Original Research by School Decision on Runestone Area Education District
Runestone Area Education District is not a typical public school district. It is a small, specialized special education cooperative that serves member districts in west-central Minnesota, including Alexandria, Brandon-Evansville, Minnewaska, Osakis, and Parkers Prairie. The district operates two schools: Runestone Alternative School and Middle Level Learning Center. It enrolls students in grades seven through twelve, and its total enrollment is very small for a district serving that grade band. The student body is predominantly white, with a small share of Hispanic students and very small numbers of Black and American Indian students. Information on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, receive special education services, or are English learners was not available in the data provided.
State test results for reading, math, and science are suppressed, which is common when the number of students tested is very small. In the most recent year, only a single student was tested in seventh-grade math and reading, and a single student was tested in eighth-grade science, with a participation rate of half for science. The district’s very low enrollment and its status as a special education cooperative mean that aggregate proficiency figures are not meaningful to report. A parent should understand that the district’s academic pathway is individualized rather than measured by standard assessments.
The district’s chronic absenteeism rate is very high and falls in the bottom quartile among Douglas County’s districts. This likely reflects the nature of the student population the cooperative serves—students with disabilities who may have health or other challenges that lead to frequent absences. A parent considering this district would want to discuss attendance supports directly with the school.
No graduation rate was available, despite the district serving twelfth grade. That gap often occurs in alternative or special-population settings where the traditional four-year cohort measure does not apply, but the data does not specify the reason. No data on discipline, course access, or staffing was available.
The district itself sits within Douglas County, but no specific town or city location is provided in the data. The surrounding communities are small cities and rural towns in west-central Minnesota. The housing market context was not available.
Runestone Area Education District is not a district that families would choose for a conventional academic experience. It exists to provide specialized educational services for students with disabilities whose needs are better met in a cooperative setting than in their home district. The two schools it operates serve a specific mission, and the academic performance data that matters most is likely captured in individual education plans rather than state test scores. A parent whose child is placed here through the special education process would already have a sense of the program. For a parent new to the area who has a child with significant needs, this district would be one to explore in close coordination with the child’s home district and the cooperative’s staff.
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