Summary:
ZIP code 56096 in Waterville, Minnesota contains two schools — Waterville Elementary (grades PK–4, 264 students) and Waterville-Elysian-Morristown Senior (grades 9–12, 232 students) — both located at 500 Paquin St E and both part of the Waterville-Elysian-Morristown district, with 496 students combined. Grades 5–8 are served outside this ZIP, so district-wide figures include students who do not attend either building here.
The high school is the stronger of the two. It ranks at the 66th percentile (3 stars) for 2025-2026, up from the 35th percentile two years earlier, and its outcomes are excellent: a 96.6% graduation rate against the state's 84.9%, and a 1.6% dropout rate against 4.2%. Its science proficiency of 35% also beats the state (25.5%) and its own district (20.8%). The elementary's bright spot is math, at 55.5% — the highest proficiency figure in this data, 10.6 points above the state and 9.3 above the district. Reading is weaker at 42.0% (state: 48.6%), and grade 4 trails the state by 10.4 points in math and 14.3 in reading, even as grade 3 exceeds it in both.
The clearest concern is the high school's reading, which dropped 10.8 points (56.25% to 45.5%) while the state barely moved; it now sits 3.1 points below the state after being 6.7 points above. High school math improved 7.1 points but remains 8.1 points under the state. Elementary math rose 2.9 points and reading 5.3. Free/reduced lunch is higher at the elementary (35.61% vs. 24.57%) yet it posts the higher math proficiency, a reminder that these measures do not always move together in small schools. Overall, the district sits at the 61st percentile with 3 stars, its standing carried by the high school while the elementary's ranking has tilted downward.
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