The top reported proficiency rate is 14% in Math. The lowest is 1% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Hiawatha College Prep - Kingfield
Hiawatha College Prep – Kingfield is a single-grade charter school in Minneapolis that serves only eighth grade. It belongs to the Hiawatha Academies network, a Minnesota charter management organization. Because the school enrolls just one grade level, the standard set of accountability measures that apply to schools serving a full K-12 or middle-high span do not all apply here. There is no graduation rate, for instance, because the school does not graduate students. Similarly, chronic absenteeism data was not available in the profile. These are not missing indicators of poor performance; they reflect the narrow grade band the school operates.
The school is small, with an enrollment in the low dozens. Nearly all students come from low-income households, as measured by the share qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a much smaller Black student population, a tiny American Indian contingent, and a small share of multiracial students. White and Asian students are not represented in the enrollment data. Information on the share of students receiving special education services or classified as English learners was not reported, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the supports available for those populations.
State test results for the 2023-24 school year show proficiency rates that are well below state averages. In both math and reading, roughly one in seven eighth graders scored at a proficient level. In science, the rate was far lower. When compared across all tested subjects, the school’s overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quarter among the districts in Hennepin County. A parent considering this school should be aware that its academic outcomes are low relative to most schools in the region. Given that the school is a single-grade program focused on college preparation, a family may want to ask how the school works with students who arrive below grade level and what specific interventions or acceleration strategies are in place.
The school is located in Minneapolis, a dense urban center that is the largest city in Minnesota. The surrounding Longfellow neighborhood, near the intersection of East 28th Street and 35th Avenue, is a primarily residential area with a mix of older single-family homes and smaller apartment buildings, close to the Mississippi River and within a short distance of several city parks and lakes. The area has a diverse population and is served by Metro Transit buses. Home values in the broader zip code are near the state median, and rental costs have been rising, consistent with trends across the Twin Cities metro. The school itself operates out of a building it shares with other educational uses, as is common for charter schools that do not own their own facilities.
The district narrative for Hiawatha Academies turned up no recent restructuring, leadership shifts, or major program changes of note. The network itself was founded with a mission focused on college readiness for Minneapolis families, and Kingfield is one of its middle-school-level campuses. The school’s name explicitly signals a college-preparatory emphasis, though the grade-eight-only structure means students enter for a single year and then move on to high school, which could be another Hiawatha campus or a different school entirely. A parent looking at this school should consider how the transition works and whether the receiving high school aligns with their goals.
In summary, Hiawatha College Prep – Kingfield is a small, single-grade charter school serving a predominantly low-income and Hispanic student body in an urban Minneapolis neighborhood. Its state test scores are low, and its overall academic performance ranks in the bottom tier of Hennepin County districts. It offers a focused college-prep mission for one year of middle school. A family evaluating this school would want to learn more about academic supports, the high school transition plan, and how the school measures readiness for the next stage.
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