Lincoln Center Elementary, South Saint Paul MN

Original Research by School Decision on Lincoln Center Elementary

Lincoln Center Elementary serves students from prekindergarten through fifth grade in South St. Paul, a predominantly residential community with a compact commercial and industrial footprint along the Mississippi River. Historically defined by the Saint Paul Union Stockyards and meatpacking industry, the city has transitioned since the stockyards closed into a mix of older residential neighborhoods, revitalized homes, and redeveloped riverfront areas. The city retains a strong blue-collar identity with a diverse population, including a significant Hispanic or Latino community alongside Eastern and Southern European immigrant heritage. The school is part of the South St. Paul Public School District, which serves K-12 across several buildings: Lincoln Center Elementary, Kaposia Education Center, and South St. Paul Secondary for grades six through twelve.

The school serves a student body that is diverse across multiple dimensions. Among the roughly several hundred students enrolled, a little under half identify as white, with the next largest groups being Hispanic or Latino, students of two or more races, Black, and Asian. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on students with individualized education plans and English learners was not available in the records reviewed, so a parent wanting a full picture of special education or language support services would need to ask the school directly.

State testing results for the most recent school year show a mixed picture that varies notably by subject and grade level. In reading, the portion of students meeting proficiency standards hovered around two-fifths for each tested grade, with a slight increase at the upper end. In math, proficiency rates sat in a similar range for third and fourth graders but dropped sharply for fifth graders, where fewer than one in five reached the proficiency mark. Science results, which are tested only at fifth grade, showed a similar challenge. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school’s overall proficiency index placed it above the midpoint among districts in Dakota County, meaning it performed roughly in line with the middle of the pack across the county rather than at either extreme.

Because this is an elementary school that serves only through fifth grade, it has no graduation rate to report. The absence of that metric is a function of the grade band, not an indicator of any program deficiency.

The community context is one of deliberate, gradual redevelopment. The city’s comprehensive plan guides land use, housing, parks, economic development, and transportation, with key initiatives including creation of a mixed-use zoning category and a small area plan for a commercial corridor that is set for implementation. The city emphasizes infill development in established neighborhoods. Housing values and rents in the area are moderate relative to national benchmarks, and the local economy has moved on from the industrial meatpacking era; major employers now include food production, manufacturing, and the school district itself.

Civic life is integrated rather than campus-separated. The city has numerous parks, two outdoor swimming pools, an ice arena, a redeveloped riverfront park, and a trail along the Mississippi River. The public library and a historical museum are embedded in the community. Metro Transit bus routes serve key areas, though daily errands typically require a car for most residents.

A search for recent district-level changes or initiatives that would be directly relevant to parents turned up general information about the district’s programs, including an International Baccalaureate offering, but nothing from the most recent several years that cleared the bar of a lasting parent-impact development. A parent considering Lincoln Center should weigh the school’s solid mid-county proficiency standing against the notable dip in math and science performance at fifth grade, and may want to discuss directly with the school how those subjects are taught and supported in the upper elementary years.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 347%

School 47% · District 46% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 447%

School 47% · District 43% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 518%

School 18% · District 24% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 339%

School 39% · District 38%

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 440%

School 40% · District 37% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 545%

School 45% · District 47% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Science

Grade 513%

School 13% · District 14% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

This schoolSouth St. Paul Public School Dist, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income34%Higher-income45%11 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income28%Higher-income53%25 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income36%Higher-income54%18 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income50%Higher-income67%17 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income35%Higher-income63%28 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income33%Higher-income62%29 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income11%Higher-income24%13 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income44%Higher-income60%16 pp gap