Original Research by School Decision on Saints Online High School
Saints Online High School is the high school tier of a full-time online learning program run by the St. Francis Area Schools district. The district expanded this virtual option in recent years, making it a permanent offering for families who want a remote public school experience taught by district teachers using an aligned curriculum. The school serves grades nine through twelve and is classified as a regular public school, not a charter or magnet.
Enrollment is small, with most students concentrated in the upper grades. The student body is predominantly white, with a smaller share identifying as Hispanic or as two or more races. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic mix of the area.
The school operates out of Saint Francis, a community on the northern edge of the Twin Cities metropolitan area that blends rural residential land with commercial development along Highway 47. The district’s financial picture has been under pressure. A 2024 operating levy referendum was defeated by voters, and the district has made multiple rounds of budget cuts, reducing staffing and programs. These constraints may affect the resources available to any school in the district, including the online program.
State testing data for Saints Online High School is limited. For the school year that ended in 2021, science results for both fifth and eighth grades were suppressed because very few students were tested—a pattern that reflects the small scale of the program and the unusual circumstances of the pandemic period. No participation rate was reported for those assessments. The most recent available testing data, from the school year ending in 2025, shows that zero percent of all students scored at the proficient level on state English language arts and math assessments. That is the only year of data for those subjects, so there is no trend to compare. A parent should consider what might account for this result—the school’s online format, the small number of test takers, or other factors—and may want to discuss assessment performance directly with the school.
Graduation rate data was not available in the information reviewed, so it is not possible to evaluate how successfully the school moves students through to completion. No information on course access, staffing, discipline, or chronic absenteeism was provided either.
For a family already in the St. Francis district or looking for a Minnesota online public high school, Saints Online represents a specific choice: a small, virtual setting where students work remotely with district teachers. The academic proficiency picture raises questions that merit further inquiry. At the same time, the school exists within a district navigating real fiscal constraints, and those conditions shape what any of its programs can offer.
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