Nuevas Fronteras Spanish Immersion, Saint Paul Park MN

Original Research by School Decision on Nuevas Fronteras Spanish Immersion

Nuevas Fronteras Spanish Immersion is a regular public elementary school in Saint Paul Park, serving kindergarten through fifth grade as part of the South Washington County Schools district. It is a Spanish immersion program, meaning students receive instruction in both English and Spanish across the core subjects, a feature that defines the school’s academic identity. The school is not a charter or magnet, and its Title I status was not available in the data.

The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial Hispanic enrollment, smaller shares of students who identify as two or more races, Black or Asian, and a negligible number of Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students. The data showed no American Indian or Alaska Native students. About one in seven students qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a lower share than many public schools in the region. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not reported, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those populations and the support structures in place.

Saint Paul Park is a small, primarily residential city on the Mississippi River about a fifteen-mile drive from downtown St. Paul. The largest employer is a Marathon Petroleum refinery, and the city has a small-town character with a strong park system and an annual Heritage Days festival. Housing values in the area sit slightly below the state average but above the national benchmark, with a typical home costing notably less than in the most expensive parts of the metro area. The city has seen slow but steady population growth, and a recent annexation of land for a large development could bring significant expansion.

On state assessments, the school’s performance shows a clear pattern by grade. In math, third graders posted a strong proficiency rate, a level that dropped notably by fourth grade and fell further in fifth grade. In reading, third and fourth graders were around the midpoint in proficiency, while fifth graders achieved a higher rate, the strongest reading result across the grades tested. Science is tested only in fifth grade, where about a quarter of students met the proficiency benchmark. The assessment change flags indicate that the state made adjustments to the science test name and cut scores, which means comparisons with prior years are not straightforward. Because the data covers only one school year, no multi-year trend is available.

Overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places the school above the midpoint relative to other districts in Washington County. This positioning reflects the strong third-grade math results and the fifth-grade reading performance as anchors, with the fourth-grade math and fifth-grade science results representing softer spots. A family considering the school should weigh whether the immersion model, with its bilingual goals, aligns with their priorities for their child’s early education, and they may want to follow up with the school about how it supports students who are not yet meeting benchmarks in the later elementary grades.

The district brief noted that a search for parent-relevant changes did not yield results, so no recent district policy shifts, boundary changes, or program additions were available to report. A parent should expect to gather that context directly from the district or school office.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 373%

School 73% · District 64% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 454%

School 54% · District 63% · ▼ 9 pts below district

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

Grade 540%

School 40% · District 53% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 347%

School 47% · District 51% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 446%

School 46% · District 51% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 561%

School 61% · District 64% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Science

Grade 524%

School 24% · District 29% · ▼ 5 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

This schoolSouth Washington County Schools, 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-income33%Higher-income49%16 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income19%Higher-income54%35 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income42%Higher-income64%22 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income57%Higher-income76%19 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income33%Higher-income61%28 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income17%Higher-income43%27 pp gap