering outcomes that families find acceptable for their child’s particular needs.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to evaluate. Information on course access, staffing ratios, discipline climate, and attendance was not available in the data provided. The district recently opened a new elementary school in Maple Grove to manage growing enrollment in that part of its territory, but that is not directly relevant to a fully online middle school program.
For a family, 279Online Learning Program 6-8 offers the flexibility of a full-time virtual education within a large suburban school district, with a diverse student body and a sizable population of economically disadvantaged students. The academic proficiency levels are very low by state and county standards, which is a fact families will want to weigh against the reasons they are choosing an online program in the first place.
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