Hiawatha College Prep - Northrop, Minneapolis MN

Original Research by School Decision on Hiawatha College Prep - Northrop

Hiawatha College Prep - Northrop is a charter school in Minneapolis serving grades five through eight. It sits in the city’s southern side, in a neighborhood of modest single-family homes and small apartment blocks that a short distance from the city’s lakes and parks. Minneapolis itself is a dense urban center with a strong downtown, a major university campus, light rail, and an extensive network of parks and lakes. The school’s zip area has home values that are above the national average, and rents have been rising, consistent with the broader Twin Cities housing market.

The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a much smaller share of Black students and very small numbers from other racial groups. The overwhelming majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the school is part of Hiawatha Academies, a Minneapolis charter network. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the records reviewed, so a family looking for detail on those support structures would need to ask directly. The school’s enrollment is typical for a middle school of its grade band.

On the Minnesota state assessments in math, reading, and science, the school’s proficiency rates are well below the state average. In math, the share of students meeting standards ranges from a very small percentage in sixth grade to a somewhat larger share in eighth grade, though still low. Similarly, on the reading test, proficiency rates are low across all four grade levels. In science, tested in fifth and eighth grades, the proficiency rates are also low. When compared with other school districts in Hennepin County, the school’s overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile. This is a straightforward picture: academic performance, as measured by state exams, is a significant area of concern. A parent may want to understand how the school supports students who are not yet at grade level and whether there are interventions or programs aimed at building foundational skills.

Because the school ends at eighth grade, there is no high school graduation rate to consider. Program offerings such as arts, athletics, or enrichment were not detailed in the available data. The district brief for Hiawatha Academies did not surface any recent major changes or strategic priorities, so that context is essentially absent.

This is a school that serves a heavily low-income, predominantly Hispanic community in an urban setting. Its test scores are low, and the comparison to other Hennepin County districts reinforces that. There is no evidence in the data of academic strengths like broad advanced coursework or dual-credit pathways, since the grade band does not extend into high school. A family considering this school would want to look closely at what academic supports are in place, how the school tracks student growth, and whether the charter’s college-prep mission translates into classroom practice. For a family whose priority is a neighborhood-based charter close to the southern part of Minneapolis, this school exists within that context, but the academic results are a plain and important part of the picture.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 57%

School 7% · District 7%

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 62%

School 2% · District 2%

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 75%

School 5% · District 5%

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 826%

School 26% · District 26%

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 513%

School 13% · District 13%

▼ 41 pts below state median · ▼ 31 pts below county median

Grade 612%

School 12% · District 12%

▼ 34 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 714%

School 14% · District 14%

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 820%

School 20% · District 20%

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Science

Grade 55%

School 5% · District 5%

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 86%

School 6% · District 6%

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

This schoolHIAWATHA ACADEMIES, 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income11%Higher-income18%7 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income21%Higher-income9%12 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income2%Higher-income0%2 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income28%Higher-income9%19 pp gap