Summary:
Willmar, Minnesota is home to 11 schools serving students from elementary through high school — 3 elementary, 2 middle, 3 high, and 3 alternative — with a combined enrollment of about 4,175 students. Ten of the 11 belong to Willmar Public School District, ranked 331 of 458 in Minnesota at the 28th percentile with 1 star, while DREAM Technical Academy belongs to Technical Academies of Minnesota, ranked 443 of 458 at the 3rd percentile with 0 stars. Enrollment is concentrated: the five largest schools educate about 94% of the students listed, while the alternative and technical schools are very small.
Among the standouts, Willmar Middle School has the highest rank — 241 of 546, the 56th percentile, 3 stars — with 8th grade math at 52.0%, well above the state's 42.3%, though its science is 14.6% proficient. Roosevelt Elementary is the only school with all-grades math (46.3%) above the state's 44.9%. Kennedy Elementary has the strongest all-grades reading among Willmar schools shown (40.4%), still below the state's 48.6%. Willmar Senior High graduates 88.4% of students, above the district's 82.4% and the state's 84.9%, even though its math (30.2%) and reading (31.3%) lag. Lakeland Elementary School trails across subjects.
Every school is majority free/reduced lunch, from 57.43% at Willmar Senior High to 83.52% at Willmar Area Learning Center. The alternative settings face the most acute challenges: the ALC reports a 51.8% graduation rate and 20.3% dropout rate, Prairie Lakes Education Center reports 14.2% graduation and 14.2% dropout, and DREAM Technical Academy has the highest student-teacher ratio listed at 22.7. Many values for these small schools are suppressed by the state for privacy and are unknown, not zero. Overall, Willmar shows strong middle school performance and math bright spots, but weaker reading and science citywide.
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