Summary
Emerson Elementary is a PK–5 school at 1421 Spruce Place in Minneapolis, serving 491 students as part of the Minneapolis Public School District. In 2025–2026, it ranks 703 of 869 Minnesota elementary schools (19th percentile, 1 star). The school has improved over the past decade, moving from roughly the 8th–10th percentile in the mid-2010s to 17th–19th recently and leaving the 0-star band it held from 2016–17 through 2018–19, though growth has flattened and it remains in the bottom fifth of the state.
Academically, the school’s 2025–2026 all-grade proficiency is 31.1% in math, 29.0% in reading, and 21.9% in science. Science is its relative bright spot—essentially at the district average and only 3.6 points behind the state—while reading is the largest gap, trailing the district by 12.8 points. Class sizes look favorable: the student–teacher ratio improved to 11.3, and the free/reduced-lunch rate (57.43%) is lower than many nearby schools. The most revealing comparison is Kenwood Elementary, which serves a similar population and size but posts 50.3% math, 50.3% reading, and 42.5% science and ranks 353rd (59th percentile). The school still outperforms higher-poverty nearby schools such as Bethune Elementary, Whittier Elementary, and Ella Baker Elementary, all in the bottom 5% of the state.
Parents should watch grade-level patterns: 4th-grade reading is 16.7%, far below the district and state, and math proficiency slips from 39.1% in 3rd grade to 29.5% in 4th and 23.7% in 5th. Low-income students, English learners, and special education students rank in the bottom fifth or lower statewide, and reading has stayed near 29% for four years. Science swings widely because only 5th graders are tested, but a near-state result in 2023–24 shows capacity. Overall, the school is making real progress and is not the weakest nearby option, but reading and support for its highest-need students are the clearest areas to ask about.
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