Original Research by School Decision on The Alternative Program (tap)
The Alternative Program (TAP) is an alternative high school within Wayzata Public Schools, serving grades nine through twelve. It sits in Plymouth, a large, mature suburb roughly ten miles west of downtown Minneapolis. Plymouth is a car-dependent community with corporate headquarters, no traditional downtown, and a built-out residential character. Five school districts serve the city, with Wayzata being the largest.
TAP is a small school, with an enrollment that reflects its alternative mission. The student body is racially diverse, with roughly comparable shares of white and black students and a smaller but present proportion of Hispanic students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school offers a high school curriculum in a setting that is explicitly alternative, meaning it is designed for students who need a different structure than the district's comprehensive high school provides. The data does not specify the exact nature of the program—credit recovery, flexible scheduling, or specialized instruction—but alternative schools generally aim to support students who have struggled in larger, traditional environments.
What stands out most about TAP is what the public data does not include. There are no state assessment results, no graduation rate, and no chronic absenteeism rate reported. The comparison metrics that would normally position this school against other districts in Hennepin County are all marked as not applicable because the values are missing. This absence is not unusual for an alternative program. Many alternative schools operate under different accountability rules, or they serve students who take assessments at different times or in different ways. A parent considering TAP should ask the school directly for its own data on graduation rates, postsecondary outcomes, and how it measures student progress. The district's website and school staff are the best sources for that information.
The district context matters here. Wayzata Public Schools is a large, well-regarded system that passed an operating levy renewal in 2023 to maintain class sizes and programs. It has added elementary capacity to manage enrollment growth. It also now offers Wayzata Online, a full-time online high school option that was established after the pandemic. TAP sits within this district as a distinct, in-person alternative. The school's address is the same as where Wayzata Online is listed, suggesting a shared facility.
Plymouth itself is an affluent, stable community. Housing values are high, well above state and national benchmarks, and rents are substantial, making this a relatively expensive area. The city has grown from a farming village to a large suburb and is now largely built out. Major employers include Prudential Financial, the Wayzata school district itself, Medtronic, and several other corporations. The built environment is suburban cul-de-sacs and arterial roads, with civic amenities like the Plymouth Community Center and Hilde Performance Center spread along major corridors. There is no walkable downtown.
For a family, TAP is a specific option within a strong district. It is not the default high school experience; it is a program for students who may need a smaller, more flexible, or more supportive environment. Because the public metrics are absent, families will need to do their own investigation. The school's website, conversations with staff, and visits would be essential to understand the academic pathways, graduation expectations, and the kinds of students it serves well. The data available here paints a picture of a small, diverse alternative school in an affluent suburb, but it leaves the core academic outcomes unstated.
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