Summary:
Higher Ground Academy is a three-school charter network in Saint Paul, Minnesota, serving about 1,163 students from kindergarten through 12th grade across HGA Elementary (K–5, 525 students), HGA Junior High (6–7, 196 students) and HGA Secondary (8–12, 442 students). At the district level, Higher Ground Academy ranks 314th of 458 in Minnesota — 31st percentile with a 2-star rating — and roughly 93% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, so all three schools serve a high-poverty population.
Each school has a different bright spot. HGA Elementary is the math standout: all-grade math is 49.5%, above the district's 36.7% and the state's 44.9%, with 4th grade math at 62.1% versus the state's 55.2% — the best math result in the network. HGA Secondary has the strongest outcomes in graduation and dropout: a 91.5% graduation rate, matching the district and above the state's 84.9%, and a 0.0% dropout rate against the state's 4.2%. HGA Junior High is the steadiest, holding at 2 stars and 35th–39th percentile for three years, and its reading is 40.8%, above the district's 36.7%.
Parents should know about three shared challenges. First, reading fell at every school from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026: Elementary from 41.0% to 31.9%, Secondary from 53.67% to 40.1%, and Junior High from 46.24% to 40.8%. Second, science is the weakest subject everywhere, with all reported results below the state; Secondary science is 11.7% and Elementary 14.9%, against the state's 25.5%. Third, HGA Secondary had a down year, dropping from 60th percentile and 3 stars to 36th percentile and 2 stars, while Elementary math stayed above the state even as its rank slipped to 610th of 869 (30th percentile, 1 star). The reported Junior High student-teacher ratio of 73.1 is a striking outlier next to Elementary's 17.6 and Secondary's 13.2 and should be verified before drawing staffing conclusions.
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