SW Minnesota Today

There were 1,983 students enrolled in Watonwan County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 2% more than the previous year, according to reports from the Minnesota Department of Education.

In terms of gender distribution, the student body in Watonwan County comprised 50.4% boys, with girls representing the remaining 49.6%.

Data also showed that Hispanic students made up 55.8% of the student body, the largest percentage in Watonwan County schools, followed by white students with 41.3%, 1.1% multiracial students, 0.7% Asian students, 0.6% American Indian students, 0.3% Hawaiian Pacific Islander students and 0.3% Black students.

St. James Middle/High School had the highest enrollment among Watonwan County's seven schools in the 2023-24 school year, welcoming 581 students.

Minnesota's educational system, the 10th largest in the United States, serves over 869,000 students across 2,709 institutions. As of 2024, the student-to-teacher ratio in the state’s public schools is 1:16, slightly worse than the national average of 1:15.

Meanwhile, data from the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reveals that Minnesota fourth and eighth graders performed mostly above the national average in math, their scores suggest a slight decline from previous years, particularly in reading.

School name	Total enrollment in 2022-23	Total enrollment in 2023-24	% change
St. James Middle/High School	551	581	5.4%
St. James Northside Elementary	480	492	2.5%
Madelia Elementary	348	344	-1.1%
Madelia Secondary	272	289	6.3%
Butterfield Secondary	111	107	-3.6%
Butterfield Elementary	116	103	-11.2%
Armstrong School	66	67	1.5%