The top reported proficiency rate is 38% in Math. The lowest is 9% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Butterfield-odin Public Schools
Butterfield-Odin Public Schools serves students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade in a rural corner of Watonwan County in southern Minnesota. The district is small, and its single elementary building and single secondary building together enroll a student body that is modest in size, with relatively even distribution across the grades. The majority of students identify as Hispanic, with a smaller share identifying as White and a trace of Asian students; the remaining racial and ethnic groups each account for a small portion of the population. Data on economic disadvantage, special education, and English learner status were not reported, so the full picture of student support needs is incomplete.
The district was renamed from Butterfield Public School District to its current name effective July 2022, a shift that publicly recognized the incorporation of the Odin attendance area. The name change is a lasting structural development that affected district identity, enrollment boundaries, and the composition of the school community. Families moving into the area should be aware that the district recently absorbed a former neighboring attendance zone, which may carry implications for how the school community has grown or changed.
On state assessments administered in the most recent school year, performance varied across subjects and grade levels. In elementary grades, math proficiency was strongest in grade four, while grade three also showed a solid share of students meeting the bar; grade five, however, saw a much lower share of students scoring at the proficient level. In middle school math, proficiency rates were lower across the board, with grade seven showing the strongest results among those grades and grade eight the weakest. In English language arts, the pattern was similar: the elementary years had mixed results, with grade six posting the highest proficiency rate of any tested grade, while grades five, seven, and eight each had lower shares of students meeting the standard. Science assessments, taken in grades five and eight, showed a small share of students reaching proficiency, and those results came from a new assessment and cut-score framework, meaning the numbers reflect a new baseline and are not directly comparable to prior years. Across all tested subjects and grades, the district’s overall proficiency index landed above the midpoint of the two districts in Watonwan County, placing it in the middle range of this small county cohort.
The district did not report a four-year graduation rate, so that measure cannot be assessed. Chronic absenteeism, however, was reported, and the district’s rate fell in the bottom quartile among Watonwan County’s districts. That is a soft spot: a substantial share of students are missing enough school to be flagged as chronically absent, a pattern that often correlates with academic challenges. A parent may want to ask the district what efforts are in place to improve attendance and how the school supports students who are frequently absent.
Per-pupil current spending is in the upper range of the county’s districts, which may reflect the costs of operating a small rural district with two buildings, but the data do not explain what drives the higher expenditure.
Housing in the area served by the district is more affordable than the national and state benchmarks, with a weighted home value estimate that is well below the Minnesota median. Monthly mortgage costs on a typical home, given prevailing interest rates, would be relatively manageable compared to many parts of the state. Rental cost data were not reported. The wider economic context shows a stable national unemployment rate and a national median household income that has risen modestly in recent years.
The district’s size means that students attend a small school, often a draw for families who prefer close teacher-student relationships and a tight-knit school community. The lack of reported data on many measures—economic disadvantage, special education enrollment, English learner numbers, staffing ratios, discipline, course access, and graduation rate—means that important pieces of the picture are missing. A parent considering this district should expect to do some direct outreach to fill those gaps. The state testing results show a district that has bright spots in certain grades and subjects but also has areas where proficiency is low, particularly in middle school math and elementary science. The chronic absenteeism rate is a particular concern that warrants a conversation with school leadership. The recent name change signals a deepening of the district’s reach, and families in the broader Odin area now fall within this school system.
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