Hmong College Prep Academy Elementary School

Hmong College Prep Academy Elementary School is a K–5 charter elementary serving 988 students at 1515 Brewster Street in Saint Paul's Midway/Como area, making it the largest brick-and-mortar elementary in its immediate neighborhood — bigger than every nearby school except the online Minnesota Connections Academy K-6, and roughly two to three times the size of close neighbors like Great River Elementary School, New Century School, and Hamline Elementary School.

Academically, the school ranks 787 of 869 Minnesota elementary schools in 2025-26 (9th percentile, 0 stars), and its district, Hmong College Prep Academy, ranks 398 of 458. Still, in math (22.0%) and reading (24.7%) it outperforms its own district, and it sits in the middle-to-upper-middle of its peer group of high-poverty Saint Paul elementaries. It is clearly ahead of The Journey School (2.7% math, 9.6% reading at a similar poverty level) and Hamline Elementary School, roughly level with New Century School, and slightly behind Midway Star Academy. Lower-poverty neighbors such as Chelsea Heights Elementary and St. Anthony Park Elementary post math proficiency of 58.3% and 68.7%. Both are Saint Paul Public Schools, so the district type explains less than the school itself.

Two bright spots stand out: English learners rank in the 61st percentile statewide (3 stars) — the school's only subgroup above the state median, up from the 42nd percentile three years ago — and the student-teacher ratio is 10.8, among the lowest locally. Math and reading have also climbed steadily since 2022-23. But science is a genuine concern: 5.9% proficient in grade 5, about a quarter of the state rate, and the only subject where the school trails its own district. Performance also erodes sharply as students move up, with math falling from 31.7% in 3rd grade to 11.4% in 5th.