Original Research by School Decision on Gentry Academy High
Gentry Academy High is a charter school in Vadnais Heights, a suburban community in northeast Ramsey County. The school serves grades nine through twelve and, as a charter, it operates as its own district, not as part of the surrounding White Bear Lake or Mounds View school systems. It opened in 2021, making it a relatively new option for families in the area.
The school is small. Its enrollment fits a population that allows for a close-knit setting, with each grade level around the same size. The student body is predominantly white, with small shares of Hispanic, Asian, and Black students. A modest share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which is below the typical share seen in many public schools. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the source information, so a parent who needs these supports should check directly with the school.
State testing results are available for a single year, which reflects how new the school is. On the English language arts assessment, roughly three out of every five students scored proficient. On the math assessment, roughly two out of every five students scored proficient. With only one year of data, there is no trend to examine, and the school has not yet built a long public track record. A parent may want to ask the school about how it plans to improve math performance and what its goals are for the coming years.
The school did not report a graduation rate. Since it opened in 2021, it may not yet have had a full four-year cohort graduate, or the data may not have been collected at the time of this information. Either way, that figure is not available to assess.
The school’s model emphasizes a daily period called W.I.N. time, which stands for What I Need. During this time, students direct their own learning toward skill acquisition and enrichment. The school also integrates a leadership and life skills program into its curriculum. For a family looking for a nontraditional structure that gives students more control over part of their day, this may be a distinguishing feature.
Vadnais Heights itself is an auto-oriented suburb with a strong commercial corridor along County Road E. Major employers include corporate headquarters for H.B. Fuller and other firms, along with large retail and medical facilities. The city has parks and protected land around Vadnais Lake, but no walkable downtown. It is served by interstate highways, and daily errands generally require a car. Housing values and rents in the area are near the statewide median for Minnesota and slightly above the national figure.
Because the school operates as its own charter district, the comparison data that would place it relative to other Ramsey County districts could not be computed; the necessary metrics were not available. That means there is no proficiency index, graduation rate, or chronic absenteeism rate to compare against neighboring schools.
For a family, Gentry Academy High offers a small, new charter high school with a distinctive self-directed learning block and a leadership focus. The academic data is thin, with only one year of testing and no graduation rate yet. The school’s size could appeal to students who want an environment where they are known individually. The test scores are a starting point rather than a track record, so families should expect to discuss academic outcomes and plans with the school directly.
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