Vermilion Country School

Vermilion Country School is the only school in the Vermilion Country School district, a single-school district in Tower, Minnesota serving grades 7–12 as a high school with about 50 students enrolled — roughly 8–9 students per grade. Because there is only one school in this area, there is no other local school to compare it with; the school's figures and the district's figures are essentially the same. Such a small enrollment means a single student can move a percentage noticeably, so year-to-year swings should be read with caution.

Academically, the school currently trails state averages. In 2025–26, all-grades math proficiency was 0% versus about 44.9% statewide, and it was also 0% in 2024–25. All-grades reading was 22.7% (up from 11.11% the year before) against 48.6% statewide, while 10th-grade reading was 31.3% versus 42.5%. Science was 16.1% at all grades versus 25.5%, and 16.7% at End of Course versus 35%. The district is ranked 383 of 458 (16th percentile, 1 star), and the school's 2025–26 rank is 374 of 473 (21st percentile, 1 star).

Other measures are more encouraging. The school's 2023–24 graduation rate was 92.3% and its dropout rate was 0.0%, though these are small-cohort, school-level figures and are not from the same year as the displayed state rates of 84.9% and 4.2% (2024–25). With 80% of students eligible for free/reduced lunch and a favorable 9.2 student-teacher ratio, the school combines economic challenges, small classes, and high statistical volatility. Several grade-level results are suppressed — math in grades 11, 7, and 8; reading in grades 7 and 8; and science in grade 8 — and should be treated as unknown, not as zeros. The school reached the 49th percentile in 2018–19, so its current standing is below its own earlier peak.