South Koochiching School District

The South Koochiching School District in Minnesota is home to two schools: Northome Secondary and Northome Elementary. These schools have seen significant fluctuations in their statewide rankings, with Northome Secondary ranking as high as 16th out of 428 Minnesota high schools in 2020-2021 but then dropping to 405th out of 476 in 2022-2023.

Northome Secondary has a relatively high percentage of Native American students (21.43%) and a high 4-year graduation rate of 90.0% with a 0.0% dropout rate. However, its academic performance, as measured by MCA-III proficiency rates, is significantly below the state averages across all subjects and grade levels. In contrast, Northome Elementary's academic performance is more mixed, with some grade levels performing above the district and state averages in math and reading, while others are significantly below. Notably, Northome Elementary's science proficiency rates are high, with 72.73% of 5th-grade students proficient or better.

Both schools have a significant Native American student population, which is an important factor to consider in terms of ensuring equitable educational opportunities. Additionally, Northome Elementary has a higher percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch (63.1%) compared to Northome Secondary (57.14%), which may indicate differences in the socioeconomic status of the student populations and have implications for resource allocation and targeted support.