Hendricks Elementary

Hendricks Elementary is a small PK–6 school with 74 students in Hendricks, a rural community in southwestern Minnesota's Lincoln County area, operating as part of the Hendricks Public School District. For 2025-2026 it ranked 9th out of 869 Minnesota elementary schools — the 99th percentile, with 5 stars — the strongest position in its reported history. Its star rating has climbed three years running (2 → 4 → 4 → 5), up from the bottom third of the state in 2021-2023.

Hendricks posted the best proficiency results in its regional comparison group in every subject. In Math (77.1%) and Reading (71.4%) it finished ahead of Lake Benton Elementary (67.9% and 60.4%) and Lincoln Elementary - Ivanhoe (59.5% and 62.2%), and in Science it hit 50% — roughly double the statewide 25.5% and far above Canby Elementary (20.6%) and Lake Benton (15.4%). Fourth-grade Math (91.7%) and fifth-grade Reading (84.6%) were especially strong, and the school outperforms both its own district and the higher-ranked district next door. Two caveats: with 74 students, a grade may hold only about 12 students, so single-year swings are normal, and the state suppressed third- and sixth-grade scores, leaving gaps in the picture.

Notably, Hendricks serves the highest free/reduced-lunch share (40.5%) of the four schools while posting the top scores, and has by far the smallest student-to-teacher ratio (6.4, versus 13.0 at Canby). That ratio tightened from 12.9 to 6.4 as the school climbed the rankings, though this is a correlation rather than proof of cause. The open question for families is durability: whether 2025-2026 reflects a lasting turnaround or an exceptional group of students.