Summary:
ZIP code 55362, covering the Monticello area, contains 16 schools — 6 elementary, 2 middle, 6 high and 2 alternative — serving roughly 4,271 students across three district contexts: Monticello Public School District, Swan River Montessori Charter School, and the Sherburne and Northern Wright Speci programs. Enrollment is highly concentrated: a handful of large comprehensive schools dominate, while many specialized programs enroll fewer than 40 students.
The academic standouts are the smaller schools. Monticello Nature Based Education leads with 71.1% math, 65.8% reading and 50.0% science proficiency, placing in the 88th percentile statewide with 4 stars. Monticello Middle sits in the 84th percentile and improved in all three subjects year over year, with reading at 56.9%. Pinewood Elementary (56.2% math, 57.3% reading) and Little Mountain Elementary (55.8% math, 57.6% reading, 71.3% in 5th-grade reading) both beat district and state averages and rank in the 69th percentile. Swan River Montessori Charter School posts strong reading at 63.4% with the area's lowest free/reduced-lunch rate at 3.73%.
The weak link is the largest school. Monticello Senior High enrolls 1,313 students and has a graduation rate of 90.8% — above the state's 84.9% — and science proficiency of 34.1%, above the state's 25.5%. But its math (34.8%) and reading (38.6%) fall below state averages of 44.9% and 48.6%, and its rank percentile slipped from 81 to 67 to 55. Monticello Alternative Program serves a higher-need population, with a 56.2% graduation rate, 6.2% dropout rate and 66.67% FRL. Many SNW programs and online schools have state-suppressed test scores, so their academics cannot be compared — a suppressed value means unknown, not failing.
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