Cass Lake-Bena Public Schools

The Cass Lake-Bena Public Schools district in Minnesota serves four schools, including one elementary school, one middle school, and two high schools (one of which is an alternative learning center). The district faces significant challenges, with consistently low academic performance, high rates of economic disadvantage, and racial disparities among its student population.

The standout school in the district is Cass Lake-Bena Elementary, which has the highest percentage of proficient or better students in both Math (38.79%) and Reading (30.12%) across all grades, the lowest percentage of free/reduced lunch recipients (85.36%), and the lowest student-teacher ratio (10.7). In contrast, the Cass Lake-Bena Area Learning Center, an alternative high school, stands out with the lowest test scores, the lowest 4-year graduation rate (22.2%), and the highest dropout rate (33.3%), though it serves the highest percentage of free/reduced lunch recipients (86.87%).

Across the Cass Lake-Bena Public Schools district, there is a significant racial disparity, with a high percentage of Native American students ranging from 29.5% at the elementary school to 88.89% at the alternative high school. The district also faces consistently low academic performance, with test scores significantly below the state averages, and high rates of economic disadvantage, with all schools having very high percentages of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch.