Summary:
ZIP code 56334, which covers Glenwood, Minnesota, is home to two middle-level schools, both part of the Minnewaska School District: Minnewaska Area Intermediate School, serving grades 4–6 with 295 students, and Minnewaska Area Junior High, serving grades 7–8 with 212 students. Together they enroll 507 students, and both sit at 25122 State Highway 28 in Glenwood. The district is one of Minnesota's strongest, ranking 18th of 458 districts (96th percentile, 5 stars). Both schools serve similar student populations by economic status, with free/reduced-lunch rates of 27.46% at the Intermediate School and 28.3% at the Junior High, so that factor does not explain the differences between them.
Minnewaska Area Intermediate School stands out for high absolute proficiency, especially in reading. In 2025–26 its all-grade results were 65.3% in math (20.4 points above the state), 75.6% in reading (27.0 points above the state), and 39.8% in science (14.3 points above the state), and it beat its own district in every subject. Its grade-level highlights include 6th-grade reading at 84.5%, 6th-grade math at 75.7%, and 4th-grade math at 75.0%. The clear soft spot is 5th-grade math at 43.4%, only 1.5 points above the state's 5th-grade math rate and far below the school's 4th- and 6th-grade math results.
Minnewaska Area Junior High stands out for rapid improvement. Its state rank rose from 166th of 545 (70th percentile, 3 stars) in 2023–24 to 130th of 519 (75th percentile, 4 stars) in 2024–25 to 62nd of 546 (89th percentile, 4 stars) in 2025–26. It improved in all three subjects year over year, reaching 63.3% in math, 53.7% in reading, and 20.2% in science. Its all-grade science figure trails the state all-grade rate, but its only tested science grade, 8th grade, scored above the state's 8th-grade science rate. Two cautions for parents: the schools cover different grade spans, and reading assessment labels differ between the two years.
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