Best High Schools in Zip Code 55025

ZIP code 55025, centered on Forest Lake, Minnesota, contains six high schools serving roughly 2,823 students across grades 6 through 12. Enrollment is highly concentrated: Forest Lake Area High School alone has 1,805 students, about 64% of the total, while LILA Upper School adds 579 and North Lakes Academy 7-12 Campus adds 245. The remaining three — Forest Lake Area Community School, Step, and Community School Credit Recovery — belong to Forest Lake Public School District and together make up only about 7% of enrollment. Lakes International Language Academy and North Lakes Academy are separate charter districts.

Each school stands out in a different way. LILA has the strongest completion profile in the group, with a 96.6% graduation rate and 1.6% dropout rate, and its all-grade reading proficiency is above the state average in both years shown. Forest Lake Area High School posts the area's most striking subject result: science proficiency of 58.0% in 2025–2026 and 63.42% in 2024–2025, far above the state's 25.5% and 26.15%, alongside an improved rank of 80th percentile and 4 stars. North Lakes Academy reports a 0.0% dropout rate and an 87.1% graduation rate, both better than the state.

Math is the shared weak spot. Every school with reported all-grade math data trails the state's 44.9%, from Forest Lake Area High School at 40.6% to LILA at 35.6%, North Lakes at 19.3%, and Forest Lake Area Community School at 3.7%. Forest Lake Area Community School has the lowest measured outcomes overall, including a 55.1% graduation rate and 6.9% dropout rate, and serves a notably higher-need population with a 48.67% free/reduced-lunch rate. Families should also note that the smallest schools have limited data — several figures are suppressed by the state to protect privacy and should be treated as unknown rather than as evidence of weakness. Because mission, size, and grade span differ so much, the most useful comparisons are within similar school types.