Summary:
The city of North Branch, Minnesota is served by 9 schools — 4 elementary, 1 middle, and 4 high schools — with a combined enrollment of 2,889 students. Most students attend North Branch Area Public Schools, while Phoenix Academy Charter School and the St. Croix River Education District operate separately. Enrollment is highly concentrated: Sunrise River Elementary School (960), North Branch Area High School (791), and North Branch Area Middle School (615) together account for 2,366 students, about 81.9% of the area total.
Sunrise River Elementary School is the strongest elementary performer, with math at 55.5% versus the district's 38.9% and the state's 44.9%, and 3rd-grade math at 68.1% against a state mark of 57.9%. Phoenix Academy Charter School, serving grades K–8 with 156 students, also exceeds the state in all-grade math (45.7%) and science (26.7%) and posts 3rd-grade math of 72.2%. North Branch Area High School stands out for outcomes rather than test scores: its 93.0% graduation rate and 1.7% dropout rate beat both district and state, even though math proficiency is 17.1% and reading 34.9%.
Across the area, math strength fades after elementary school — North Branch Area Middle School reports 29.7% in math against the state's 44.9%. No reporting school exceeds the state reading average of 48.6%, and science is weak nearly everywhere (district 18.7% vs state 25.5%), with only Phoenix above the state. Norse Area Learning Center and Distance Learning Academy Secondary show the largest gaps, including graduation rates of 45.0% and 66.6% and a 22.2% dropout rate at Distance Learning Secondary, though both serve very small numbers.
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