The top reported proficiency rate is 24% in English language arts. The lowest is 14% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Creekstone Montessori
Creekstone Montessori is a relatively new tuition-free public charter school in Red Wing, serving kindergarten through seventh grade. The school opened its doors in fall 2022, and its founding represents a new public education option for families in the area who want a Montessori approach without paying private-school tuition. For a parent or resident, this is a small, mission-driven school with a specific pedagogical identity, but the academic record is very thin and the performance data that is available raises questions worth exploring directly with the school.
Red Wing itself is a small Mississippi River city roughly an hour southeast of the Twin Cities. The local economy is anchored by manufacturing names like Red Wing Shoes and Riedell Skates, along with Mayo Clinic Health System, the Prairie Island nuclear plant, and the Treasure Island Resort and Casino operated by the Prairie Island Indian Community. The city has a walkable historic downtown, riverfront parks, and the prominent Barn Bluff. Housing in the area, based on the typical home value in the zip code, is moderately priced relative to the state benchmark. The population has been slow and stable over recent decades. The school is located along Highway 61 west of the main downtown area, accessible by car.
The student body at Creekstone Montessori is small for its grade band. The enrollment is predominantly white, with a modest share of students identifying as two or more races and a small share identifying as Hispanic. The percentage of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch is relatively low, suggesting this is not a high-poverty school population. The school does not report data on students with disabilities or English learners, so a parent with a child in either category would want to ask about supports directly. The school serves kindergarten through seventh grade and does not yet serve eighth grade or high school, so there is no graduation rate or high school program to evaluate.
State testing results from the 2024-25 school year are available but cover only a narrow band of grades, and they show a sharp split. In reading, fourth-grade students posted a proficiency rate that was relatively strong, while third-grade results were lower and fifth- and sixth-grade results were reported at zero percent proficient. In math, the pattern was similar: fourth-grade results were moderate, third-grade results were weaker, and again fifth- and sixth-grade results were reported at zero percent proficient. Fifth-grade science results were suppressed due to a small number of test-takers, with fewer than a handful of students tested. The school's overall proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades places it in the bottom quartile among Goodhue County districts, meaning most other districts in the county posted stronger overall results.
A parent should note that a very small school can produce unusually volatile results; a handful of students can shift percentages dramatically, and a single grade's cohort may not represent the school as a whole. Still, the pattern of zero-percent proficiency in fifth and sixth grade in both reading and math is unusual and warrants a direct conversation with the school about curriculum, assessment participation, and how the school is supporting students in those grades. Because the school has only been open a few years and only one year of testing data is available, there is no trend to examine.
The school's identity as a Montessori program is its central feature. Montessori education is a specific pedagogical approach emphasizing mixed-age classrooms, student-directed learning, and hands-on materials. For a family that values that approach and wants it in a public-school setting, this is the only such option in Red Wing. The school is authorized by a charter authorizer and is free to attend. It does not have Title I status reported, and civil rights data including discipline rates are not available in the current data, so a parent interested in school climate and equity should seek that information from the school directly.
The school's staff and course access data are also not reported here. No program offerings such as music, art, or extracurriculars are listed. For a family considering Creekstone Montessori, these are open questions to ask on a tour. The school is small enough that a parent can likely get direct answers from the administration. The neighborhood context is a mid-size river town with stable housing and a mixed industrial and service economy. For the right family, this school offers a specific educational philosophy in a small setting, but the academic evidence available so far is limited and uneven, and a parent should treat the early scores as a prompt for inquiry rather than a finished verdict.
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