Perham-Dent Public School District

Schools in the Perham-Dent Public School District include four schools serving students from prekindergarten through grade 12: Heart of The Lake Elementary (PK–4), Prairie Wind Middle (5–8), Perham Senior High (9–12), and the small alternative Perham Area Learning Center (9–12). The district is ranked 74th of 458 Minnesota districts, in the 84th percentile with 4 stars, and enrolls 1,671 students across these schools.

For parents comparing schools, Perham Senior High is the academic standout: it has been ranked at the 89th percentile with 4 stars for three years, and its reading (57.0%) and science (43.4%) proficiency are well above the district and state. Its math (47.3%) is slightly below the district but above the state, while its dropout rate (6.2%) is higher than both district and state. Prairie Wind Middle has also been a 4-star school for three years, with strong reading (53.9%) but weak science (19.5%). Heart of The Lake Elementary is improving in rank—from 49th percentile to 63rd percentile—and has standout math (63.1%), though reading is mixed: 3rd-grade reading is strong at 58.2%, while 4th-grade reading is low at 38.2%.

Perham Area Learning Center is a very different setting: just 38 students, the highest free/reduced-lunch rate (57.89%), the lowest student-teacher ratio (8.0), and a reported 0.0% dropout rate, but its graduation rate (73.0%) is below district and state, and most current test scores are suppressed by the state. Key areas to watch across the district include middle-school science, 4th-grade reading at the elementary, the senior high dropout rate, and the limited current data for the learning center. Overall, the district has a strong profile, with elementary math and senior high reading/science as clear bright spots.