Beta You're viewing our redesigned school list. Prefer the classic layout?

Best Public Schools in Zip Code 55943

At a glance

Schools

2,031

Students

Districts

Top rankedRidgeway Community School193^rd of 869 Minnesota elementary schools

▲

Biggest riser

Ridgeway Community School up 178 spots statewide this year

◉

Smallest classes

Houston Elementary 11.3 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

4★

3★

2★

1★

1 school without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

See the top-ranked Minnesota schools →

Summary:

Zip code 55943 includes 7 schools serving students from prekindergarten through 12th grade: 3 elementary, 1 middle, 3 high, and no alternative schools, with total enrollment of 2,031. Most are in Houston Public School District, while Ridgeway Community School is its own district. Enrollment is concentrated in the three Minnesota Virtual Academy High, Minnesota Virtual Academy Elementary, and Minnesota Virtual Academy Middle schools, which together enroll about 70% of students; the largest is MVA High at 706, and the smallest is Summit Learning Program at 22.

Ridgeway Community School is the strongest overall performer: it ranks 57/458 districts, 88th percentile, 4 stars, and its math (67.3%) and reading (63.6%) proficiency are well above state levels. Houston Elementary is also consistently high-ranked, with 4 stars for three listed years and math (67.3%) and reading (58.4%) above state. At the high school level, Houston Secondary has a standout 98.0% graduation rate and 0.0% dropout rate, though its test scores are below state. Minnesota Virtual Academy High is improving in rank and has stronger all-grade test scores than Houston Secondary in 2025–2026, but its graduation rate is 64.1% and dropout rate 21.3%. Minnesota Virtual Academy Middle has severe math (9.5%) and science (4.3%) weaknesses. Minnesota Virtual Academy Elementary has low math/reading but the highest science proficiency in the list (37.5%). Summit Learning Program has all 2025–2026 test scores suppressed, so proficiency cannot be compared.

Key patterns for parents: Ridgeway and Houston Elementary are the only schools above state in both math and reading. Science results do not always follow math/reading—MVA Elementary is strong in science, while Houston Elementary is below state in science, and MVA Middle is far below. The three virtual academy schools account for most enrollment and have high free/reduced lunch rates, with uneven performance: MVA High improving, MVA Middle declining, MVA Elementary mixed. Houston Secondary and MVA High move in opposite directions on graduation/dropout versus test scores. Summit's small size (22 students) and suppressed test data make comparisons difficult. Rank trends show stability at the top and concern in the middle.

Load more schools when map is moved

Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				MCA-IV Reading (2026)								MCA-IV Science (2026)				MCA-III Math (2026)								Vaccination (2025-26)		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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	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	Vaccination: Kindergartners vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR)	Vaccination: Exemption rate	Total
Ridgeway Community School	Public, Charter	PK, KG-5	35564 County Road 12	Houston	55943	Winona County	Ridgeway Community School	Yes	No	No	No	(507) 454-9566	97	10	9.6	23.7%	96 (99.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	75.9	193^rd of 869 public elementary schools	77.8%		59.8	371^st of 872 public elementary schools	57.5%	178	65.0	46.7	75.0					63.6	25.0			25.0	85.0	66.7	50.0					67.3	84.6%	0%	$10,347
Houston Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	310 S Sherman	Houston	55943	Houston County	Houston Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(507) 896-5323	247	22	11.3	40.1%	232 (93.9%)	2 (0.8%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (4.5%)	72.8	229^th of 869 public elementary schools	73.6%		76.2	192^nd of 872 public elementary schools	78.0%	37	56.3	39.3	70.8	69.0				58.4	20.8			20.8	71.9	53.6	83.3	62.1				67.3	79.3%	10.3%	$12,311
Houston Secondary	Public	7-12	306 W Elm St	Houston	55943	Houston County	Houston Public School District	No	No	No	No	(507) 896-5323	234	16	14.5	31.2%	222 (94.9%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (4.3%)	39	297^th of 473 public high schools	37.2%		21.8	371^st of 450 public high schools	17.6%	74					35.3	33.3	26.7	31.9		6.7	36.7	21.7					32.4	13.8	16.0	21.6			$14,858
Summit Learning Program	Public	9-12	105 W Elm St	Houston	55943	Houston County	Houston Public School District	No	No	No	No	(507) 742-9939	22	3	6.9	72.7%	21 (95.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (4.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)																							$11,189
Minnesota Virtual Academy High	Public, Virtual	9-12	306 W Elm St	Houston	55943	Houston County	Houston Public School District	No	No	Yes	No	(507) 742-9843	706	53	13.3	53.5%	458 (64.9%)	88 (12.5%)	64 (9.1%)	18 (2.5%)	14 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	64 (9.1%)	60.2	200^th of 473 public high schools	57.7%		53.6	235^th of 450 public high schools	47.8%	35							44.1	44.1			27.6	27.6							42.1	42.1			$10,434
Minnesota Virtual Academy Elementar	Public, Virtual	K-5	306 W Elm St	Houston	55943	Houston County	Houston Public School District	No	No	Yes	No	(507) 792-8787	392	21	18.8	64.3%	189 (48.2%)	80 (20.4%)	50 (12.8%)	8 (2.0%)	12 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	53 (13.5%)	35.7	599^th of 869 public elementary schools	31.1%		48.3	490^th of 872 public elementary schools	43.8%	109	15.4	31.3	62.5					37.8	37.5			37.5	23.1	25.0	31.3					26.7
Minnesota Virtual Academy Middle	Public, Virtual	6-8	306 W Elm St	Houston	55943	Houston County	Houston Public School District	No	No	Yes	No	(507) 792-8787	333	28	11.7	56.5%	197 (59.2%)	51 (15.3%)	39 (11.7%)	9 (2.7%)	5 (1.5%)	1 (0.3%)	31 (9.3%)	31.6	396^th of 546 public middle schools	27.5%		41.4	315^th of 519 public middle schools	39.3%	81				40.0	40.6	60.9		46.7		4.3		4.3				5.3	9.4	13.0		9.5

Cities Near Zip Code 55943

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Houston	0.21 mi	7	278^th
Caledonia	8.95 mi	4	20^th
Rushford	9.55 mi	3	235^th
Winona	10.97 mi	15	242^nd
La Crescent	13.39 mi	8	125^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.