Original Research by School Decision on Knights Academy
Knights Academy is an alternative school in Saint Michael, serving grades ten through twelve as part of the St. Michael-Albertville school district. It is a small program, with an enrollment that makes it one of the smaller high-school-level options in the area. The student body is predominantly white, with modest shares of students who are Black, Hispanic, or identify as two or more races. About half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate that stands out from the more affluent profile of the surrounding community.
The school occupies a spot on Central Avenue West in what was once a historic downtown strip. Saint Michael itself has grown rapidly from a small farm town into a suburban commuter community northwest of the Twin Cities, a transformation driven by Interstate 94 and state highways. The district built a new high school and converted its old one into a middle school to keep pace with that growth. Knights Academy operates as an alternative setting within that larger system, offering a smaller, more flexible structure for students in their final years of high school.
State testing data is available only for the most recent year, which limits any view of trends. On that single measure, proficiency rates in both English language arts and math were well below the averages of typical comprehensive high schools. The available numbers represent a single snapshot and cover a very small group of test-takers, so a parent should interpret them cautiously and discuss the school’s specific academic expectations directly with staff.
The school did not report a graduation rate, which is a notable gap. For an alternative school serving grades eleven and twelve, the lack of a publicly reported graduation rate is something a family would want to clarify with the school administration. The data also did not include information on discipline, course offerings, staffing, or student attendance, so it is not possible to describe the daily environment or support structures from the evidence at hand.
Knights Academy is a niche placement within a growing suburban district, not a comprehensive high school. It exists to serve students who need an alternative path through their last years of high school, and its small size and alternative designation mean it likely offers a different structure than the main high school. A parent considering this school should ask directly about academic expectations, the availability of credits needed for graduation, and what support the school provides to help students finish. The absence of a graduation rate and the limited testing data are legitimate points to raise in that conversation.
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