Schools · Bemidji

Bemidji, MN schools

Bemidji’s public schools score below Minnesota’s averages: 50% of students are proficient in reading against 52.5% statewide, and 78% of high schoolers graduate on time against 84.4%. Kids attend Lincoln Elementary or J.W. Smith Elementary through grade 3, then Bemidji Middle and Bemidji Senior High.

Grades, test scores, graduation, spending and every school, from U.S. Department of Education data.

B-School Grade #138Best schools in MN (of 230)#215Highest graduation rate in MN (of 238)

TownTapestry School GradeNew

B⁻

Bemidji’s School Grade: B-

The public schools Bemidji’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, trail 55% of Minnesota’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they sit near the middle.

BTest scoresC-Graduation

Minnesota school districts we grade (491)Better than 45%

Lower resultsHigher results

Minnesota towns with similar household incomes (652)Better than 38%

High confidence. Built on 2,147 tested students and a graduating class of 387; ordinary year-to-year swings are unlikely to change the grade.

How the School Grade works

Results, not inputs. Math and reading proficiency on Minnesota’s state tests, each against the state average, plus the four-year graduation rate. Spending and class size are shown below but don’t count toward the grade. Tests: 2020–21; graduation: class of 2020.
The whole path. A town’s grade follows its kids: every district that serves it, weighted by the number of students tested in each. Tests count 60% and graduation 40%.
Graded within the state. Each state writes its own tests, so districts are lined up against the rest of Minnesota only. A+ top 5%A next 10%A- next 10%B B+ to B−, next 30%C C+ to C−, next 30%D D and D−, bottom 15%
Individual schools are graded the same way on their own test results, against every public school in Minnesota with 25+ students. Private schools aren’t graded: they don’t take the state tests.
What a grade can’t tell you. Test results track family income closely, so a high grade partly reflects who lives in a town. That’s why we also compare towns with similar incomes. Visit, ask other parents, and read neighbor reviews. It’s our own summary of U.S. Department of Education data, not an official rating.

School path

Where Bemidji kids go to school

Grades PK–3

ALincoln Elementary or B-J.W. Smith Elementary Depends on your address Bemidji Public School District

Grades 6–8

C+Bemidji Middle 967 students · Bemidji Bemidji Public School District

Grades 9–12

A-Bemidji Senior High 1,537 students · Bemidji Bemidji Public School District

Based on district boundaries from the U.S. Department of Education. Check with the district before you enroll.

Test scores · 2020–21

Below the state in reading

Reading (grades PK–12, Bemidji Public)50%

State average 52.5%

Math (grades PK–12, Bemidji Public)42%

State average 44.2%

Graduation · class of 2020

78% graduate on time

Graduation rate

78%

MN: 84.4%

Graduating class

387

students

The share of students who started ninth grade together and earned a regular diploma within four years. #215 of 238 MN towns →

Districts

The district serving Bemidji

Bemidji Public School DistrictGrades PK–12 · 15 schools · 4,722 students

$15,715 per studentMN $17,091B-

Each district’s own page has its spending, test scores, enrollment and every school.

Every school

All 21 schools in Bemidji

Level

All 21 Preschool 2 Elementary 5 Middle 4 High 7 Other 3

Type

All 21 Public 14 Charter 5 Private 2

Showing 1–21 of 21 schools

Gene Dillon Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades 4–5 · 667 students

Lincoln ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–3 · 320 students

J.W. Smith ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–3 · 238 students

Aurora Waasakone Community of LearnElementary · Grades K–8 · 133 students

St. Mark Lutheran SchoolElementary · Grades K–8 · 24 students

Bemidji MiddleMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 967 students

Trek North Middle SchoolMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 109 students

Voyageurs Expeditionary MSMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 44 students

Bemidji Middle ALPMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 1 students

Bemidji Senior HighHigh · Grades 9–12 · 1,537 students

Treknorth High SchoolHigh · Grades 9–12 · 144 students

Bemidji Senior Lumberjack ALCHigh · Grades 9–12 · 85 students

Voyageurs Expeditionary SchoolHigh · Grades 9–12 · 83 students

Lakeside Learning CenterHigh · Grades 6–12 · 7 students

Oshki Manidoo CenterHigh · Grades 7–12 · 4 students

Bemidji Area Learning CenterHigh · Grades 5–12

Paul Bunyan CenterPrekindergarten · Grades PK · 118 students

First City SchoolOther · Grades 3–12 · 48 students

Bemidji Regional Interdist. CouncilPrekindergarten · Grades PK · 22 students

North Country Voc. Coop. CTR.Other · Grades K–12

Kingdom Builders Christian SchoolOther · Grades 4–12 · 33 students

School data from the U.S. Department of Education (NCES). Ratings are from neighbors on TownTapestry.