High Schools in Hinckley-Finlayson School District

The Hinckley-Finlayson School District in Minnesota is home to two high schools: Hinckley-Finlayson Secondary and Empower Learning Center. While Hinckley-Finlayson Secondary is the larger of the two with 448 students, both schools face significant challenges in providing quality education to their diverse student populations.

Hinckley-Finlayson Secondary has a relatively high percentage of Native American students at 14.51%, but the school's academic performance, as measured by MCA-III test scores, is consistently below the state averages in math, reading, and science. The school's overall proficiency rates are also significantly lower than the state averages. In contrast, Empower Learning Center, an alternative high school with only 17 students, has an even higher percentage of Native American and Hispanic students, but it struggles with a much lower four-year graduation rate (50%) and a higher dropout rate (15%) compared to Hinckley-Finlayson Secondary.

Both schools serve a high percentage of students from low-income families, with Empower Learning Center having an exceptionally high rate of 82.35% of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch. This suggests that the Hinckley-Finlayson School District as a whole faces significant socioeconomic challenges that may be contributing to the academic underperformance of its high schools. The district should consider implementing targeted strategies to improve educational outcomes, support alternative education programs, and address the unique needs of its diverse student population.