Original Research by School Decision on Eagles' Wings Virtual Charter School
Eagles' Wings Virtual Charter School is a public, full-time virtual school serving students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. It is part of the Solon Springs School District, which is based in a small, rural village in Douglas County, Wisconsin, surrounded by lakes and forest. The school operates under a charter, meaning it has some flexibility in its approach but remains a public school open to all eligible students in the district at no cost. Its entire offering is online, so there is no physical school campus a student would attend; learning takes place from home.
The student body is very small, composed entirely of students in the upper high school grades. The enrollment is small enough that specific figures are not publicly reported for individual grades in the tested range, and the school's state assessment results for math, English language arts, science, and social studies were all suppressed by the state due to the very low number of test-takers. Because of this, there is no public state testing data from which to gauge academic performance. The school serves only a small cohort of students, all of whom are white, according to available demographic reporting. Data on how many students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, receive special education services, or are English learners was not available.
The school was not included in the county-level comparison of districts because it had no reported proficiency, graduation, or chronic absenteeism data. A parent considering this school will have very little quantitative information to go on and should look into the school's own internal assessments and student progress reports.
Solon Springs is a quiet, rural village with a population that has grown modestly in recent years. Property values there have risen substantially, reflecting broader regional trends, though the village itself has limited commercial development. The median household income in the area has also increased. Many residents commute to the Duluth-Superior area, which is about a medium-length drive away, for work. The village offers outdoor recreation through its lakes and county parks, but its economy is small.
Because the school is fully virtual, a family does not need to live in Solon Springs to enroll, though it is operated by the Solon Springs district and likely draws primarily from that community. The school fits a particular kind of family: one that wants or needs a fully online education, with the flexibility it offers, and is comfortable with a very small peer group limited to high school students. The lack of publicly reported test scores, graduation rates, and program offerings means a family should investigate directly how the school tracks student progress, what curriculum it uses, and what support services are available for students who need them.
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