Original Research by School Decision on Starss Online Academy Elementary
STARSS Online Academy Elementary is listed as an online public elementary school in Windom, Minnesota, serving kindergarten through fifth grade. It is part of Region 6 and 8-SW/WC Service Coop, a regional service cooperative rather than a traditional school district. The practical reality for families considering this school, however, is that it appears to not be active. The Minnesota Department of Education’s organizational directory marks STARSS Online Academy Elementary as inactive, along with multiple other programs under the same cooperative, including the parallel STARRS Online Academy and several learning centers and targeted services programs. The enrollment data reported for the school shows zero students in every grade level, from kindergarten through fifth grade. No state testing results, no graduation rate (the school does not serve high school grades), and no other academic performance metrics are available. No information on programs, staffing, discipline, or civil rights outcomes was provided.
This is not a traditional brick-and-mortar school with a building in Windom. Windom itself is a small, mostly rural farming community and the county seat of Cottonwood County, with a historic courthouse square, a diverse economy that includes manufacturing and agriculture, and a modest housing market. Home values in the area are below state and national benchmarks. But the school’s connection to the town is administrative; it is an online academy operated by a service cooperative that serves multiple districts across southwestern Minnesota. For a parent, the key question is whether the school is currently enrolling students. Based on the state’s inactive designation and the zero enrollment count, it is not an active option. The district brief notes that this inactivation represents a lasting reduction in educational options for families in member districts, who previously could access online elementary instruction through this program. No reason or timing for the inactivation was given in the available data, and no news articles confirmed the details. A parent looking into this school should treat it as no longer offering classes and should investigate any alternative online or in-person elementary options in their resident district. Without operational status, information about academic pathways, peer environment, student support, or growth context cannot be assessed. The school’s website was not provided in the data, so contacting the service cooperative directly would be the next step for any further clarification.
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