Summary
GFW Elementary School is a public PK–5 school in Gibbon, MN, serving 240 students as part of GFW Public Schools in a small central Minnesota community. It ranked 467 of 869 Minnesota elementary schools in 2025–2026, placing in the 46th percentile with 2 stars, while the district ranked 258 of 458 districts (44th percentile, 2 stars). The school has mostly been a 2-star school and has slipped from the 64th percentile in 2021–2022 to the mid-40s in the last three years.
Compared with nearby schools, GFW Elementary School is mid-pack overall. Its math proficiency is 45.6%, slightly above Minnesota’s 44.9% but below Sleepy Eye Elementary (51.6%), Cedar Mountain Elementary (53.7%), Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element (58.1%), and Jefferson Elementary (61.4%), and essentially tied with Sibley East-Gaylord Elementary (45.5%). Reading is 44.2% versus the state’s 48.6%, similar to several of those schools but below the top two local performers. Science is a clear strength at 34.4%, well above the state’s 25.5% and above most neighbors except Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element (38.5%). The school also outperforms its district in math and science, despite a 53.33% free/reduced lunch rate and the highest student-teacher ratio in this comparison group, 13.7, up from 11.1 in 2023–2024.
Grade-level results vary sharply. Third-grade reading is the weakest spot: 28.6% proficient versus 46.8% statewide, and third-grade math is 45.7% versus 57.9%. By contrast, fourth-grade reading is 50.0% versus 48.8%, fifth-grade reading matches the state at 54.5%, and fifth-grade science is strong at 34.4% versus 25.9%. For subgroups, low-income students rank at the 52nd percentile (3 stars), female students improved to the 53rd percentile (3 stars), male students fell to the 36th percentile (2 stars), and special education students improved to the 38th percentile (2 stars). Overall, GFW’s main challenges are reading and early-grade reading/math, while science, above-state math, and low-income student effectiveness are strengths.
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