Summary:
The city of Montevideo, Minnesota is home to six schools serving about 1,438 students — two elementary schools, one middle school, two high schools, and one alternative setting — with four of them run by the Montevideo Public School District, plus one operated by the MN River Valley Education District and one by the Region 6 and 8-SW/Wc Service Coop.
Among the district's tested schools, Sanford Elementary School is the academic bright spot: its 2025-26 all-grade proficiency is Math 47.6 and Reading 49.1, above both the district (Math 37, Reading 43.9) and the state (Math 44.9, Reading 48.6), and its rank percentile has climbed 38 to 42 to 47 over three years, though it remains a 2-star school and its grade-level math trails state benchmarks. Montevideo Senior High has strong completion outcomes — a 93.1% graduation rate and 3.4% dropout rate, both better than the state's 84.9% and 4.2% — but 10th-grade reading (30.5) and science (31.9) lag the state, and its rank fell from 4 stars to 2 stars. Montevideo Middle is mixed, with 5th-grade reading at 56.3 above the state's 54.5 and improved science, but overall math and science below state.
The two alternative/co-op schools face the deepest challenges. MN River Valley Alternative Learning Center-Seatbased reports a 52.9% graduation rate and a 15.6% dropout rate, about 3.7 times the state's 4.2%, with proficiency of Math 6.7, Reading 9.1, and Science 9.1. SWWC ELC - Montevideo shows Math 0 and Reading 12.5 across only 30 students, and carries the highest free/reduced-lunch rate (76.67%) and lowest student-teacher ratio (5.1). Ramsey Elementary serves grades K-2, so it has no current MCA scores — a grade-span issue rather than a red flag. Overall, the district sits near the middle at 244 of 458, and poverty levels and ratios vary widely, so families should read each school in context.
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