Summary:
The city of Bertha, Minnesota is served by two public schools: Bertha Elementary, which covers prekindergarten through grade 6, and Bertha Secondary, which covers grades 7 through 12. Both belong to the Bertha-Hewitt Public School District and share the same address on Central Ave S. Together they enroll 506 students — 293 in the elementary and 213 in the secondary. There is no separate middle school, so grades 7 and 8 are housed in the secondary building. The district ranks 175th of 458 Minnesota districts, placing it in the 62nd percentile with 3 stars.
Bertha Elementary is the steadier of the two, holding 3 stars across recent years and currently ranking 347th of 869 schools (60th percentile). Its standout strength is math: 55.5% of students are proficient in all-grades math versus 44.9% statewide. That strength is concentrated in the early grades, where 3rd-grade math is 69.8% versus the state's 57.9% and 4th-grade math is 69% versus 55.2%. Fourth-grade reading is also well above state (61.9% vs. 48.8%), though all-grades reading sits slightly below state at 47.9%. The weakest area is 6th grade, where math (30% vs. 39.5%) and reading (37.5% vs. 53.4%) both lag.
Bertha Secondary is the district's biggest mover, climbing from 2 stars and the 44th percentile in 2023–2024 to 4 stars and the 73rd percentile in 2025–2026 — a 29-percentile-point gain. Its completion outcomes are strong: a 90% graduation rate versus the state's 84.9% and a 2.5% dropout rate versus 4.2%. End-of-course science (42.9% vs. 35%) and 10th-grade reading (50% vs. 42.5%) also beat the state. However, overall math (28.7% vs. 44.9%) and reading (41% vs. 48.6%) remain below state averages, with 7th- and 8th-grade math and reading consistently low. Across both schools, the middle-grade years are the clearest shared weakness.
Thank you for your feedback!