Minnewaska Area Win Academy, Starbuck MN

Original Research by School Decision on Minnewaska Area Win Academy

Minnewaska Area WIN Academy is an alternative school that serves every grade from kindergarten through twelfth, a K-12 structure that is unusual for an alternative setting. It is not a charter school and belongs to the Minnewaska School District. With a very small enrollment, the school serves a student body that is predominantly white, with a substantial share of students from economically disadvantaged households as measured by the free and reduced-price lunch program. The school is located in Starbuck, a small lake community on the western shore of Lake Minnewaska in Pope County, where the town’s character is shaped by seasonal recreation, a modest commercial core along Main Street, and community events that mark the warmer months.

State assessment results for the most recent year show low proficiency rates in math and in English language arts across the tested grades. For science, the results were suppressed due to very small testing populations, though participation was high in grade five and lower in grade eight. The multi-year trend data contains only a single year of information, so no pattern of improvement or decline can be seen. In comparison to other districts in Pope County, the school’s overall proficiency index falls in the bottom quartile. Because this is an alternative school, these test-based metrics should be read with that context in mind. Alternative schools often serve students who have not succeeded in a conventional classroom, and the state assessment framework may not capture the full range of academic growth or the alternative approaches to instruction that the school uses. A parent considering this school should talk directly with staff about what the curriculum looks like, how student progress is measured, and what supports are in place for students who arrive below grade level.

The school’s enrollment is small by any measure, with a handful of students in each grade level, and the oldest grades have very few students. No data was available on special education services or English learner populations. The school’s website was not part of the provided information, nor were any details about course offerings, staffing, or extracurricular programs. The district brief turned up no recent parent-relevant changes such as boundary shifts or program additions.

Starbuck itself is a compact, residential lake town. Housing values in the area are moderate, and rents relative to income suggest a market that is more affordable than many parts of the country. The community’s economy leans on lake recreation, tourism, and small businesses. The school district serves the broader lake area, and the school building is located on John Street in Starbuck.

Minnewaska Area WIN Academy fits a family looking for an alternative educational setting for a student who may need a smaller, more individualized environment outside the mainstream elementary or secondary school. The academic data reveals very low test scores, but for an alternative school that context matters: the population served may be one that entered below proficiency, and the measure of success may be different from a traditional school. A parent should pursue a conversation with the school about its mission, its approach to moving students forward, and how it defines and tracks progress. The community of Starbuck offers a quiet, lake-oriented lifestyle with limited commercial amenities, and the housing stock is within reach for many households.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 30%

School 0% · District 73% · ▼ 72 pts below district

▼ 55 pts below state median

Grade 40%

School 0% · District 80% · ▼ 80 pts below district

▼ 51 pts below state median

Grade 50%

School 0% · District 65% · ▼ 65 pts below district

▼ 35 pts below state median

Grade 60%

School 0% · District 67% · ▼ 67 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median

Grade 70%

School 0% · District 49% · ▼ 49 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 61% · ▼ 61 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 30%

School 0% · District 52% · ▼ 52 pts below district

▼ 42 pts below state median

Grade 40%

School 0% · District 66% · ▼ 66 pts below district

▼ 41 pts below state median

Grade 50%

School 0% · District 78% · ▼ 78 pts below district

▼ 54 pts below state median

Grade 60%

School 0% · District 74% · ▼ 74 pts below district

▼ 46 pts below state median

Grade 70%

School 0% · District 50% · ▼ 50 pts below district

▼ 36 pts below state median

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 39% · ▼ 39 pts below district

▼ 36 pts below state median

This schoolMINNEWASKA SCHOOL DISTRICT, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.