The top reported proficiency rate is 0% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Imprints Program
The Imprints Program is a special education school in New Ulm, Minnesota, serving students from kindergarten through twelfth grade. It operates as a program of the River Bend Education District, a cooperative that provides specialized services for member districts across the region rather than functioning as a traditional attendance-area school. For a parent considering this placement, the first and most important distinction is that the Imprints Program is designed for students with identified disabilities who require a more intensive, specialized educational setting than a general education school can provide.
Enrollment is very small, with students spread unevenly across grade levels. The seventh grade has the largest group, while other grades have just a handful of students or none at all. The student body is predominantly white, with a small share of Black and Hispanic students. Just over half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a measure of household economic need.
State assessment results are available for the most recent school year. In math, the proportion of students meeting proficiency standards was in the low single digits. In reading, the proficiency rate was in the low teens. Science results for the tested grades were suppressed by the state, a common practice when the number of students tested is very small, though participation in those tests was complete. On a national standardized comparison that places the school relative to other districts in Brown County, the Imprints Program falls in the bottom quartile for overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades.
A parent looking at these numbers will need to interpret them in context. This is a special education school, and its students are assessed on the same state tests as their peers in general education settings. Low proficiency rates are not uncommon for schools that serve a high-needs population, but the data alone does not describe the academic growth or the individualized instruction that students receive. The school's graduation rate is not reported, which is often the case for alternative or special-purpose programs whose students may follow non-traditional pathways to completion.
No information on course offerings, staffing ratios, or disciplinary climate was available in the data used for this account. The district brief for River Bend Education District turned up no significant parent-relevant changes in recent years.
The Imprints Program is located in New Ulm, the county seat of Brown County, a small city situated where the Minnesota and Cottonwood Rivers meet. The local economy is anchored by agriculture, food processing, and light manufacturing, along with institutional employers such as the August Schell Brewing Company and Martin Luther College. The city has a compact historic downtown with Bavarian-inspired architecture, a glockenspiel, Turner Hall, and a public library. Housing values in the area have risen modestly in recent years and are roughly in line with national trends. The population has remained stable over the past two decades, with no evidence of rapid growth or new large-scale development.
The Imprints Program is a specialized setting for families who have determined that a general education classroom cannot meet their child's needs. Its academic profile reflects the population it serves, and the small, targeted environment is the core of what it offers. A parent exploring this option should seek direct conversations with program staff about how academic progress is measured, what transition supports are available for high school students, and how the program coordinates with the student's home district.
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