The reported proficiency rate for English language arts is 15%.
Original Research by School Decision on Cherokee Immersion Charter
Cherokee Immersion Charter is a small Oklahoma district serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. The district operates two schools: Cherokee Immersion Charter School and Greasy Immersion Charter School. As a charter district, its central purpose is to provide Cherokee language and cultural immersion, and the student body reflects that mission—most students are American Indian or Alaska Native, with a much smaller share identifying as Hispanic or two or more races. The enrollment is small, and the district does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Families planning for high school will need to consider options in nearby traditional or other charter districts.
State testing data is limited here. Oklahoma administers the OSTP in math, English language arts, and science, but because the district’s test-taking groups are very small, almost all results are suppressed to protect student privacy. The one grade and subject where a proficiency rate was reported was sixth-grade ELA, and that figure was low. Across all tested grades and subjects, the district’s overall proficiency index falls below the midpoint among Cherokee County’s districts. A parent may want to discuss with the school how academic progress is measured for students in an immersion setting, since the small cohorts make standard comparisons difficult.
Chronic absenteeism is a notable area of concern. The district’s rate is high relative to other districts in Cherokee County, and it sits below the midpoint on that indicator (meaning a higher share of students are chronically absent). Given the small enrollment, this may affect a handful of students heavily, but it is a metric the school may need to address. On the resource side, per-pupil current spending is well above the typical range in the county. This pattern is common in small specialized districts that operate lower student-to-staff ratios and maintain cultural or language programs that require unique staffing and materials.
The data does not include free or reduced-price lunch counts, special education identification rates, or English learner numbers, and no recent district-level changes involving property taxes, curriculum, or facilities were found in a search of publicly reported information. The district’s two schools share the same immersion mission, which means the experience for students is likely consistent across both sites.
For a family, Cherokee Immersion Charter represents a distinctive educational pathway. It is not a conventional district in terms of size, academic profile, or peer environment. The setting is cultural immersion by design, and the student population is overwhelmingly Native American, which shapes the peer context in a specific way. The academic attainment numbers that are available point to challenges, particularly in ELA at the middle school level, but the small numbers and suppression mean a parent should investigate directly how the school tracks student growth and what support structures are in place. The relatively high spending suggests investment in the program, but whether that translates into the academic and attendance outcomes families hope for is something to assess through conversation with the school, given the limited public data. The district’s grade span also means families must plan ahead for high school placement.
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