Wakanda Virtual Academy, Minneapolis MN

Original Research by School Decision on Wakanda Virtual Academy

Wakanda Virtual Academy is a K-8 online charter school located in Minneapolis and operating under the Best Academy district. It serves a small student body across kindergarten through eighth grade. The school was added as a fully remote program within the district, giving families a virtual option alongside in-person campuses.

The student population is entirely Black, based on available data, and a substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school’s enrollment is small for a K-8 span, with the largest groups in third and fourth grades. Information on special education and English learner populations was not reported.

State assessment results for the most recent year show a mixed picture. In reading, proficiency rates vary by grade level, with fifth and eighth graders reaching a level above the middle range, while fourth grade fell well below that. Math proficiency rates are lower overall, with sixth grade having a very small share of students meeting the standard and higher grades still below a quarter. Science results, available for fifth and eighth grades, are notably low. The school’s overall proficiency index, which averages across tested subjects and grades, lands above the midpoint relative to districts in Hennepin County. Because only a single year of data was available, there is no trend to assess. As a K-8 school, there is no graduation rate to report.

The school operates as a regular public charter school. There is no publicly reported data on discipline, staffing, attendance, or course access, so those areas remain unexamined. A parent may want to ask the school directly about class sizes, teacher qualifications, and how the virtual model supports students who need additional help.

The surrounding context is urban Minneapolis, a dense city anchored by downtown skyscrapers, a historic riverfront, a large university campus, and numerous lakes and parks. It is a major employment center with headquarters for Target, General Mills, and the Federal Reserve Bank. The housing market in the school’s zip code area shows home values and rents that are below the state average, though both have risen recently. The broader metro area has a strong economy and a slight population decline in the city proper.

The district, Best Academy, has recently added Wakanda Virtual Academy as a programmatic expansion. Another campus within the district, the Penn Avenue location, is listed as not active, and a consolidation of an additional school is planned for the coming fiscal year. These changes reflect a district adjusting its physical and virtual footprint.

For a family considering a fully online elementary and middle school option, Wakanda Virtual Academy offers a small, single-race environment with a high proportion of students from low-income households. Academic performance is uneven, with reading stronger than math and science notably weak. The school sits in a large urban district undergoing reorganization. A parent moving into the area should confirm current enrollment availability and ask about how the school addresses the academic gaps visible in the state results. The virtual format may suit families who prefer remote learning, but the record of achievement suggests that a careful look at student outcomes would be worthwhile.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 332%

School 32% · District 27% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

Grade 430%

School 30% · District 25% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 20% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▼ 6 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 64%

School 4% · District 8% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

Grade 715%

School 15% · District 12% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 818%

School 18% · District 27% · ▼ 9 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 332%

School 32% · District 24% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 415%

School 15% · District 17% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Grade 546%

School 46% · District 40% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 643%

School 43% · District 32% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 733%

School 33% · District 25% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 846%

School 46% · District 44% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Science

Grade 510%

School 10% · District 10% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 811%

School 11% · District 11%

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

This schoolBEST ACADEMY, 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 5Lower-income52%Higher-income38%14 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income35%Higher-income31%4 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income53%Higher-income36%16 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income32%Higher-income25%7 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income20%Higher-income8%12 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income12%Higher-income27%16 pp gap