Summary:
ZIP code 56589 covers Waubun, Minnesota, and contains three schools serving grades 4 through 12 within the Waubun-Ogema-White Earth Schools district: Waubun Secondary (grades 7–12, 283 students), Waubun Elementary (grades 4–6, 162 students), and Waubun Alternative Learning Center (grades 7–12, 31 students), totaling 476 students.
Waubun Secondary is the largest and the only school with a rank history, improving from the 19th percentile and 1 star in 2024–2025 to the 32nd percentile and 2 stars in 2025–2026. Its 90.0% graduation rate beats both the district (70.8%) and state (84.9%), though its 6.6% dropout rate is above the state's 4.2%. Test scores still trail the state: math 24%, reading 30%, and science 15%, versus 44.9%, 48.6%, and 25.5% statewide. Waubun Elementary shows the opposite pattern — reading (37.1%) is above the district's 30.6% but below the state, while math (17.9%) falls below both the district (23%) and state (44.9%), with 4th grade math at just 13.5% against the state's 55.2%. The Waubun Alternative Learning Center has the highest free/reduced lunch rate (80.65%), a 38.8% graduation rate, a 27.7% dropout rate — over six times the state average — and most test scores suppressed as unknown; only reading (9.1%) is reported.
For families comparing options, the three schools differ sharply in size, needs, and results. Even the strongest grade-level results in the ZIP code remain below state averages: 8th grade reading at 40.4% versus the state's 50%, and 7th grade math at 31.8% versus 40.3%. Poverty indicators rise as outcomes become more challenging, from 58.3% at Waubun Secondary to 80.65% at the alternative school. Suppressed scores should be read as unknown, not as zero.
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