The top reported proficiency rate is 20% in Math. The lowest is 16% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Tower-soudan Elementary
Tower-Soudan Elementary is a small regular public school serving grades PK through 6 in the town of Tower, part of the St. Louis County School District. Tower sits on the southern shore of Lake Vermilion in northeastern Minnesota, a rural community that was once a mining town tied to the Soudan Mine. When mining operations ceased decades ago, the town shifted toward tourism and recreation, centered on the lake and the nearby Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The population has been declining over time, and the town is small enough that the elementary school, city hall, and a handful of civic landmarks like the Tower Train Museum are all within walking distance of each other on Main Street.
The school serves a student body that is roughly evenly split between White students and American Indian or Alaska Native students, with a smaller share of students identifying as two or more races. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which reflects the area’s economic circumstances. The school does not serve grades beyond 6, so students who live in Tower and need a secondary school are transported to other schools in the district, or they may attend a local charter school that serves grades 7 through 12. The district itself encompasses several small towns in the region, including Babbitt, Cook, Culver, and Iron, and the district brief did not turn up any recent changes or initiatives that would be directly relevant to a parent evaluating the elementary school.
On state assessments, the proficiency rates for math and reading fall below the middle of the pack when compared to other districts in St. Louis County. In math, the share of students meeting standards was above zero in grades 3 and 4, but in grades 5 and 6 no students reached the proficiency threshold. The same pattern appears in reading: some students in grades 3 and 4 met the standard, while in grades 5 and 6 none did. The science results for grade 5 were suppressed due to the small number of test-takers, so no reliable measure is available there. The overall proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades places the school in the bottom quarter among districts in the county. Because the school is very small, a single year’s data can be heavily influenced by the performance of just a handful of students, and a parent may want to ask the school about how the curriculum and support are structured for the upper elementary grades, where the assessment results were particularly low.
The housing market in the Tower area shows home values that are roughly in line with the state average, and recent price growth has been modestly above the national trend. The area is rural, and the job base is anchored by tourism, a nearby casino operated by the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, and some local services. The town’s long-term trajectory is one of population loss, and the school’s enrollment reflects that small and shrinking community.
For a family considering this school, the picture is straightforward. Tower-Soudan Elementary is a small, rural school serving a high-poverty student body in a town that has seen economic transition and population decline. Its academic performance on state tests is well below the average for the county, particularly in the upper elementary grades. The school does not offer secondary grades, so families must plan for a transition to another school or a charter option after grade 6. The community itself offers a quiet, lake-oriented lifestyle with limited amenities and a modest housing market. A parent would want to visit the school, talk to the principal and teachers about the academic program and support for struggling students, and consider how the school’s resources align with their child’s needs.
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