L'etoile Du Nord French Immersion, Saint Paul MN

Original Research by School Decision on L'etoile Du Nord French Immersion

L’Etoile du Nord French Immersion occupies a specific niche in Saint Paul’s elementary landscape. It is a regular public school within Saint Paul Public Schools, serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, and its defining feature is a full French immersion program. That focus shapes the academic experience from the earliest grades. The school is small, with an enrollment that matches its role as a neighborhood magnet drawing families who want early language acquisition.

Academically, the school performs well. Based on the most recent state assessments in math, reading, and science, overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places L’Etoile du Nord in the top quartile of schools relative to districts in Ramsey County. That is a clear strength. Results vary by grade and subject—third- and fourth-grade math proficiency is solid, fifth-grade reading is particularly strong, and fifth-grade science is a softer area that a parent may want to look into further with the school. The data covers only a single year, so no trend is available, but the snapshot shows a school where most students meet state standards in core subjects.

The student body is diverse and economically mixed. Slightly under half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a meaningful share of families with lower household income. Racially and ethnically, the school draws from a broad cross-section of Saint Paul: white students make up the largest group, followed by two or more races, Black, Hispanic, and Asian students. This reflects the city’s wider diversity. Special education and English learner counts were not reported in the available data, so it is unclear how those populations are served.

The school is part of Saint Paul Public Schools, a large urban district that has recently made some notable changes. The district opened a new E-STEM magnet middle school in Woodbury, converted Jackson Elementary into a culturally focused East African Elementary Magnet, and renamed Ramsey Middle School to Hidden River Middle School. These moves signal a district that continues to adjust its magnet offerings, though they are not directly tied to L’Etoile du Nord, which remains a standing immersion program.

The school sits in Saint Paul, Minnesota’s capital and second-largest city. Saint Paul is dense and walkable in parts, with a strong park system, a downtown anchored by the state capitol, and a mix of historic neighborhoods built into river bluffs. The Mississippi River runs through the city. Housing costs, based on zip-code-level data, are moderate relative to national averages, and the rental market is similarly positioned. The median income in the broader metro is healthy. Families considering L’Etoile du Nord are choosing a school in an urban setting with the amenities and infrastructure of a state capital.

Because the school serves only through fifth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. That is simply a function of the grade band. Likewise, data on discipline, attendance, and staffing was not available in this profile, so those dimensions cannot be assessed here.

This school fits a family seeking an early immersion language program in a diverse urban public school with strong academic outcomes compared to other Ramsey County schools. It is not a charter or private school; it is a neighborhood magnet within the district, so enrollment is handled through the district’s school selection process. The immersion model means that instruction is primarily in French, which is a serious commitment for families but also a distinctive pathway with demonstrated results in this school’s case.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 357%

School 57% · District 38% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Grade 467%

School 67% · District 33% · ▲ 34 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 40 pts above county median

Grade 546%

School 46% · District 26% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 358%

School 58% · District 32% · ▲ 26 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

Grade 451%

School 51% · District 30% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 27 pts above county median

Grade 569%

School 69% · District 41% · ▲ 28 pts above district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 29 pts above county median

Science

Grade 541%

School 41% · District 18% · ▲ 24 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

This schoolSaint Paul Public 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-income50%Higher-income65%15 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income29%Higher-income68%39 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income40%Higher-income76%36 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income33%Higher-income79%46 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income35%Higher-income91%56 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income40%Higher-income79%39 pp gap