Best Public Schools in Esko, MN

Esko, Minnesota is served by two public schools in the Esko Public School District: Winterquist Elementary, which serves grades PK–6 with 684 students, and Lincoln Secondary, which serves grades 7–12 with 603 students. There is no separate middle school, so Lincoln covers the middle grades alongside high school. Combined enrollment is 1,287 students. The district ranks 14th of 458 in Minnesota, at the 97th percentile with 5 stars, and both schools also hold 5-star ratings.

Winterquist Elementary ranks 84th of 869 schools statewide for 2025–2026, in the 90th percentile. Its strengths are math and reading: all-grade math is 70.8% proficient, well above the district's 63.3% and the state's 44.9%, while all-grade reading is 69.8%, above the district's 67.2% and the state's 48.6%. Grade-level results are notable, including 79.1% in 3rd-grade math versus the state's 57.9% and 78.9% in 5th-grade reading versus 54.5% statewide. Science is the relative weak spot at 27.1% — slightly above the state's 25.5% but below the district's 33.7%. Free/reduced lunch is 16.37%, and the student/teacher ratio is 16.1.

Lincoln Secondary ranks 33rd of 473 schools, in the 93rd percentile, and stands out for graduation and science. Its graduation rate is 96.9% versus the state's 84.9%, with a 0.0% dropout rate versus 4.2% statewide. All-grade science is 37.3%, above both the district's 33.7% and the state's 25.5%, and End-of-Course science reaches 53.4% against the state's 35.0%. Reading is 63.8% — below the district but well above the state — and all-grade math is 53.5%, above the state's 44.9% yet below the district average. Free/reduced lunch is 10.28%, and the student/teacher ratio is 18.6, higher than the elementary school.