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Kennedy Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-5
680th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 872 Minnesota Elementary Schools
Better than 22% of Minnesota elementary schools
Summary

Kennedy Elementary is a public elementary school in Willmar, Minnesota, serving 702 students in grades PK-5. The school is part of the Willmar Public School District, which is ranked 339 out of 446 districts in the state.

Academically, Kennedy Elementary consistently ranks in the bottom half of Minnesota elementary schools, with below-average proficiency rates in both math and reading compared to the state and district averages. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, the school's math proficiency rate was 37.95%, while the district's was 39.61% and the state's was 45.21%. Similarly, the school's reading proficiency rate was 30.92%, compared to the district's 35.63% and the state's 49.59%. The nearby Lakeland Elementary and Roosevelt Elementary schools, which are also part of the Willmar district, perform better academically than Kennedy Elementary.

Kennedy Elementary has a high percentage of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, with 69.8% qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch in the 2023-2024 school year. The school's student population is also diverse, with significant percentages of African American, Hispanic, and English Language Learner students. While the school's relatively low student-teacher ratio of 12.8 suggests the potential for more individualized attention, addressing the unique challenges faced by its diverse student population and implementing effective strategies to support their academic success could be key areas for improvement.

672
Students ?
12.2
Student/teacher ratio ?
$12,983
Per pupil spending ?
68.5%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 824 7th St SW
       Willmar, MN  56201-3499

(320) 214-6688

District: Willmar Public School District


Students who attend Kennedy Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    Willmar Middle School
High:    Willmar Senior High
Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
47.0%
White:
31.0%
African American:
15.6%
more
 See top rated Minnesota elementary schools

 Compare Kennedy Elementary to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Declining — 34th percentile in 2015 → 22nd in 2025
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Minnesota average (34% vs 47% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (22nd percentile)
!Ranking has slipped — down 12 percentile points since 2015
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school34%
District avg38%
Minnesota avg47%
680th of 872
Minnesota public elementary schools ?
Bottom 22%▼ down 12 pts since 2015
From bottom 34% (2015) to bottom 22% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Minnesota Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
2nd of 3Elementary Schools in the Willmar Public School District
339th of 446Willmar Public School District among Minnesota districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMinnesota percentileRating
202526.1680 of 87222.0%★☆☆☆☆
202435.5613 of 88130.4%★★☆☆☆
202326.8641 of 84524.1%★☆☆☆☆
202230.4646 of 85824.7%★☆☆☆☆
202123.7681 of 86921.6%★☆☆☆☆
201926.0686 of 87021.1%★☆☆☆☆
201828.5678 of 84720.0%★☆☆☆☆
201735.4636 of 85325.4%★☆☆☆☆
201642.4584 of 84831.1%★★☆☆☆
201545.6554 of 84034.0%★★☆☆☆
201445.1551 of 82633.3%★★☆☆☆
201333.0646 of 82421.6%★☆☆☆☆
201218.3735 of 82010.4%★☆☆☆☆
201121.7710 of 81412.8%★☆☆☆☆
201024.3690 of 80314.1%★☆☆☆☆
200912.1402 of 4347.4%☆☆☆☆☆
200821.5690 of 78111.7%★☆☆☆☆
200717.0700 of 7779.9%★☆☆☆☆
200629.9645 of 75614.7%★☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMinnesota percentileRating
202528.9218 of 29826.8%★☆☆☆☆
202454.8127 of 31059.0%★★★☆☆
202349.2130 of 27953.4%★★★☆☆
202249.2134 of 28252.5%★★★☆☆
202153.396 of 22757.7%★★★☆☆
201926.7220 of 28322.3%★☆☆☆☆
201824.4217 of 26618.4%★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMinnesota percentileRating
202531.3225 of 30325.7%★☆☆☆☆
202447.5135 of 30355.4%★★★☆☆
202338.6171 of 27638.0%★★☆☆☆
202237.7160 of 25637.5%★★☆☆☆
202135.1120 of 17531.4%★★☆☆☆
201938.0148 of 23938.1%★★☆☆☆
201833.6174 of 24228.1%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMinnesota percentileRating
202525.1636 of 79920.4%★☆☆☆☆
202432.3591 of 80926.9%★☆☆☆☆
202327.4601 of 78723.6%★☆☆☆☆
202232.3589 of 79926.3%★☆☆☆☆
202122.7636 of 78318.8%★☆☆☆☆
201928.2620 of 78721.2%★☆☆☆☆
201830.8610 of 77421.2%★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMinnesota percentileRating
202552.692 of 23861.3%★★★☆☆
202449.4112 of 24955.0%★★★☆☆
202335.6141 of 21434.1%★★☆☆☆
202250.790 of 20956.9%★★★☆☆
202146.882 of 15346.4%★★☆☆☆
201942.2127 of 21942.0%★★☆☆☆
201847.2115 of 22047.7%★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMinnesota percentileRating
202532.9553 of 76427.6%★☆☆☆☆
202442.5490 of 79338.2%★★☆☆☆
202330.0589 of 77423.9%★☆☆☆☆
202238.6430 of 66335.1%★★☆☆☆
202131.2505 of 68326.1%★☆☆☆☆
201928.4585 of 74020.9%★☆☆☆☆
201827.8584 of 72819.8%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMinnesota percentileRating
202526.8633 of 81222.0%★☆☆☆☆
202437.4561 of 82632.1%★★☆☆☆
202325.2632 of 79920.9%★☆☆☆☆
202227.9627 of 80822.4%★☆☆☆☆
202122.9633 of 78419.3%★☆☆☆☆
201924.1650 of 79818.5%★☆☆☆☆
201825.9635 of 77918.5%★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMinnesota percentileRating
202513.4529 of 5625.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202417.0511 of 57210.7%★☆☆☆☆
202318.1468 of 52410.7%★☆☆☆☆
202235.6353 of 50029.4%★☆☆☆☆
202127.9335 of 41719.7%★☆☆☆☆
201913.4484 of 5156.0%☆☆☆☆☆
201835.5311 of 46332.8%★★☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMinnesota percentileRating
202534.8520 of 71427.2%★☆☆☆☆
202441.9457 of 73037.4%★★☆☆☆
202346.2397 of 71244.2%★★☆☆☆
202251.8360 of 72550.3%★★★☆☆
202133.7539 of 71024.1%★☆☆☆☆
201952.5356 of 72250.7%★★★☆☆
201857.9295 of 71258.6%★★★☆☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
Hispanic (2025)61st percentile+39 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)28th percentile+6 vs school
White (2025)27th percentile+5 vs school
African American (2025)27th percentile+5 vs school
English Language Learner (2025)26th percentile+4 vs school
Male (2025)22nd percentile~ school
Female (2025)20th percentile~ school
Special Education (2025)6th percentile-16 vs school
By subject vs Minnesota (2024-2025) ?
Math38%-7 vs state
Reading31%-19 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about Kennedy Elementary

In the 2024-25 school year, 672 students attended Kennedy Elementary.

Students who attend Kennedy Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Willmar Middle School
High : Willmar Senior High

Students at Kennedy Elementary are 47% Hispanic, 31% White, 16% African American, 4% Asian, 3% Two or more races.

Kennedy Elementary ranks in the bottom 22.0% of Minnesota elementary schools.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Minnesota Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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