The top reported proficiency rate is 0% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on La Crescent Sec Montessori/stem
La Crescent Sec Montessori/STEM is a public charter school serving grades seven through twelve in the small town of La Crescent, Minnesota. The school is part of the La Crescent Montessori & STEM School district, a single-school charter district. It describes itself as a regular school, meaning it operates as a standard public school within the charter framework.
The student body is very small, which is typical for a specialized program at this grade band. The student population is overwhelmingly white, with a very small number of students identifying as two or more races. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. This is the main economic indicator available for the school; data on special education and English learner populations was not reported.
La Crescent is a primarily residential small town situated on bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River, just a short distance from La Crosse, Wisconsin. It brands itself as the “Apple Capital of Minnesota” due to its apple orchards. The town offers limited walkability but has some civic anchors, including parks, an aquatic center, a public library, and an annual Applefest. The population has been essentially flat in recent years. The Wagon Wheel Trail connects the town to La Crosse, where many residents likely commute for employment. The local school district is a major employer.
State testing data for this school is extremely sparse. In math and English language arts, proficiency rates across the tested grades were very low, placing the school’s overall proficiency index in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Houston County. For science, results were suppressed due to a very small number of test-takers, with fewer than ten students in the tested grade. Because the school serves grades seven through twelve but only grades seven and eight take these state assessments in Minnesota, the reported figures cover only a small fraction of the student body. A parent should understand that the available data represents a narrow slice of the school’s academic performance, not the whole program. No graduation rate was available in the data provided. The absence of a graduation rate is not explained by the school’s grade span, since it does serve grade twelve, so this is a gap a parent may want to follow up on directly with the school.
The school’s name signals a dual focus on Montessori methods and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). No detailed program offerings were provided in the data, so there is no public record of specific courses, career pathways, or Advanced Placement opportunities available. The lack of program detail is a real limitation for a family trying to gauge what kind of academic pathway this school offers beyond its state test results. A parent interested in a Montessori or STEM-focused charter in a small-town Mississippi River setting would be well served to ask the school directly about its curriculum, course catalog, and postsecondary outcomes for graduates.
The district brief turned up no recent notable changes or initiatives that would directly affect a family’s current decision. This school operates in a stable, slow-growth community, with the charter structure itself being the primary distinguishing feature. The housing market in the area shows home values near the state average, but no rental data was available to assess affordability further.
In short, La Crescent Sec Montessori/STEM is a very small charter serving a narrow age range in a stable small town. Its state test results are weak where reported, but those results cover only a minority of its students. The school’s name promises an integrated Montessori-STEM identity, but without public program details a family cannot verify the depth of that promise from the available data. It fits a family seeking a small, locally governed alternative in a tight-knit community, but a careful inquiry about academic outcomes and course access is warranted.
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