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Best Public Schools in Zip Code 55056

New rankings! Minnesota test scores for the 2025-26 school year were just released — SchoolDigger posted updated rankings this week.

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At a glance

Schools

2,889

Students

Districts

Top rankedSunrise River Elementary School403^rd of 869 Minnesota elementary schools

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Biggest riser

North Branch Area High School up 38 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

North Branch Area Education Center 13.1 students per teacher

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Summary:

ZIP code 55056 covers North Branch, Minnesota, where 9 schools — 4 elementary, 1 middle, and 4 high serving PK through grade 12 — enroll 2,889 students combined. North Branch Area Public Schools operates 7 of them and enrolls 2,704 students (93.6%); the other two are Phoenix Academy Charter School (156) and Chisago County Schools' Life Work C (29), which belongs to the St. Croix River Education District. Enrollment is concentrated: Sunrise River Elementary School (960), North Branch Area High School (791), and North Branch Area Middle School (615) together hold 81.9% of listed students.

Sunrise River Elementary School is the strongest comprehensive elementary — the only current 3-star school, ranked 403 of 869 (54th percentile), with all-grades math at 55.5%, well above the district's 38.9% and the state's 44.9%, and 3rd-grade math at 68.1%. Phoenix Academy Charter School, a small K–8 charter, posts math at 45.7% and science at 26.7%, both above state. North Branch Area High School shows the sharpest contrast: a 93.0% graduation rate and 1.7% dropout rate, both better than district and state, alongside all-grades math of 17.1% and reading of 34.9%. North Branch Area Middle School has relatively solid reading (46.0%) but weak science (12.9%).

District-wide, proficiency trails the state in all three subjects — math 38.9% vs 44.9%, reading 44.1% vs 48.6%, science 18.7% vs 25.5% — and no school with reported all-grades reading exceeded the state's 48.6%. Science is mixed: Phoenix is above state, the high school is near it at 22.4%, and the middle school is far lower. The smallest programs differ sharply: Distance Learning Academy Secondary reports a 66.6% graduation rate and 22.2% dropout rate, while Norse Area Learning Center reports 45.0% and 10.0%, with the highest free/reduced lunch rate at 51.22%. Many values — Phoenix's 6th-grade results, most of Distance Learning Academy Secondary's and Norse's grade-level data, and all of Distance Learning Acadmy Elementary's results — are suppressed and should be read as unknown, not zero. North Branch Area Education Center has no rank or test data.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				MCA-IV Reading (2026)								MCA-IV Science (2026)				MCA-III Math (2026)								Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MCA-IV Reading 3rd Grade	MCA-IV Reading 4th Grade	MCA-IV Reading 5th Grade	MCA-IV Reading 6th Grade	MCA-IV Reading 7th Grade	MCA-IV Reading 8th Grade	MCA-IV Reading 10th Grade	MCA-IV Reading All Grades	MCA-IV Science 5th Grade	MCA-IV Science 8th Grade	MCA-IV Science End of Course	MCA-IV Science All Grades	MCA-III Math 3rd Grade	MCA-III Math 4th Grade	MCA-III Math 5th Grade	MCA-III Math 6th Grade	MCA-III Math 7th Grade	MCA-III Math 8th Grade	MCA-III Math 11th Grade	MCA-III Math All Grades	Total
Chisago County Schools' Life Work C	Public	9-12	38423 Lincoln Trail	North Branch	55056	Chisago County	St. Croix River Education District	No	No	No	No	(320) 358-1214	29	3	9.6	10.3%	25 (86.2%)	2 (6.9%)	1 (3.4%)	1 (3.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
Phoenix Academy Charter School	Public, Charter	K-8	38460 Lincoln Trl	North Branch	55056	Chisago County	Phoenix Academy Charter School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(651) 237-0656	156	11	14.8	42.9%	124 (79.5%)	7 (4.5%)	16 (10.3%)	2 (1.3%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (3.8%)	47.4	497^th of 869 public elementary schools	42.8%		52.2	455^th of 872 public elementary schools	47.8%	42	50.0	35.7	53.3					42.9	26.7			26.7	72.2	39.3	33.3					45.7	$10,620
Norse Area Learning Center	Public	7-12	38423 Lincoln Trail	North Branch	55056	Chisago County	North Branch Area Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(651) 674-1406	41	4	9.8	51.2%	32 (78.0%)	2 (4.9%)	3 (7.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (4.9%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (4.9%)								(n/a)						20.0		11.8		0.0		0.0						10.0		5.3	$10,420
North Branch Area High School	Public	9-12	38175 Grand Ave	North Branch	55056	Chisago County	North Branch Area Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(651) 674-1500	791	40	19.7	24.9%	656 (82.9%)	6 (0.8%)	44 (5.6%)	39 (4.9%)	4 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	42 (5.3%)	34.1	319^th of 473 public high schools	32.6%		25.6	357^th of 450 public high schools	20.7%	38							34.9	34.9			22.4	22.4							17.1	17.1	$12,321
North Branch Area Middle School	Public	6-8	38431 Lincoln Tr	North Branch	55056	Chisago County	North Branch Area Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(651) 674-1305	615	33	18.7	29.1%	509 (82.8%)	7 (1.1%)	29 (4.7%)	35 (5.7%)	4 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (5.0%)	48.5	281^st of 546 public middle schools	48.5%		44.8	290^th of 519 public middle schools	44.1%	9				52.0	45.0	40.2		46.0		12.9		12.9				27.0	37.2	24.1		29.7	$11,068
Distance Learning Academy Secondary	Public, Virtual	6-12	38423 Lincoln Trail	North Branch	55056	Chisago County	North Branch Area Public Schools	No	No	Yes	No	(651) 674-1000	52	3	19.9	32.7%	49 (94.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.9%)								(n/a)								40.0												5.0	$11,081
Sunrise River Elementary School	Public	1-5	37775 Grand Ave	North Branch	55056	Chisago County	North Branch Area Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(651) 674-1100	960	54	17.6	30.6%	784 (81.7%)	9 (0.9%)	50 (5.2%)	75 (7.8%)	6 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (3.8%)	54.7	403^rd of 869 public elementary schools	53.6%		56.5	406^th of 872 public elementary schools	53.4%	3	46.2	46.1	46.6					46.3	22.5			22.5	68.1	62.3	34.6					55.5	$11,234
North Branch Area Education Center	Public	PK-K	38705 Grand Ave	North Branch	55056	Chisago County	North Branch Area Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(651) 674-1225	239	18	13.1	36.4%	194 (81.2%)	1 (0.4%)	17 (7.1%)	15 (6.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (5.0%)								(n/a)
Distance Learning Acadmy Elementary	Public, Virtual	K-5	38423 Lincoln Trail	North Branch	55056	Chisago County	North Branch Area Public Schools	No	No	Yes	No	(651) 674-1100	6	0			5 (83.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (16.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)

Cities Near Zip Code 55056

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
North Branch	4.31 mi	9	319^th
Lindstrom	8.22 mi	5	78^th
Chisago City	8.85 mi	7	312^th
Taylors Falls	12.7 mi	1	321^st
Rush City	13.54 mi	3	175^th

See the top MN Minnesota cities

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.