As Minneapolis Schools struggle with enrollment, Richfield turns students away

As Minneapolis Public Schools struggles with serious enrollment and budget challenges, a neighboring district is grappling with a very different problem.

Richfield Public Schools has capped its open enrollment for the year, citing a larger number of students than anticipated and the difficulty of hiring additional staff after the school year has started. Nearly 40% of the students open-enrolling in Richfield schools enter the district’s Spanish dual-language immersion program. Most students open-enrolling from Richfield come from either Minneapolis or Bloomington.

This marks the first time Richfield Public Schools has capped open enrollment, as far as district officials can remember. It’s an unusual move for the district, since the state provides school funding on a per-pupil basis.

“The ideal scenario is we would love to be able to allow all families who want our programming into Richfield Public Schools,” Richfield Superintendent Steven Unowsky said. “The key for us is to be as accurate as we can with projections.”

Minneapolis Public Schools, which lost a net 220 kids last year to Richfield Public Schools, has convened a task force to provide recommendations for Spanish dual-language programs in that district, which often have waitlists. That task force met for the first time in October.

Minnesota law allows students to enroll in schools outside the district where they live. For some districts, this flexibility results in a net loss in pupils who choose to enroll elsewhere. Others, like Richfield, attract a net gain of students who live outside the district boundaries.

Unowsky attributed Richfield’s success in open enrollment to a number of factors. Richfield schools opened for in-person instruction in September 2020 after COVID shutdowns, months earlier than some districts, like Minneapolis. Unowsky also pointed to high interest in the district’s College-in-the-Schools program, which allows students to earn college credit without leaving Richfield High School.

He also cited the district’s “menu of opportunities” for elementary students, including a STEM-focused school and a Spanish dual-language immersion school. Because of the district’s small size, Spanish dual-language students move as a cohort from elementary school to middle school to high school.

Like other district programs, the Spanish dual-language program draws most of its open-enrollment students from either Bloomington or Minneapolis. Bloomington Public Schools does not have a dual-language program.

In a statement, Bloomington Public Schools said that the district gains more students than it loses from open enrollment. The district cited its popular gifted-and-talented and computer science immersion programs as major draws for students, as well as a K-12 online school that attracts students throughout the state. “Our two high schools are currently closed to open enrollment because they’re at capacity,” the district said.

Minneapolis Public Schools has three elementary schools with a focus on Spanish dual-language immersion, as well as middle school and high school programs. But Minneapolis’ programs often have a waitlist. As of mid-October, nearly 300 students are waitlisted for Minneapolis elementary dual-language programs, and 178 of those students do not currently attend Minneapolis Public Schools, according to data provided to task force members.

Enrollment difficulties in such a popular program have been a source of frustration in Minneapolis, as the district faces a budget crunch driven in part by decreased enrollment. The school board recently appointed a task force to address this issue as part of the district’s “transformation” process. Many candidates for Minneapolis school board this year also told Sahan Journal that expanding the Spanish dual-language program was a priority for them.

The task force will present recommendations in December.

Matthew Arnold, the new principal at Richfield Dual Language School, previously worked for 10 years at Green Central Dual Language School in Minneapolis. He declined to comment on differences between the two districts but said that a sense of safety and community attracts families to Richfield Dual Language School.

“It is that warm, welcoming environment where we really do meet every kid where they’re at, and create that strong relationship with not only the kid but the family as well,” he said.

Students and parents also enjoy the school’s diversity, he said. Richfield Dual Language School partners with a nonprofit that brings in international teachers who speak Spanish from many different countries. And because a plurality of Richfield Public Schools students are Latino, the school enjoys a natural balance of students who speak English and Spanish at home. (In Minneapolis, to create the right balance, dual-language schools maintain waitlists on the basis of home language.)

Eudelys Argenis, a Richfield Dual Language School parent, said she moved to Richfield last year when she emigrated from Venezuela. She was excited to find a school for her children that provides instruction in both English and Spanish, she said.

“They have a lot of support in school,” she said in Spanish.

Argenis’ family has since moved to Minneapolis, but she has kept her children in Richfield schools even though she is out of range for bus service.

Open enrollment for the 2025-2026 school year starts in December. Richfield Public Schools officials said that when families enroll early, it allows the district to hire enough staff before the new school year starts.

“The time to open-enroll is right around the corner,” Arnold said. “The earlier they express their interest in our school, we can get them enrolled.”

About the partnership

This story comes to you from Sahan Journal, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to covering Minnesota’s immigrants and communities of color. Sign up for a free newsletter to receive Sahan’s stories in your inbox.