SC Minnesota News

There were 6,891 students enrolled in Steele County schools in the 2023-24 school year, slightly less than the previous year, according to reports from the Minnesota Department of Education.

In terms of gender distribution, the student body in Steele County comprised 50.3% boys, with girls representing the remaining 49.7%.

Data also showed that white students made up 75.9% of the student body, the largest percentage in Steele County schools, followed by Hispanic students with 14.3%, 5.2% Black students, 3.4% multiracial students, 0.6% Asian students, 0.5% American Indian students, 0.1% Hawaiian Pacific Islander students and 0.1% Other Indigenous Peoples students.

Owatonna Senior High had the highest enrollment among Steele County's 14 schools in the 2023-24 school year, welcoming 1,494 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
Owatonna Senior High	1,475	1,494	1.3%
Owatonna Middle School	999	1,015	1.6%
Lincoln Elementary	593	609	2.7%
Wilson Elementary	537	560	4.3%
Medford Elementary	491	491	0%
Washington Elementary	487	484	-0.6%
McKinley Elementary	525	483	-8%
Medford Secondary	421	399	-5.2%
Blooming Prairie High School	375	380	1.3%
NRHEG Elementary	363	358	-1.4%
Blooming Prairie Elementary	478	342	-28.5%
Blooming Prairie Intermediate School	--	142	--
Owatonna ALC 9-12	98	90	-8.2%
CHOICE Technical Academy	51	44	-13.7%