Windom Area Elementary

Windom Area Elementary is a PK–4 school serving 493 students in Windom, Minnesota, as part of Windom Public School District. It is by far the largest elementary in its nearby comparison group — the next-largest, Riverside Elementary, has 350 students, and several nearby schools have fewer than 175. About 49% of students qualified for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024–2025 (down from roughly 58% two years earlier), and the student–teacher ratio was 13.2. The school ranked 557 of 869 Minnesota elementary schools in 2025–2026 (36th percentile, 2 stars), down from the 48th percentile the year before; the district ranks in the 34th percentile.

Academically, math looks like a relative strength in school-wide comparisons, while reading is the clear challenge. All-grade math proficiency was 51.4%, above the state's 44.9% and well above the district's 33.7% — third-best among the seven nearby schools compared. But grade-level math fell below state benchmarks (3rd grade 50% vs. 57.9%; 4th grade 52.5% vs. 55.2%), and that school-wide figure should be read cautiously because Windom serves only PK–4 while most neighbors are PK–6. Reading is weaker: 37.2% all-grade vs. the state's 48.6%, with 3rd grade at 30.5% and 4th grade at 42.6%. Among nearby schools, only Butterfield Elementary scored lower in reading, while Comfrey Elementary reached 63.6%. Windom does not report grade-5 science, so science isn't comparable with neighboring PK–6 schools.

Subgroup results are uneven: English Language Learner students rank relatively high statewide (62nd percentile in 2025–2026), while special education students rank near the bottom (18th percentile, 1 star) in each of the last three years. For context, Heron Lake-Okabena Elementary ranks higher overall despite a lower-ranked district, and Butterfield has both the lowest scores and the highest free/reduced-lunch rate (75.45%). Families may want to weigh reading and special education support most heavily when considering this school.