Saint Francis High School to start Ojibwe class; leaders report improved graduation and test outcomes
November 25, 2025 | St. Francis Area Schools, School Boards, Minnesota
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The Saint Francis High School update presented to the board included several program announcements and metrics the school characterized as progress toward district goals.
School leaders said the high school's locally recorded graduation rate is 96.5% and that math scores increased by 12.1 percentage points compared with the prior year. The presenter credited programming changes for the gains and highlighted expanded pathways in business, health science and engineering.
The presenter announced Ojibwe language instruction will begin Monday, Dec. 1. The class will be taught virtually by a credentialed instructor with an in-class teacher supervising; the district plans an A/B sequence of Ojibwe courses and anticipates initial enrollment "in the early teens," estimating between about 10 and 15 students.
Presenters also described the Saints Online program (district oversight for online courses), internship opportunities, and an allied-class model that pairs high school leaders with other students for mentoring and support.
On disciplinary data, the high school presenter initially reported a 57% decrease in suspensions but corrected that figure in the meeting to 30% and asked the board to note the correction for the record. Questions from board members focused on implementation details for the cell-phone policy (teacher-managed cradles for phone check-in), Ojibwe staffing and the logistics for extending programs to additional terms.
Administration did not ask the board to take action on these program updates during the meeting; they were presented as informational updates and for board questions.
School leaders said the high school's locally recorded graduation rate is 96.5% and that math scores increased by 12.1 percentage points compared with the prior year. The presenter credited programming changes for the gains and highlighted expanded pathways in business, health science and engineering.
The presenter announced Ojibwe language instruction will begin Monday, Dec. 1. The class will be taught virtually by a credentialed instructor with an in-class teacher supervising; the district plans an A/B sequence of Ojibwe courses and anticipates initial enrollment "in the early teens," estimating between about 10 and 15 students.
Presenters also described the Saints Online program (district oversight for online courses), internship opportunities, and an allied-class model that pairs high school leaders with other students for mentoring and support.
On disciplinary data, the high school presenter initially reported a 57% decrease in suspensions but corrected that figure in the meeting to 30% and asked the board to note the correction for the record. Questions from board members focused on implementation details for the cell-phone policy (teacher-managed cradles for phone check-in), Ojibwe staffing and the logistics for extending programs to additional terms.
Administration did not ask the board to take action on these program updates during the meeting; they were presented as informational updates and for board questions.
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