Best Public Schools in Appleton, MN

Summary:

The city of Appleton, Minnesota has only one school serving grades PK-4: Appleton-Milan Elementary, a public school that is part of the Lac qui Parle Valley Schools district. With an enrollment of 223 students, Appleton-Milan Elementary is a relatively small school that is underperforming academically compared to district and state averages.

Appleton-Milan Elementary's proficiency rates in Math and Reading on the MCA-III assessments are consistently lower than the district and state averages across all grades and years. For example, in 2024-2025, the school's Math proficiency rate for all grades was 38.1%, compared to 32.05% for the district and 45.21% for the state. The school's Reading proficiency rates show a similar pattern, with the school's all-grades rate of 31.75% lagging the district's 35.8% and the state's 49.59%. Additionally, the school's statewide ranking among elementary schools has declined over the past three years, from 675 out of 845 in 2022-2023 to 667 out of 872 in 2024-2025.

With nearly 70% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, Appleton-Milan Elementary serves a high-poverty student population, which can present additional challenges for the school. The school's small size and declining academic performance suggest that it may need additional support and resources to improve student outcomes and better serve the community of Appleton, Minnesota.

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 All Grades	MCA-III Reading 3rd Grade	MCA-III Reading 4th Grade	MCA-III Reading All Grades	Total
Appleton-Milan Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	349 S Edquist St	Appleton	56208	Swift County	Lac qui Parle Valley Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(320) 289-1114	230	17	13.2	61.7%	98 (42.6%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (10.4%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	97 (42.2%)	9 (3.9%)	27.5	667^th of 872 public elementary schools	23.5%		18.7	732^nd of 881 public elementary schools	16.9%	65	51.7	26.5	38.1	41.4	23.5	31.8	$12,120

Cities Near Appleton

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Madison	9.19 mi	3	328^th
Dawson	18.85 mi	2	285^th
Benson	21.58 mi	4	339^th
Ortonville	21.97 mi	2	87^th
Montevideo	22.22 mi	9	234^th

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.