Best Elementary Schools in Brainerd, MN

Summary:

The city of Brainerd, Minnesota is home to 5 elementary schools serving students from grades K-5, including Riverside Elementary, Lowell Elementary, Garfield Elementary, Harrison Elementary, and Discovery Woods, a public charter school.

Based on the data, Lowell Elementary stands out as the top-performing school in the Brainerd area, consistently ranking among the best elementary schools in Minnesota and earning a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger. Lowell's students significantly outperform the Brainerd Public School District and state averages on MCA-III math and reading assessments, with over 70% proficiency rates in many grade levels. In contrast, Discovery Woods, the public charter school, appears to be the weakest performer, with consistently low proficiency rates, especially in math.

The data also reveals that schools with higher free and reduced lunch rates, such as Riverside Elementary and Discovery Woods, tend to have lower academic performance, while Lowell Elementary, with the lowest free/reduced lunch rate, is the top performer. This suggests that socioeconomic factors may play a role in student outcomes across the Brainerd elementary schools.

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				MCA-III Math (2025)					MCA-III Reading (2025)					Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MCA-III Math 3rd Grade	MCA-III Math 4th Grade	MCA-III Math 5th Grade	MCA-III Math 6th Grade	MCA-III Math All Grades	MCA-III Reading 3rd Grade	MCA-III Reading 4th Grade	MCA-III Reading 5th Grade	MCA-III Reading 6th Grade	MCA-III Reading All Grades	Total
Discovery Woods	Public, Charter	PK, KG-6	604 N 7th St	Brainerd	56401	Crow Wing County	Discovery Woods	Yes	No	No	Yes	(218) 828-8200	101	11	8.9	64.4%	77 (76.2%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (5.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (17.8%)	29	658^th of 872 public elementary schools	24.5%		29.4	658^th of 881 public elementary schools	25.3%		35.3		9.1	9.1	25.0	35.3		45.5	63.6	41.7	$9,692
Garfield Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	1120 10th Ave NE	Brainerd	56401	Crow Wing County	Brainerd Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(218) 454-6450	250	21	12.1	52.4%	203 (81.2%)	2 (0.8%)	8 (3.2%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (4.8%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (10.0%)	26.9	674^th of 872 public elementary schools	22.7%		52.2	468^th of 881 public elementary schools	46.9%	206	24.2	42.6			32.5	18.5	51.9			33.6	$12,674
Harrison Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	1515 Oak St	Brainerd	56401	Crow Wing County	Brainerd Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(218) 454-6500	230	19	12.1	59.1%	200 (87.0%)	2 (0.9%)	7 (3.0%)	1 (0.4%)	2 (0.9%)	1 (0.4%)	17 (7.4%)	45.3	518^th of 872 public elementary schools	40.6%		32.3	638^th of 881 public elementary schools	27.6%	120	68.2	41.3			54.4	52.3	19.6			35.6	$14,382
Lowell Elementary	Public	K-4	704 3rd Ave NE	Brainerd	56401	Crow Wing County	Brainerd Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(218) 454-6550	355	26	13.9	39.7%	314 (88.5%)	1 (0.3%)	12 (3.4%)	1 (0.3%)	4 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (6.5%)	84.4	100^th of 872 public elementary schools	88.5%		88	62^nd of 881 public elementary schools	93.0%	38	74.7	71.6			73.2	59.5	67.6			63.4	$11,809
Riverside Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	220 3rd St NW	Brainerd	56401	Crow Wing County	Brainerd Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(218) 454-6800	407	40	10.2	57.5%	344 (84.5%)	4 (1.0%)	15 (3.7%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.5%)	1 (0.2%)	33 (8.1%)	44.4	525^th of 872 public elementary schools	39.8%		41.2	573^rd of 881 public elementary schools	35.0%	48	44.8	52.1			47.9	41.7	45.1			43.1	$15,397

Cities Near Brainerd

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Baxter	6.23 mi	4	124^th
Crosby	12.63 mi	2	155^th
Nisswa	14.16 mi	1	75^th
Pillager	15.73 mi	6	198^th
Breezy Point	18.8 mi	1	43^rd

See the top MN Minnesota cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Minnesota Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.