Summary:
Monticello, Minnesota — a community in Sherburne and Wright counties northwest of the Twin Cities — is home to 16 schools serving students from the elementary grades through high school: 6 elementary, 2 middle, 6 high, and 2 alternative schools, with the large majority operated by Monticello Public School District, which enrolls about 4,013 students (roughly 94% of the 4,271 listed). The district is ranked 83rd of 458 Minnesota districts, at the 82nd percentile with 4 stars.
Monticello Nature Based Education is the academic standout, with 2025–2026 Math at 71.1%, Reading at 65.8%, and Science at 50.0%, far above the state's 44.9%, 48.6%, and 25.5%, though it enrolls only 65 students, so year-to-year swings are likely. Monticello Middle is the strongest school with substantial enrollment, ranking at the 84th percentile with 4 stars. Pinewood Elementary and Little Mountain Elementary are nearly identical and beat the state in all three subjects despite free/reduced lunch rates near 33–35%. Swan River Montessori Charter School posts very strong reading (63.4%) but uneven math and science. Monticello Senior High, the largest school at 1,313 students, has slipped from the 81st to the 55th percentile, with Math at 34.8% and Reading at 38.6%, below state levels — yet its 90.8% graduation rate still exceeds the state's 84.9%.
Alternative and Sherburne and Northern Wright Speci schools are tiny — 6 to 39 students — and their test scores are frequently suppressed by the state to protect privacy; those figures are unknown, not zero. Monticello Alternative Program graduates 56.2% of students, a different context from comprehensive schools.
Thank you for your feedback!