Minnewaska Area Intermediate School

Minnewaska Area Intermediate School in Glenwood, Minnesota, serves 295 students in grades 4 through 6 — roughly 98 per grade — as part of the Minnewaska School District, which ranks 18th of 458 Minnesota districts. About 27.46% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch in 2024–25, down from roughly 31.7% two years earlier. The building shares its address with Minnewaska Area Junior High (grades 7–8). Its student-teacher ratio of 25.2 is the highest in this comparison group, though a 4–6 building staffs differently than a 7–8 or 6–8 school, so that figure is a structural note rather than a direct measure of resources.

Academically, the school is well above state averages in 2025–26: 65.3% proficiency in math (state 44.9%), 75.6% in reading (state 48.6%) and 39.8% in science (state 25.5%). It leads both nearby schools in every subject — Discovery Middle School in Alexandria (51.3% math, 57.7% reading, 19.9% science) and the junior high (63.3%, 53.7%, 20.2%). The gaps are widest in reading and science. Notably, all three schools serve nearly identical free/reduced-lunch populations, so the differences are not explained by demographics. On the one overlapping grade, 6th grade, this school beats Discovery by 22.9 points in math and 22.0 in reading.

Reading is the standout: it has risen every year, from 69.8% to 75.6%, reaching 84.5% in 6th grade. Science swings (72.9% down to 39.8%) mostly reflect different 5th-grade cohorts, since Minnesota tests science only in grades 5 and 8 — not a program collapse. The clearest concern is 5th-grade math at 43.4%, about 32 points below 4th and 6th grade in the same year. Finally, reading falls from 84.5% in 6th grade to 48.7% in 7th grade across the district, a pattern worth tracking closely.