LIFE Prep

As a rural-scale elementary campus in SAINT PAUL, Minnesota, LIFE Prep caters to 134 students from grades pre-K through 6, operated by LIFE PREP. That puts it 61% below the typical public school in Minnesota, which averages around 344 students.

Operationally, LIFE Prep answers to LIFE PREP, which sets policy, hires staff, and reports enrollment to the state.

On demographics, LIFE Prep shows that the largest single group is Black, at 56% of enrollment. Other groups include 19% Asian, 8% Hispanic, 6% White, 6% multiracial. That is meaningfully more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 12%.

On the income-and-resources front, The school currently runs with 10 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 13.4:1. That tracks the state average closely. Around 90% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is above Ramsey County's rate of about 57%.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, LIFE Prep performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 16.9%, the actual is 14.9%, a residual of -2.0 points.

In the surrounding community, census data for Ramsey County shows the typical household earns roughly $81,568 per year, about 46% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 8%. In all, Ramsey County runs 302 public schools (combined enrollment of about 94,437 students), of which LIFE Prep is one.

Nearest neighbor: Txuj Ci HMong Language & Culture Lo, around 0.2 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, LIFE Prep comes 6th of 6 in the immediate cluster, behind the nearby-schools average of 29.4%.

The school occupies a metropolitan site. LIFE Prep operates as a public charter school, meaning it is publicly funded but governed independently of the surrounding district's traditional schools.

Five-year trend. LIFE Prep's enrollment has ticked down 56% since 2018, when it stood at 307 (now 134). Asian enrollment moved from 41% to 19% across the same window. Class-load math has widened: from 10.9:1 in 2018 to 13.4:1 in 2025.

On allk12, the feed for LIFE Prep typically covers science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.