State’s North Star accountability flags Albert Lea area learning center for comprehensive support; high school receives linked status

The Minnesota Department of Education’s North Star accountability system has designated the Albert Lea Area Learning Center for comprehensive support because of its 4‑year graduation performance, and it assigned Albert Lea High School a linked designation, Executive Director Tanya Franks told the Albert Lea Public School District study session.

Franks said the district’s overall 4‑year graduation rate was 74.19 percent and the overall 7‑year rate was 81 percent, according to the public North Star report. She attributed the gap between the high school and the district rate to students served in the Area Learning Center (ALC). “If you look at the Albert Lea High School percentage at 86% to the overall at 74% — putting the Area Learning Center data in — you can see the difference,” Franks said. Franks reported the ALC’s 4‑year graduation rate as about 27 percent and said the ALC’s 7‑year rate rose to roughly 64 percent in the reporting window.

Under Minnesota’s North Star framework, Franks said, the state assigns comprehensive support to public schools that fall below thresholds (including a 4‑year graduation rate below 67 percent). A linked support designation ties a school to another campus identified for support; Franks said linked schools receive guidance and consultation through Compass rather than the more intensive, on-site support that accompanies a comprehensive designation.

Franks said the state provides customized assistance through Compass (formerly regional centers of excellence) and that those coaching resources — literacy, math and regional coaches — do not carry an extra cost to the district. In response to board questions, Franks said most ALC students come from Albert Lea High School but that the ALC also serves students from other districts. She said Compass coaching and consultation do not require additional district payment.

Franks described next steps including a deep dive of accountability data at an October 6 “State of the Schools” presentation with principals Sean Gaston and Johanna Thomas, finalizing continuous school improvement plans and aligning those plans to evidence‑based strategies intended to raise graduation rates, boost math and reading proficiency and improve attendance. Franks said the district and building leadership teams will work with Compass and MDE to support capacity building and monitor progress.

Board discussion following the presentation covered (1) the ALC’s role in extended graduation trajectories and (2) assessment choices and public reporting. Several board members and administrators discussed adding FastBridge screening for K–12 math and literacy this year to provide a nationally normed interim data set distinct from the MCA. Franks and Heil said the district will implement FastBridge K–12 this year and will use it to inform instruction and dyslexia screening; they cautioned that first‑time rollout risks include students skipping the assessment, which could depress apparent results if nonparticipation defaults to zeros on some public reports. Trustees asked for more locally framed reporting to help the public interpret statewide measures.

Franks said the state will publish student‑level 5‑ and 6‑year trajectories in secure data but that North Star accountability summaries focus on 4‑ and 7‑year rates; the administration said it will calculate intermediate-year summaries for the board’s planning work.

Questions from the board included whether the ALC’s students generate standard funding units (Franks said yes, they are enrolled students and count toward Average Daily Membership) and whether linked designations are new; she said the linked category was introduced recently and ties to the ALC’s performance. The administration framed the designation as a priority for backward mapping—reviewing K–8 through high‑school pathways to identify earlier intervention points.

Franks emphasized stakeholder engagement and transparent reporting and said more detailed action plans from building principals would be presented on October 6.

Votes at a glance The meeting agenda was approved by voice vote at the start of the session; a second was recorded and the chair called the motion adopted by ayes (no opposition noted).