Willie Jett Commissioner of Education Minnesota Department of Education | Office of Gov. Tim Walz
Willie Jett Commissioner of Education Minnesota Department of Education | Office of Gov. Tim Walz
Data showed that Otter Tail County welcomed 7,647 students during the 2023-24 school year. Among them, American Indian students comprised 2.4% of the student body to be the fourth most represented ethnicity in the county.
Among the 22 schools in the county, Heart of the Lake Elementary School recorded the highest enrollment of American Indian students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 20.
According to the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), Minnesota's fourth graders scored 241 in math, just above the national average of 237. Their reading score of 216 was on par with the U.S. average, but shows a slight decline over recent years. Eighth graders scored 284 in math and 264 in reading, both above the national averages.
However, despite these results, both grade levels remain below pre-pandemic levels in math and reading.
As of 2024, according to Public School Review, the student-to-teacher ratio in Minnesota's public schools stands at 1:16, slightly worse than the national average of 1:15. This is part of a larger framework within Minnesota's educational system, which is the 10th largest in the United States, accommodating over 869,000 students across 2,709 public schools.
| School Name | No. of American Indian Students | % of American Indian Students | Total School Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fergus Falls Area Learning Center | 10 | 11.2% | 89 |
| Perham Area Learning Center | 5 | 10.4% | 48 |
| Cleveland Elementary School | 15 | 4.3% | 352 |
| Adams Elementary School | 11 | 3.8% | 293 |
| Perham Senior High School | 18 | 3.5% | 514 |
| Heart of the Lake Elementary School | 20 | 3.4% | 596 |
| Prairie Wind Middle School | 14 | 2.7% | 529 |
| McKinley Elementary School | 6 | 2.7% | 225 |
| Kennedy Middle School | 19 | 2.5% | 756 |
| Kennedy High School | 17 | 2.5% | 691 |
| Henning Secondary School | 4 | 2.4% | 165 |
| Henning Elementary School | 5 | 2.3% | 218 |
| Underwood Elementary School | 5 | 1.8% | 284 |
| Pelican Rapids Secondary School | 7 | 1.8% | 400 |
| New York Mills Elementary School | 8 | 1.7% | 467 |
| Battle Lake Secondary School | 3 | 1.6% | 188 |
| New York Mills Secondary School | 4 | 1.2% | 335 |
| Underwood Secondary School | 3 | 1.1% | 287 |
| Battle Lake Elementary School | 2 | 0.9% | 215 |
| Parkers Prairie Secondary School | 2 | 0.7% | 278 |
| Viking Elementary School | 2 | 0.4% | 460 |
| Parkers Prairie Elementary School | 0 | 0% | 257 |
ORGANIZATIONS IN THIS STORY
!RECEIVE ALERTS
DONATE
Alerts Sign-up