Summary:
Waterville, Minnesota has just two public schools, both in the Waterville-Elysian-Morristown district: Waterville Elementary, which serves prekindergarten through 4th grade, and Waterville-Elysian-Morristown Senior, which serves grades 9–12. Together the two schools enroll 496 students, and both share the same address on Paquin St E. There is no middle school in this city-level list, so grades 5–8 are not represented — an important limitation when thinking about a full PK–12 pipeline. The district overall ranks 178th of 458 in Minnesota, in the 61st percentile with 3 stars.
Waterville-Elysian-Morristown Senior is the standout. Its ranking percentile climbed from 35th in 2023-24 to 59th in 2024-25 to 66th in 2025-26 — a 31-point gain — and its star rating rose from 2 to 3. Its 96.6% graduation rate is 11.7 points above the state's 84.9%, and its 1.6% dropout rate is less than half the state's 4.2%. Science proficiency is 35.0% versus 25.5% statewide in 2025-26. One caution on comparisons: all-grades math of 36.8% looks below the state all-grades rate of 44.9%, but same-grade results tell a different story — 11th-grade math is 36.8% versus 35.3% statewide, and 10th-grade reading is 45.5% versus 42.5%.
Waterville Elementary is strongest in math: all-grades math is 55.5% versus 44.9% statewide, with 3rd-grade math at 65.6% versus 57.9%. Reading is the weaker area — all-grades reading is 42.0% versus 48.6% statewide, and 4th-grade reading is 34.5% versus 48.8%, a 14.3-point gap. The school holds 2 stars and a 46th-percentile rank, below the district's 61st percentile. Free/reduced lunch is 35.61% at the elementary school versus 24.57% at the high school, and student/teacher ratios are similar at 12.5 and 13.4.
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