Summary:
The Bemidji Public School District serves roughly 4,599 students across 11 schools — six elementary, one middle, three high, and one alternative — covering grades PK–12 in north-central Minnesota. The district is ranked 287 of 458 (37th percentile, 2 stars). Its 2025-26 all-grade averages sit close to the state: Math 44% versus 44.9%, Reading 48.8% versus 48.6%, and Science 27.6% versus 25.5%, making science a relative district strength.
Elementary results vary enormously. Lincoln Elementary is the academic standout with Math 68.4% and Reading 51.3%, both above district and state. Horace May Elementary (Math 66.7%) and Solway Elementary (Math 59.5%, Reading 54.1%) also post strong results and improved in both subjects this year. Gene Dillon Elementary School, the largest elementary at 667 students, beats district and state in all three tested subjects. By contrast, J.W. Smith Elementary trails at 18.5% in both Math and Reading — nearly a 50-point math gap with Lincoln within the same grade span. Northern Elementary declined sharply this year in both subjects.
In the upper grades, Bemidji Middle ranks around the 69th–72nd percentile, with Reading (49.9%) above district and state, but Science is low at 17.4%. Bemidji Senior High improved substantially in Reading (47.4%) and Science (36.7%), yet Math remains weak at 32.1%. Bemidji Senior Lumberjack Alternative Learning Center shows very low proficiency but an 83.7% graduation rate, above the district's 80.1%. First City School has the lowest graduation rate (27.2%), while Lakeside Learning Center, with 7 students, has its scores suppressed by the state and cannot be evaluated academically.
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