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Teachers: what resource would make the biggest difference at ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY LOWER this year?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
450
Elementary
DISTRICT 404 · STATE 344
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY·NCES 270036204106
ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY LOWER
4260 STAGECOACH TR N, STILLWATER, MN 55082 · (651) 395-5920 · Washington County
GRADES KG–04ELEMENTARY31-TOWNCHARTERREGULAR SCHOOL450 STUDENTS
A+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 99% of Minnesota public elementary schools
- A+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Minnesota public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
17.4:1
26 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.6:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
11%
51 students
DISTRICT 11% · STATE 48%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 90 | 20% |
| Grade 1 | 90 | 20% |
| Grade 2 | 90 | 20% |
| Grade 3 | 90 | 20% |
| Grade 4 | 90 | 20% |
This year's kindergarten class (90) is about the same size as its 4th grade class (90).
Student demographics
48%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 47% · STATE 60% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY LOWER→St. Croix Prep Academy Middle→St. Croix Preparatory Academy Upper
Based on grade levels within ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
MCA 2024-25 . % Meets or Exceeds StandardsEnglish Language Arts
76.1%
MN avg 49.7%
Math
90.0%
MN avg 45.3%
What this means: On the MCA, Minnesota's statewide test, about 76 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 90 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Minnesota schools, those numbers are about 50 and 45.
Source: MCA. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of MN schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
80.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
59.0%
based on MN schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+21.8pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 81% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 59% typical for Minnesota schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 22 points, placing it in Minnesota's top 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY LOWER
ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY LOWER's state test result (80.7% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY LOWER this school | 450 | 11.3% | 80.7% |
| Lincoln K-8 School ROCHESTER | 506 | 17.0% | 55.7% |
| Snail Lake Kindergarten Center SHOREVIEW | 357 | 17.4% | N/A |
| Centerville Elementary CENTERVILLE | 607 | 14.7% | 58.2% |
| RED ROCK ELEMENTARY WOODBURY | 596 | 13.6% | 59.8% |
| CREEK VALLEY ELEMENTARY EDINA | 586 | 16.2% | 65.9% |
Matched among Minnesota elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY LOWER ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Minnesota | In Washington County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 80.7% | #4 of 844 | #1 of 35 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 90.0% | #3 of 844 | #1 of 35 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 76.1% | #20 of 844 | #1 of 35 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 450 | #383 of 1,130 | #22 of 42 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.4:1 | #714 of 769 | #30 of 36 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 48.4% | #390 of 796 | #24 of 36 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 11.3% | #917 of 942 | #36 of 38 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +0.2% | #241 of 244 | #16 of 16 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
450
0 (0%) vs 2020
+4% since 2010-11, when it was 434
Student : Teacher
17.4:1
was 17.3:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 450 | 25.9 | 17.4:1 | 11% (51) |
| 2023-24 | 452 | 26.2 | 17.3:1 | 12% (53) |
| 2022-23 | 457 | 25.8 | 17.7:1 | 13% (59) |
| 2020-21 | 450 | 26 | 17.3:1 | 8% (34) |
| 2017-18 | 449 | 22.8 | 19.7:1 | 6% (29) |
| 2015-16 | 449 | 20 | 22.4:1 | 8% (37) |
| 2010-11 | 434 | 21 | 20.7:1 | 11% (46) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY LOWER.
Since 2017-18: students unchanged (449 to 450); teachers up 13% (22.8 to 25.9).
About ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY LOWER
ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY LOWER sits in STILLWATER, Minnesota, and is classified as an elementary school. The school serves 450 students in kindergarten through 4 in 2024-25. The average among elementary schools in Minnesota is roughly 344 students; this school is 31% above that.
ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY LOWER is part of a district of 3 schools: ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY, with 1,212 students.
ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY LOWER is 70% White by enrollment. Beyond that, enrollment is 14% Asian, 9% Black, 5% Hispanic, and 3% multiracial. In Washington County overall, about 78% of residents are White. ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY LOWER's diversity index is 48%, against a US figure of 70%.
A ratio of 17.4:1 comes from the school's 25.9 full-time-equivalent teachers. The school has more students per teacher than the 13.7:1 average for elementary schools in Minnesota. The lunch program counts 11% of students at ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY LOWER as eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Among public schools in Washington County, the average eligibility rate is 26%.
Measured against Minnesota public elementary schools, ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY LOWER receives an A+. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
Given its lunch-eligibility share, the predicted average proficiency rate on state tests for ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY LOWER is 59.0%. It actually posts 80.7%, which is 21.8 points higher and in the top 10% of Minnesota schools.
Federal survey data for Washington County show that the median household income is $115,345, about 49% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 4% of residents are in poverty. Washington County is home to 103 public schools and about 46,313 public school students.
The closest public school, St. Croix Prep Academy Middle, is less than a tenth of a mile from ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY LOWER. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8. On average proficiency, ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY LOWER is 1st of 4 nearby schools with test data.
ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY LOWER is in a town close to an urbanized area, a location NCES labels Town: Fringe. The school is a charter school, funded with public money and operated under a charter agreement.
The school's size has been steady, with 450 students in 2020-21 and 450 in 2024-25.
Conversations here can range across enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Washington County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
276,238
Census ACS
Median income
$115,345
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
49%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
103
46,313 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY
- St. Croix Preparatory Academy UpperHigh · 391 students
- St. Croix Prep Academy MiddleMiddle · 371 students
Other schools in STILLWATER
- STILLWATER AREA HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,658 students
- Stillwater Middle SchoolMiddle · 939 students
- WILDWOOD ELEMENTARYElementary · 648 students
- RUTHERFORD ELEMENTARYElementary · 573 students
- STONEBRIDGE ELEMENTARYElementary · 420 students
- LILY LAKE ELEMENTARYElementary · 398 students
Nearby schools
- St. Croix Prep Academy Middle0.0 mi · 371
- St. Croix Preparatory Academy Upper0.0 mi · 391
- MCF - OAK PARK HEIGHTS0.8 mi · 1
- ANDERSEN ELEMENTARY0.9 mi · 327
- MN CORRECTIONAL FACILITY-STILLWATER1.1 mi · 9
- WCJC1.7 mi · 2
Frequently asked questions
About ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY LOWERHow many students attend ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY LOWER?
ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY LOWER enrolls approximately 450 students in grades KG-04.
Is ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY LOWER an elementary, middle, or high school?
ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY LOWER is an elementary school covering grades KG-04.
How many teachers does ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY LOWER have?
ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY LOWER employs 26 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 17.4:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY LOWER?
At ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY LOWER, the student body is approximately 70% White, 5% Hispanic, 9% Black, 14% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Who oversees ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY LOWER?
ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY LOWER is overseen by ST. CROIX PREPARATORY ACADEMY in Washington County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.