WC Minnesota News

There were 96 Hawaiian Pacific Islander students enrolled in Swift County public schools in the 2023-24 school year, 12.9% more than the previous year, according to the Minnesota Department of Education.

Data showed that Swift County welcomed 1,773 students during the 2023-24 school year. Among them, Hawaiian Pacific Islander students comprised 5.4% of the student body to be the third most represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the six schools in the county, Appleton-Milan Elementary School recorded the highest enrollment of Hawaiian Pacific Islander students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 92.

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 Hawaiian Pacific Islander Students	% of Hawaiian Pacific Islander Students	Total School Enrollment
Appleton-Milan Elementary School	92	41.3%	223
Murdock Elementary School	3	0.8%	402
Kerkhoven Secondary School	1	0.3%	395
Northside Elementary School	0	0%	383
Benson Secondary School	0	0%	356
Benson Area Learning Center	0	0%	14