Northwood High/middle, Minong WI

Original Research by School Decision on Northwood High/middle

Northwood High/Middle is a charter school in the village of Minong, serving students from sixth through twelfth grade under the Northwood School District. It is a single building that combines the middle and high school years, which means students move through a familiar setting from early adolescence to graduation. The school is small, with fewer than 150 total students, and a substantial share of those students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly white, with small shares of students who identify as Hispanic or of two or more races.

Academically, state testing results across the board are weak. In mathematics, proficiency rates fall sharply as students move through the grades. Sixth graders show a level that is modest, but by seventh grade the rate drops, and in eighth grade it falls to a very low level. English language arts results follow a similar downward pattern by grade, with sixth graders at a moderate level, seventh graders lower, and eighth graders lower still. Science and social studies are tested only in eighth grade, and both show limited proficiency. The school’s overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among districts in Washburn County. A parent considering this school likely wants to look into what academic supports are in place for students who are not yet meeting benchmarks, especially in math and reading.

The community context shapes what this school can offer. Minong is a very small rural village, flat in population over the past few decades and now showing a slight decline. Jack Link’s, the beef jerky company, originated here and remains the area’s dominant employer. There is no public transit, and daily life requires a car. The downtown is a short highway-oriented strip. Housing values in the area sit near the national benchmark, and the local property tax rate rose in a recent year. Voters recently authorized a districtwide referendum for building improvements, which means facilities are getting attention. The district has also adopted a new elementary English language arts curriculum aligned with the science of reading, a state requirement that starts in the 2024-2025 school year. This change applies to the elementary grades, not directly to the grade levels at the high and middle school building, but it signals a district-level shift in approach.

The school does not report a graduation rate in the available data. It also has no publicly available data on chronic absenteeism, discipline rates, or staffing ratios. A parent may want to ask the school directly about these areas, particularly the graduation rate, since that is a key measure for a school that includes the high school years. Program offerings, such as advanced coursework, career and technical education, or dual-credit options, were not found in the data either. For a combined middle and high school in a small rural district, the absence of this information does not mean the programs do not exist, but it means a family should ask what pathways are available for students after eighth grade.

This is a school that fits a family already rooted in the Minong area or in the surrounding rural parts of Washburn County. It offers a small, contained environment where students stay with the same peers and faculty across seven years. The academic results are a clear concern, and the district-level changes to curriculum and building improvements suggest administrators are aware they need to turn things around. A family moving into the area with a middle or high school student should spend time in the building, talk to teachers about how they support students who are behind, and get a clear picture of what course options the high school years actually include.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=80%Cohort of 17 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

528 schools plotted. 25 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 628%

School 28% · District 25% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 26 pts below state median

Grade 715%

School 15% · District 25% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 39 pts below state median

Grade 85%

School 5% · District 4% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 46 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 644%

School 44% · District 45% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median

Grade 731%

School 31% · District 44% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median

Grade 821%

School 21% · District 29% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 31 pts below state median

Science

Grade 821%

School 21% · District 29% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 30 pts below state median

Social studies

Grade 832%

School 32% · District 38% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 33 pts below state median

This schoolNorthwood School District, 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-income36%Higher-income57%21 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income17%Higher-income43%26 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income0%Higher-income36%36 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income27%Higher-income29%1 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income0%Higher-income29%29 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income0%Higher-income9%9 pp gap