The top reported proficiency rate is 57% in Math. The lowest is 17% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Gentry Academy Charter School
Gentry Academy Charter School opened in 2021 as a new public charter district serving grades five through twelve in Vadnais Heights, a Ramsey County suburb. It is a small secondary district with two schools, one middle school and one high school, operating under authorization from a charter sponsor and offering a distinct model that families should weigh carefully.
The school's core academic approach centers on a daily self-directed learning block called W.I.N., or What I Need. During this time students pursue skill acquisition, enrichment, and personal goals according to their own plan, alongside a leadership and life skills program that runs through the curriculum. For a family whose child thrives with structured independence and wants to build executive functioning habits, this could be a strong fit. For a child who needs more direct teacher-led instruction throughout the day, it may require adjustment.
On state assessments, the picture is mixed. In math, proficiency rates for all tested grades hover in a modest range, with some grades pushing higher and others dipping notably. In English language arts, results show a similar pattern, with competence in the middle grades giving way to softer performance by eighth grade. Science results are a weaker area. The state changed the science test and its cut scores for this round, so the numbers are not directly comparable to prior years, but the reported rates are low and a parent may want to ask the school what science instruction looks like and how the W.I.N. model supports it. No high school state testing data was available, so the district's academic trajectory at the upper end is not fully visible from this data.
Chronic absenteeism is low relative to other Ramsey County districts, which is a positive. Per-pupil spending falls in the lower range among the county's districts, but that figure reflects a school's budget choices and a charter's typical leaner administration, not a judgment on resource quality. The school's overall proficiency index sits in the top quartile across Ramsey County, which is a real strength. That index averages math, ELA, and science results together, so the science results are pulling it down, while math and ELA in some grades are pulling it up.
The student body is predominantly white. Free or reduced-price lunch data was not available, and special education and English learner counts were also missing, so the socioeconomic and support-need profile is not defined in this data. A family with a child who has an individualized education plan should ask the school directly about staffing and services.
Housing and community context were not included in the data, so this narrative cannot describe the surrounding neighborhood or housing market. The district brief publicly reported that the school opened as a new option for families in the Vadnais Heights area. No other district-level changes were noted.
The graduation rate was not available, likely because the school is young and may not yet have a full four-year cohort to measure. That is a gap a parent would want to track in coming years.
Gentry Academy is a deliberate, small-scale option for a family that values student agency and a nontraditional daily schedule. The academic results show areas of strength and areas of concern, especially in science and in the later middle school ELA years. The school is worth a tour and a direct conversation about how the W.I.N. model works in practice for different kinds of learners.
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