Best Public Schools in Zip Code 58103

Summary:

The 58103 zip code area in North Dakota is home to 13 schools, including 9 elementary schools, 1 middle school, and 3 high schools, spread across two school districts - Fargo 1 and West Fargo 6. While the schools in this area show a wide range of performance, a few stand out as exceptional.

Clara Barton Hawthorne Elementary School has consistently ranked among the top elementary schools in the state, with a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger. It has a relatively low rate of free/reduced lunch students (23.78%) and a high student-teacher ratio of 12.6. South High School has shown significant improvement in its statewide ranking, moving from 9th out of 12 schools in 2017-2018 to 4th out of 13 schools in 2023-2024, and has a relatively high 4-year graduation rate of 84.2%. In contrast, Explorer Academy, a small elementary/middle school, has a very low student-teacher ratio of 3.1 and 100% of its students qualify for free/reduced lunch, indicating it serves a high-need population.

The data also reveals some concerning trends across the schools in the 58103 zip code area. All schools have a chronic absenteeism rate of 20.0%, which is quite high, and test scores vary significantly, with some schools performing much better than others. Additionally, there are significant disparities in the percentage of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch, ranging from 23.78% at Clara Barton Hawthorne Elementary to 100% at Explorer Academy, suggesting potential equity issues that may need to be addressed.

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				A-Plus Math (2025)								A-Plus Reading (2025)								A-Plus Science (2025)				Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	A-Plus Math 3rd Grade	A-Plus Math 4th Grade	A-Plus Math 5th Grade	A-Plus Math 6th Grade	A-Plus Math 7th Grade	A-Plus Math 8th Grade	A-Plus Math 10th Grade	A-Plus Math All Grades	A-Plus Reading 3rd Grade	A-Plus Reading 4th Grade	A-Plus Reading 5th Grade	A-Plus Reading 6th Grade	A-Plus Reading 7th Grade	A-Plus Reading 8th Grade	A-Plus Reading 10th Grade	A-Plus Reading All Grades	A-Plus Science 4th Grade	A-Plus Science 8th Grade	A-Plus Science 10th Grade	A-Plus Science All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Carl Ben Eielson Middle School	Public	6-8	1601 13th Ave S	Fargo	58103	Cass County	Fargo 1	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(701) 446-1700	677	58	11.5	45.5%	387 (57.2%)	116 (17.1%)	81 (12.0%)	32 (4.7%)	23 (3.4%)	1 (0.1%)	37 (5.5%)	35.3	41^st of 59 public middle schools	30.5%		31.6	39^th of 57 public middle schools	31.6%	2				35.0	41.0	44.0		39.0				25.0	39.0	44.0		34.0		44.0		44.0	$16,015	$895	$15,120
Clara Barton Hawthorne Elementary School	Public	K-5	1417 6th St S	Fargo	58103	Cass County	Fargo 1	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(701) 446-4400	312	25	12.4	22.4%	261 (83.7%)	5 (1.6%)	18 (5.8%)	2 (0.6%)	6 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (6.4%)	60.9	69^th of 216 public elementary schools	68.1%		74.6	33^rd of 217 public elementary schools	84.8%	36	49.0	44.0	54.0					49.0	54.0	39.0	59.0					54.0	39.0			39.0	$18,035	$453	$17,582
Jefferson Elementary School	Public	K-5	1701 4th Ave S	Fargo	58103	Cass County	Fargo 1	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(701) 446-4700	270	33	8.1	81.5%	96 (35.6%)	60 (22.2%)	53 (19.6%)	26 (9.6%)	19 (7.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (5.9%)	16.8	202^nd of 216 public elementary schools	6.5%		4.2	217^th of 217 public elementary schools	0.0%	15	29.0	14.0	24.0					19.0	39.5	29.5	19.0					25.5	24.0			24.0	$23,648	$3,295	$20,353
Lewis And Clark Elementary School	Public	K-5	1729 16th St S	Fargo	58103	Cass County	Fargo 1	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(701) 446-4800	439	42	10.4	50.6%	243 (55.4%)	87 (19.8%)	45 (10.3%)	4 (0.9%)	21 (4.8%)	1 (0.2%)	38 (8.7%)	33.9	159^th of 216 public elementary schools	26.4%		39.5	142^nd of 217 public elementary schools	34.6%	17	14.0	34.0	54.0					32.0	24.0	29.0	54.0					34.0	34.0			34.0	$18,489	$2,423	$16,066
Lincoln Elementary School	Public	K-5	2120 9th St S	Fargo	58103	Cass County	Fargo 1	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(701) 446-4900	330	36	9.1	58.8%	150 (45.5%)	62 (18.8%)	53 (16.1%)	17 (5.2%)	18 (5.5%)	6 (1.8%)	24 (7.3%)	35.3	153^rd of 216 public elementary schools	29.2%		20.8	200^th of 217 public elementary schools	7.8%	47	29.0	39.0	39.0					34.0	39.0	34.0	44.0					39.0	34.0			34.0	$20,129	$2,365	$17,764
South High School	Public	9-12	1840 15th Ave S	Fargo	58103	Cass County	Fargo 1	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(701) 446-2000	898	80	11.2	33.4%	553 (61.6%)	150 (16.7%)	85 (9.5%)	43 (4.8%)	28 (3.1%)	3 (0.3%)	36 (4.0%)	38.3	74^th of 125 public high schools	40.8%		50.9	59^th of 122 public high schools	51.6%	15							23.0	23.0							38.0	38.0			29.0	29.0	$17,979	$1,244	$16,736
Dakota High School	Public	9-12	1305 9th Ave S	Fargo	58103	Cass County	Fargo 1	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(701) 446-2800	127	10	12.8	97.6%	65 (51.2%)	24 (18.9%)	14 (11.0%)	1 (0.8%)	12 (9.4%)	1 (0.8%)	10 (7.9%)								(n/a)																					$20,219	$525	$19,694
Educational Clapp Elementary School	Public	K-5	3131 S 28th St	Fargo	58103	Cass County	Fargo 1	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(701) 446-2900	444	48	9.2	57.7%	188 (42.3%)	158 (35.6%)	34 (7.7%)	22 (5.0%)	5 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (8.3%)	37.6	146^th of 216 public elementary schools	32.4%		26.1	186^th of 217 public elementary schools	14.3%	40	44.0	49.0	39.0					44.0	34.0	34.0	34.0					35.5	34.0			34.0	$18,726	$2,500	$16,226
Explorer Academy	Public	K-8	1780 17th St S	Fargo	58103	Cass County	Fargo 1	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(701) 446-4100	34	24	1.4	100.0%	14 (41.2%)	7 (20.6%)	3 (8.8%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (8.8%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (20.6%)								(n/a)								20.0								20.0					$116,588	$6,929	$109,659
Self-Directed Academy	Public	6-8	1305 9th Avenue South	Fargo	58103	Cass County	Fargo 1	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(701) 446-3000	16	7	2.2		12 (75.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (12.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (6.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (6.3%)								(n/a)								44.5								64.5					$37,225	$453	$36,772
Willow Park Elementary School	Public	K-5	4901 15th Ave S	Fargo	58103	Cass County	West Fargo 6	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(701) 356-8360	461	41	11.3	61.4%	172 (37.3%)	173 (37.5%)	49 (10.6%)	40 (8.7%)	3 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (5.2%)	16.5	204^th of 216 public elementary schools	5.6%		22.9	192^nd of 217 public elementary schools	11.5%	12	14.0	34.0	24.0					26.0	19.0	34.0	29.0					28.0	29.0			29.0	$14,362	$2,713	$11,649

IMPORTANT NOTE: North Dakota does not publish exact assessment percentages; instead, results are reported as ranges (e.g., 20-29%) to protect student privacy in smaller groups. The proficiency rates displayed on SchoolDigger are calculated using midpoint imputation—the center value of each reported range. Actual values may differ by up to 5 percentage points from the figures shown.

Cities Near Zip Code 58103

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Fargo	0.3 mi	31	117^th
West Fargo	3.29 mi	17	104^th
Horace	6.62 mi	3	95^th
Harwood	9.14 mi	1	19^th
Mapleton	11.23 mi	1	51^st

See the top ND North Dakota cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction.

About North Dakota Assessment Data: To protect student privacy, the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction reports assessment results as percentage ranges rather than exact values. SchoolDigger calculates proficiency rates using midpoint imputation, which uses the center value of each reported range. For example, a reported range of 20-29% is represented as 24.5%. As a result, the proficiency rates shown may vary by approximately ±5 percentage points from actual values. This variance is most significant for individual grade/subject combinations and diminishes when data is aggregated across multiple grades or subjects.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.