Northeast Metro 916 Intermediate School District

What Northeast Metro 916 Intermediate School District does

Northeast Metro 916 Intermediate School District is a legislatively-established Minnesota intermediate school district headquartered at 2540 County Road F East in White Bear Lake, MN. The district was formed in 1969 when a bill signed by the governor enabled six school districts to create a joint entity originally named Special Intermediate School District 916 for vocational education and shared administrative services; it was renamed Northeast Metropolitan Intermediate School District 916 in 1987 following a major facility expansion. Today it serves nearly 5,000 students from 13 member school districts in the northeast metro area of Minneapolis-Saint Paul — Centennial, Columbia Heights, Forest Lake, Fridley, Mahtomedi, Mounds View, North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale, Roseville, South Washington County, Spring Lake Park, St. Anthony-New Brighton, Stillwater, and White Bear Lake.

Northeast Metro 916 operates as a platform of 14 specialized programs and schools organized into four core service areas: (1) Career and Technical Education delivered through the 916 Career and Tech Center at Century College's East Campus with concurrent high school and college credit; (2) Special Education Programs across five centers (Bellaire, Karner Blue, Pankalo, South Campus, and the Auditory/Oral Program at Stillwater ECFC) for students with intensive support needs; (3) Area Learning Centers for non-traditional learners (916 Mahtomedi Academy, East View Academy, Metro Heights Academy, Quora Secondary School) plus the WELS work-experience program; and (4) Care and Treatment Programs through partnerships with Aris Clinic (outpatient psychiatry) and the Willows at Avanti Center (residential mental health). The organization employs 501–1,000 staff, is governed by a 13-member appointed school board (one director per member district), and is led by Superintendent Dr. Val Rae Boe, who has served since 2006.

The district's business model is public-sector government funding: revenue flows from Minnesota per-pupil state aid allocated through member districts, state and federal special education funding, Perkins Consortium career-technical grants, and member district contributions for shared services. No tuition is charged to students; placements occur through referrals from member districts. Adjacent partnerships include Soles4Souls (shoe donations for homeless/foster students), Care Solace (mental health care coordination), EDAM, and Century College/St. Paul College (dual-credit and workforce pathways), supplemented by a workforce development collaboration with Minnesota's three other intermediate districts (287, 288, 917). Technology infrastructure is administrative only — ParentSquare for family communication, Apptegy/Thrillshare for the website/app platform — with no disclosed AI capabilities.

Name

Northeast Metro 916 Intermediate School District

Legal name

Northeast Metropolitan Intermediate School District 916

Website

https://916schools.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Northeast Metro 916 Intermediate School District is a legislatively-established Minnesota intermediate school district serving nearly 5,000 students from 13 member districts in the northeast metro Minneapolis-Saint Paul area through four service lines: career and technical education, intensive special education, alternative area learning centers, and care/treatment educational programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Education Services

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (611110), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Public School Districts (K–12) (EDADABAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Public Alternative, Continuation & Credit-Recovery Schools (EDAJAAAG)

Keywords

• Special education services
• Career technical education
• Public school district
• Area learning centers
• Alternative education programs

Headquarters

HQ city

White Bear Lake

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Public Education Funding: As an intermediate school district in Minnesota, Northeast Metro 916 is funded through a combination of state education funding, member district contributions for shared services, and federal grants. Revenue comes from per-pupil state aid allocated through member districts, state and federal special education funding, career and technical education grants (Perkins Consortium), and other government education allocations.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Northeast Metro 916 Intermediate School District is a Minnesota intermediate school district that delivers specialized educational services to nearly 5,000 students referred through 13 member districts in the northeast Minneapolis-Saint Paul metro area. Its core offerings are organized into four service areas: Career and Technical Education, intensive Special Education, Area Learning Centers, and Care and Treatment programs, with supporting services such as Work Experience Life Skills and Project Return.

Product overview

Northeast Metro 916 Intermediate School District is a Minnesota intermediate school district serving nearly 5,000 students from 13 member districts through a portfolio of specialized educational programs. The district operates as a platform of distinct schools and programs that fall into four core service areas: (1) Career and Technical Education through the 916 Career and Tech Center at Century College; (2) Special Education through multiple centers including Bellaire Education Center, Karner Blue Education Center, Pankalo Education Center, South Campus Education Center, and the Auditory/Oral Program; (3) Area Learning Centers (ALCs) including 916 Mahtomedi Academy, East View Academy, Metro Heights Academy, and Quora Secondary School; and (4) Care and Treatment partnerships with Aris Clinic and The Willows at Avanti Center. Supporting programs include WELS (Work Experience Life Skills) and Project Return. The district also provides event registration and professional development services for educators and families across its member districts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 916 Career and Technical Education Career and technical education programs for grades 11-12 located on Century College's East Campus, offering hands-on learning in fields such as automotive, construction, law enforcement, and more, with students earning both high school and college credit.
• Special Education Programs Highly specialized special education programs serving students from member districts who require intensive support, including structured learning environments for academic, social, emotional, behavioral, and communication goals. Operated through centers including Bellaire, Karner Blue, Pankalo, and South Campus.
• Area Learning Centers (ALCs) Non-traditional learning environments with multiple locations offering comprehensive high school curricula in a personalized, flexible setting for students seeking alternative pathways to graduation.
• Care and Treatment Programs Educational services for students receiving care in hospitals or mental health treatment centers, ensuring students maintain academic progress during treatment and providing individualized programming coordinated with home districts for seamless reintegration.
• Auditory/Oral Program Specialized special education program serving deaf and hard-of-hearing students, located at Stillwater ECFC in Stillwater, Minnesota.
• Work Experience Life Skills (WELS)
• WELS (Work Experience Life Skills) Program at Quora Education Center helping students develop workplace readiness, job experience, and life skills for post-secondary independence.
• Project Return Specialized transition program helping students re-engage with education and career preparation.
• 916 Event Registration Event and professional development registration platform offering virtual and in-person events for parents, education staff, special education professionals, and community members throughout the year.

Named customers13 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Soles4SoulscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNortheast Metro 916 has partnered with Soles4Souls for four years to provide nearly 1,000 pairs of sneakers to students across 916 and member districts. This collaboration focuses on supporting students experiencing homelessness or in foster care, with the 916 McKinney-Vento Liaison working closely with member district liaisons to prioritize vulnerable students.
• Care SolacecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNortheast Metro 916 partners with Care Solace as a mental health care coordination service to help students and families connect to quality care. This free resource is paid for by Northeast Metro 916. The service helps connect individuals to mental health and substance use services confidentially.
• Century CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe 916 Career and Tech Center is located on Century College's East Campus. Students attend a two-hour block at the center during the school day to take career and technical courses. Century College and 916 also partner on the VirTra Law Enforcement Simulator training program.
• City of North St. PaulminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for the 31st 916 Career and Tech Center student-built home project. Students in the Construction Occupations program built a single-family home in North St. Paul.
• St. Paul CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner with Northeast Metro 916 Career and Tech Center on the student-built home project, contributing to hands-on construction training alongside trade professionals.
• Economic Development Association of Minnesota (EDAM)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerThe Northeast Metro Perkins Consortium received the EDAM Innovation Award for the EXCITE (Exploring Careers through Industry Teacher Externships) Program. EXCITE is a collaborative workforce development effort.
• Stillwater Area Chamber of CommerceminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner in the EXCITE (Exploring Careers through Industry Teacher Externships) Program, a collaborative workforce development effort alongside local high schools, Washington County CDA, and the Northeast Metro Perkins Consortium.
• Washington County CDA (Community Development Agency)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerEconomic development partner in the EXCITE (Exploring Careers through Industry Teacher Externships) Program collaborative workforce development effort.
• Minnesota State Universities (287, 288, 917)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMinnesota's four intermediate school districts (287, 288, 916, and 917) collaborated to create Minnesota's first registered teacher apprenticeship program. These districts collectively hosted a graduation celebration for the first cohort of teacher apprentices.
• Minnesota State University, MankatominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHosted the official graduation ceremony for the first cohort of teacher apprentices from Minnesota's registered teacher apprenticeship program.
• Captivate Media+ConsultingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with three intermediate districts (287, 916, and 917) to create the docu-series 'A Special Purpose: Special Education Pathways in Intermediate Districts', funded by a Drive for 5 grant for workforce development.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• National Heritage Academies: Charter school management organization operating K-12 schools across multiple states. While it does not offer the same statutory intermediate-district services, it overlaps in operating specialized K-12 programs at scale and competing for public K-12 dollars in some metro markets.
• Connections Academy: Large online K-12 school operator offering alternative and flexible learning pathways. Comparable to 916's area learning centers and Project Return transition programs in serving non-traditional learners, though via a virtual delivery model.
• Catapult Learning: National private provider of special education, RTI, and related therapeutic services to K-12 schools, comparable in mission (intensive special education services) to 916's special education centers, though delivered under contract rather than via statutory cooperative model.
• Stride (K12 Inc): Large publicly-traded K-12 online learning and alternative education provider. Operates in adjacent non-traditional K-12 space, competes for mind-share around alternative education pathways, though it lacks the cooperative intermediate-district statutory mandate that anchors 916.
• SESI Schools: Provider of specialized education services for students with emotional, behavioral, and learning differences operating private special education schools. Comparable activity to 916's intensive special education centers and area learning centers serving similar student populations.

Direct peers

• Intermediate School District 288: Northwest metro Minnesota intermediate school district, one of the four legislatively-established ISDs. Same statutory role and service portfolio as 916, serving member districts with specialized programs; included here because 916 and 288 jointly create statewide ISD initiatives like the teacher apprenticeship program.
• Intermediate School District 917: Southeast metro Minnesota intermediate district, the closest geographic peer to 916 and a co-collaborator on the state's first registered teacher apprenticeship program. Operates the same statutory model serving member districts with specialized special education, CTE, and alternative programs.
• Intermediate School District 287: One of Minnesota's four legislatively-established intermediate school districts (along with 288, 916, 917). Provides pooled special education, career/technical, and alternative education services to its own set of member districts in the west metro, sharing identical regulatory structure, funding model, and service portfolio with Northeast Metro 916.

Emerging players

• Education Services of America (Ombudsman): Operates alternative education programs and credit-recovery schools for at-risk high school students, closely comparable to 916's Area Learning Centers (Mahtomedi, East View, Metro Heights, Quora Secondary).

Others

• Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System (Career and Technical consortia): The Century College partnership cited as 916's CTE host illustrates the broader Minnesota State system that delivers post-secondary CTE. They are a partner rather than peer, but represent the institutional ecosystem into which 916's dual-credit CTE offerings feed.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@916schools
• Facebookfacebook.com/916CareerTech
• Instagraminstagram.com/916schools
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/916schools

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Northeast Metro 916 Intermediate School District