The top reported proficiency rate is 13% in Math. The lowest is 8% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Rollingstone Community School
Rollingstone Community School is a small K through 5 charter school that opened in its current form in the fall of 2022, the same building that once housed a district-run school before the Winona Area Public Schools closed it. The school operates under a STEAM-infused, place-based, teacher-powered model, which means science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics are woven together with the local environment and landscape, and the teachers hold collective authority over instruction. Any family considering this school should understand that the academic model is a deliberate alternative to a more conventional elementary program and that the school’s small size shapes everything from class configuration to the peer group.
The enrollment is very small, which is typical for a rural charter serving a tiny village and its surrounding area. The student body is predominantly white, with a small share of students who identify as two or more races and a very small Hispanic population. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, giving the school a moderate level of economic diversity for a rural elementary school. Because the school serves only kindergarten through fifth grade, there is no graduation rate, no high school course offerings, and no data for metrics that apply only to secondary schools.
State testing results from the most recent school year paint a mixed and concerning picture. In third-grade math, about a third of students scored at a level the state considers proficient. Third-grade English language arts proficiency was lower, with roughly a quarter of students meeting the bar. For fourth and fifth graders, reported proficiency in both math and English language arts was at zero, which means no student in those tested grades reached the state’s proficiency threshold. Science results for fifth grade were suppressed due to very small testing populations, so no conclusion can be drawn there. Looking across all tested subjects and grades, the school’s overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among districts in Winona County, and notably below the county’s median. This is a soft spot that any prospective parent would want to explore further with the school, particularly around how instruction is delivered in the upper elementary grades and how the school supports students who are not yet meeting state standards.
The school’s location in Rollingstone is a very small, predominantly residential rural community on a plateau between two branches of Rollingstone Creek. The village is compact, less than half a square mile, with a modest Main Street corridor that holds City Hall and the Luxembourg Museum. The Church of the Holy Trinity is a National Register property. The town has deep Luxembourger-American roots and a stable, slow-growing population. Housing values in the area are somewhat above the state median, which is notable for a rural community but likely reflects the broader market rather than local development. Most residents own their homes, and there is no walkable commercial district or public transit; commuting to Winona, about a short drive southeast, is the norm for work and services.
Because the school is a charter authorized by the Minnesota Guild of Public Charter Schools, it is publicly funded but operates independently of the Winona Area Public Schools district. This means enrollment is open to any Minnesota student, but given its location and small size, most students likely come from the immediate area. The school does not offer high school grades, so families will need to plan for a transition to a district or another school after fifth grade. The school’s teacher-powered model and place-based STEAM focus are its defining characteristics, and families who value that kind of hands-on, locally grounded instruction may find it a good fit despite the academic challenges reflected in the most recent testing data.
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