The top reported proficiency rate is 13% in English language arts. The lowest is 6% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Hiawatha Academies
Hiawatha Academies is a kindergarten-through-twelfth-grade charter school district in Hennepin County, Minnesota, made up of four campuses. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial share of Black students and very small numbers of white, American Indian, and multiracial students. The data did not include free-or-reduced-price meal counts, special education identification rates, or English learner counts, so a parent cannot see the share of students from low-income households or the level of language support from this information alone. The district does not appear to report these, and a family may want to ask about them directly.
On the Minnesota state assessments, the academic results are low. In math, the percentage of students scoring proficient was in the single digits at every grade level from third through seventh, with eighth grade reaching about a quarter of students. Reading and language arts results were also low: in third grade, fewer than one in ten students were proficient, and the rate stayed below one in five through eighth grade. Science proficiency was similarly low at both the fifth- and eighth-grade tests. Across all tested subjects and grades combined, Hiawatha Academies’ overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among Hennepin County’s districts. A parent looking at these numbers should understand this as a district where most students are not yet meeting state standards, and it would be reasonable to ask the schools what interventions and supports are in place.
The district’s chronic absenteeism rate is below the midpoint among Hennepin County’s districts, meaning it is higher than many but not the highest. That is a concern many families would want to inquire about further. Per-pupil current spending falls in the middle range, in the upper half, which suggests the district is not underfunded compared to its peers.
No graduation rate was available in the data provided. Since the district serves twelfth grade, this is a meaningful gap. A parent should ask the district directly for its four-year graduation rate.
There are four schools in the district: Hiawatha College Prep – Kingfield, Hiawatha Leadership Academy – Northrop, Hiawatha Collegiate High School, and Hiawatha College Prep – Northrop. All are listed as open. The data did not include course access information, such as Advanced Placement, dual-credit, or career and technical education offerings. There was also no information on discipline or staffing.
A search for recent district changes found little of lasting impact to report. No new building plans, leadership transitions, or program launches appear in the public record from the period examined.
This is a district where the demographic profile is clear and the academic results are a significant weakness. The peer environment is one in which almost all students share a Hispanic background, and the community context and housing market were not available in the data, so a parent cannot evaluate how this area compares on cost or growth from this source. The district’s own website would be the next stop for a family wanting details on curriculum, intervention programs, graduation pathways, and the specific support being offered to students who are not yet meeting state standards.
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