Original Research by School Decision on Mcf-red Wing Maginnis High School
MCF-Red Wing Maginnis High School is an alternative school on the campus of the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Red Wing. It serves students in grades eight through twelve, and it is not part of the local Red Wing public school district. Instead, it is operated by the Minnesota Department of Corrections, which means this school provides educational services to adolescents who are in the state’s juvenile correctional system. That context matters for any parent or resident trying to understand what this school is.
The school’s enrollment is small. The student body is predominantly Black, with a smaller share identifying as White, Hispanic, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, or two or more races. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a measure that here likely reflects the population served rather than the local housing market. The school’s racial and economic composition is a direct reflection of the juvenile justice population it serves, not the demographics of Red Wing itself.
State testing data is suppressed. Only a single student was tested in both math and reading, a number too small to report results publicly. This is typical for a secure juvenile facility with a very small academic cohort, and it means there is no publicly available measure of academic proficiency to compare against other schools. The state accountability framework does not produce usable metrics for a setting this size. The school’s graduation rate was also not available, and for the same reason: the population is transient and the mission differs from a traditional high school.
The school’s grade band covers eighth through twelfth grade, but the enrollment skews heavily toward older students, with the largest group in twelfth grade. That pattern fits a correctional school where students may enter at different ages and stay for varying lengths of time. No course access, discipline, attendance, or staffing data was provided, and no program offerings were listed. Without that information, it is not possible to describe the specific academic pathways or support services available inside the facility.
Red Wing itself is a small river city about an hour southeast of St. Paul, with a mix of manufacturing, health care, and tourism-related employers. The city’s housing values and rents are modest compared to the state median. The correctional facility sits on a separate campus in the former state training school, distinct from the regular public schools that serve Red Wing’s resident children. For a family considering this school, the relevant question is not about test scores or neighborhood fit but about whether the educational program inside the facility meets the needs of a student in the juvenile justice system, a determination best made in consultation with the Department of Corrections and the student’s legal and support team.
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