The top reported proficiency rate is 0% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Crossroads East
Crossroads East is an alternative school in East Bethel, a semi-rural community at the northern edge of the Twin Cities metro area. It serves students in grades seven through twelve for the St. Francis Area Schools district. The school sits within a town that is overwhelmingly car-dependent, with limited commercial development and an economy that sends most residents commuting elsewhere for work. East Bethel is a place of lakes, parks, and natural preserves, growing modestly in population, and its owner-occupied housing rate is high.
The school itself is classified as an alternative school. That category matters when interpreting its academic picture, because alternative programs often serve students who have not succeeded in a traditional classroom setting. State testing data for the most recent year shows that in math, zero percent of tested students in seventh and eighth grade scored proficient. In English language arts, the proficiency rate was twenty-five percent, though that figure comes from a single year of data with no trend available. Science results for eighth grade were suppressed because the number of students tested was very small. The school’s overall proficiency index—the average across all tested subjects and grades—places it in the bottom quartile among the county’s districts. A parent may want to discuss with the school how these results reflect the specific population it serves and what academic supports are in place.
Enrollment data for the school shows it to be very small, consistent with an alternative program’s typical size. No demographic breakdown by race or ethnicity was reported in a usable form, and information on special education, English learner status, and economic disadvantage is absent from the available data. The school has no reported graduation rate, even though it serves grade twelve. That gap likely reflects the alternative setting, but a family should confirm from the district what the completion outcomes look like for students in this program.
The school belongs to St. Francis Area Schools, a district that has been under financial strain. In November 2024, voters defeated an operating levy that would have funded class size reduction, staffing, and academic programs. The district subsequently cut budgets, reducing staff and co-curricular activities, and has warned that further reductions may be needed. On the curriculum side, the district has expanded Saints Online, a full-time online learning program taught by St. Francis teachers, which adds a remote option for families.
For a parent or resident, Crossroads East is best understood as a specialized placement rather than a comprehensive neighborhood school. Its academic performance numbers are very low by conventional measures, but that reflects the alternative mission. The school likely serves a small group of students who need a different structure and more individualized attention. The district’s fiscal situation means ongoing belt-tightening that could affect staffing and class sizes across all its schools, including this one. Anyone considering placement here would want to visit, talk to staff, and understand the specific approach to instruction and support, since the publicly available data only tells a partial story.
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