Best Public Schools in Zip Code 56479

Zip code 56479 is home to three public schools — Staples-Motley Elementary (PK–4, 308 students), Staples-Motley Middle School (5–8, 284 students), and Staples-Motley Senior High (9–12, 309 students) — all part of the Staples-Motley School District, serving about 901 students in a small, single-district area with no alternative schools. The district as a whole ranks 237 of 458 in Minnesota, at the 48th percentile with 2 stars, but its individual schools differ quite a bit from that middle-of-the-pack picture.

Each school has one clear strength and one clear weak spot. The elementary school posts the best math results in the group, at 52.5% proficient (above the district's 39.9% and the state's 44.9%), while its reading sits at 34.4%, below district and state. The middle school is the highest ranked of the three at 229 of 546, or the 58th percentile with 3 stars, and has climbed from the 47th to the 58th percentile over three years — yet its all-grades science is only 12.6% proficient, far below district and state. The high school stands out for outcomes: a 94.2% graduation rate versus the state's 84.9%, and a 2.9% dropout rate versus 4.2% statewide. Its academics are mixed, with math at just 25% proficient, and its rank has slipped from the 65th to the 50th percentile.

For parents, the biggest takeaways are these contrasts. The high school gets students across the finish line but has work to do in math; the middle school is rising in the rankings even as science lags badly; and the elementary school does well in math but struggles in reading. The elementary also has the highest free/reduced lunch rate at 55.84% and the lowest student-teacher ratio at 13.1. Grade-level scores vary widely — middle school 8th grade math is 50.6% and 6th grade reading 56.1%, both above state, while 5th grade math (16.2%) and 7th grade reading (20.8%) are far below. Note that high school science of 32.9% beats the state all-grades figure but trails the state End of Course figure of 35%.