Best Public Schools in Zip Code 56055

Zip code 56055 is served by two public schools in the Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial district: Lk Crystal Wellcome Memorial Elementary, serving grades PK–5 with 423 students, and Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial Sec, serving grades 6–12 with 506 students, for a combined enrollment of 929. There is no separate middle school, since grades 6–8 are housed in the secondary building. The district is ranked 99th of 458 in Minnesota, at the 78th percentile with 4 stars.

The elementary school is the academic standout, though it has cooled from an elite peak. In 2025–2026 its all-grade proficiency was 68.3% in Math (state: 44.9%) and 56.9% in Reading (state: 48.6%), with Science essentially at the state level at 26.0%. Grade-level math results were strong—3rd grade 73.8%, 4th grade 73.6%, 5th grade 58.7%—and reading was above state at every tested grade. The school was a 5-star, 96th-percentile school in 2024–2025 (rank 35 of 872) before falling to 4 stars and 75th percentile in 2025–2026 (rank 217 of 869), with Math dropping from 80.53% to 68.3% and Reading from 69.51% to 56.9%. It also has a notably lower student-teacher ratio, 10.9 versus 16.8 at the secondary school, while free/reduced lunch rates are similar (25.06% vs 23.91%).

The secondary school is stronger on completion than on test proficiency. Its 2024–2025 graduation rate was 94.4% versus the state's 84.9%, and its dropout rate was 1.3% versus 4.2% statewide—well under one-third of the state rate. Its rank history is steady, holding 4 stars and 78th percentile across the last three years. All-grade Math (42.3%) and Reading (46.8%) were slightly below state in 2025–2026, but several grade-level results exceeded state, including 11th Grade Math (41.5% vs 35.3%), 8th Grade Math (49.2% vs 42.3%), 10th Grade Reading (47.1% vs 42.5%), and End-of-Course Science (41.8% vs 35.0%). The standout weakness is 8th Grade Science at 8.2%, below the state's 16.7%. In short, the elementary school delivers the district's academic strength, while the secondary school delivers its completion strength.