Hmong College Prep Academy 1515 Brewster Street, Saint Paul, MN 55108

"I've spent almost an entire decade there so I'm pretty OG if I do say so myself. But the reason why I transferred was because of the "educating" system. I'm not the smartest kid, and I really didn't even feel like I was getting smarter either. I had no more room to grow because what we were being taught was either way too easy, or the learning conditions were mentally uncomfortable. I used to walk the halls and I would just see a lot of people roaming them, gathering in bathrooms, or sadly, breaking down outside of their classrooms. It was heart-wrenching. Many of my peers that are still there have told me that they really didn't feel wanted due to circumstances of any sort. Even going to the nurse's office felt like a free walk into hell. Just asking for a pad or tampon from one of the nurses would annoy them. It's mind boggling."

"HONESTLY. this school has been so traumatizing. like when teachers yell at you when you dont understand a question but act like they didnt do anything a few minutes later, or when this school feels like an complete prison where you get bullied for being ugly, pretty, fat, skinny and ect. i also hate how the bus drivers used to and maybe even still get bullied by kids. the amount of disrespect kids get too...no one talks abt the kids who lie and manipulate to other kids just to feel like the winner, even if ive been to this school since k-6 i have gotten bullied so badly i cant even look at myself and feel like me. the school promises to look at every kid and ive them a reward but it just feel like they are picking favorites. non of the teachers feel like i can go to them no matter what because all they do is tell your parents even if it wasnt about harming anyone including yourself. they tell them anything. 1/10 i dont like this school and i will not be bringing my future kids here."

"i've read other comments on the school saying it's really bad but from my experience, i love the school. yes some students are very "judgy" but it's not like that's something teachers or staff can just fix right away. students have opinions, they have their own minds. i love most of the students, they're all so fun! at least the ones from my grade and they keep most things on a low and we all mind our own business. now with the food, i think the food is great as it is. of course the food can improve but this is "school." not a 5 star restaurant. i hear other classmates complain a lot about the food, when the food is literally just average food. it's something you can eat, and it doesn't kill you. i agree, the food can sometimes be not to our liking but it's school what can we expect? the food we have at school here, is literally one of the best i've had compared to other schools. not that hcpa has the greatest or the best food, but definitely better than other schools. i do wish that the school though would spend some money on the students more than their buildings. i do find it cool to have a nice building to look at but a school's priority should be their students. the money should be spent on more opportunities for them and also for a better playground. kids want to have fun, let's them have fun! and i know some kids don't pay attention in class, but at least have them enjoy some part of school. this is probably what i love most about the school. the teachers. maybe it's the lack of teachers i know from my old schools but hcpa's choice of teachers are the best. most are kind, understanding, interesting, and very fun. i've had my fair share of teachers that i despise, but hcpa definitely has great teachers who understand their students (at least from my experience). i've become close with teachers there and honestly they're like parents/friends to me but with boundaries. now the teachers that im talking about, for sure for some of them or maybe but i'm not their "favorite." and sure, maybe some teachers have favoritism which sometimes makes it unfair but with my teachers they do have favorites but aren't unfair with other students. if a student is having trouble or is feeling down, the teachers understand and try to make sure they're doing okay. i have teachers that im not even that close with but i still love them to death because of the way they treat other students with understanding and kindness and of course, they're humorous too. honestly, i feel that some teachers don't get paid enough for how great they are. i know that it may not be that great to name teachers, but i feel that this teacher should get a little more shine. mr norby-white. i'm not very close with mr norby but honestly one of the best teachers at hcpa. he is very understanding of students if he feels that he's given us too much work. he always gives us time to rest. he's always very chill and i really like it when he laughs because i feel that he's enjoying class a bit. mr norby also has a lot of self control. for a whole year, i've never seen him get very very angry (maybe it's cause my period is pretty chill) but he stays calm. and when there is a time where he is being talked over, or a student doesn't follow the rules, hes very calm and kind about the situation. asking students to quiet down for a bit then we could talk later, and when a student gets in trouble it's never intense. it's just a calm chat. mr norby is very kind with his words and deserves so much more recognition. he is a great teacher. (he should get a raise lol) now, i've put this at 4 stars. i'm very tempted to put 5 but of course there are minor problems that i have explained above. hcpa is a great school and is a normal school full of great teachers. i don't HIGHLY recommend, only because of the lack of opportunities there but i do recommend if you just want a safe place for your child. and by safe place, the students are a hit or miss but for sure there are many teachers that surround the school who are engaging and kind."

"I see that you guys have a few openings position, but after reading all the comments I feel that this school should be shut down. Due to not giving teachers any raises and by giving them a large class size to teach and expect them to work hard but paid them little. I read another comment about the transportation for kids who have to be on the bus 1-2 hours during winter that will need to be changed to better for the child mentality. I was thinking about taking my kids there, but after reading what all staff has to go through I rather not have my kids go to school like they are going to prison every day."

"This school is horrifying. During Parent and Teacher conferences, teachers are often putting the students down, going for their insecurities, weaknesses, and salt coding their entire school life while their parents are next to them. The teachers here use empty threats to throw kids into the right place! What kind of school does that? Threatening to throw a shoe or pouring a bucket on water on a student for simply not obeying your command. Staff are extremely rude and ignorant, the teachers are inexperienced and literally just people jogging off the street. Nice to know that the tactics of student discipline is to literally bully their students into place. Uniform rules are too strict, like oh my gosh. I cannot explain how strict they are. Too many things aren’t prohibited, so during summer; you can’t wear shorts or anything. Which is extremely dangerous as temperatures in Minnesota can reach up to 90 during summers and that’s extremely hot. Most of the school is extremely cold, to the point where your limbs are freezing and you can’t feel your nerves. But you can’t wear anything over your uniform unless it’s an overpriced school branded sweater. Teachers thrive on favoritism! They favor one student over another, clearly trying not to make it clear, but it’s obvious. In my time here, I have seen this go on multiple times. Besides all of that, this school just wants money. Money, Money, Money. Because the government doesn’t give them enough. Costing my parents up to the hundreds. Education should be free."