Best Public Schools in Zip Code 56003

ZIP code 56003 in North Mankato, Minnesota, is home to five schools: three elementary schools serving grades K–5 — Hoover Elementary, Monroe Elementary, and Bridges Community Elementary — plus two alternative schools, Futures Program (grades K–12) and Futures Sun (grades 1–12). There are no traditional middle or high schools in the ZIP. All five operate within Mankato Public School District, which ranks 105th of 458 districts statewide — 77th percentile, 4 stars. Total enrollment is 1,133 students, and 95.2% of them (1,079) attend the three elementary schools, while 54 students attend the two alternative programs.

Among the elementaries, Bridges Community Elementary is the clear standout: the only 5-star school, ranked 66th of 869 schools (92nd percentile), with 76.4% proficient in math and 73.4% in reading — well above the district (55% and 54.3%) and the state (44.9% and 48.6%). Bridges also has the lowest elementary free/reduced lunch rate at 19.12%. Hoover Elementary, the largest elementary with 461 students, earned 4 stars and 73rd percentile, with strong math (70.2%) and reading (58.5%) but science far below at 15.1%, compared with district 26.4% and state 25.5%. Monroe Elementary (367 students) also earned 4 stars and 72nd percentile, improved in all three subjects year over year, and posts the ZIP's strongest elementary science score at 30.1%. Notably, Monroe has the highest elementary free/reduced lunch rate (41.69%) yet still outperforms district averages in all three subjects.

The two alternative schools serve very small, higher-poverty populations — Futures Program has 33 students at 78.79% free/reduced lunch, and Futures Sun has 21 students at 61.9% — and their test results are mostly suppressed by the state, so they cannot be fairly compared with the elementaries. Where reported, Futures Program's reading was 20% in both years and its 2024-25 math was 7.69%. Suppressed scores are unknown values, not evidence of poor performance. Overall, ZIP 56003 is a strong elementary area in math and reading, led by Bridges, with science the main concern, especially at Hoover.