The top reported proficiency rate is 61% in Science. The lowest is 43% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Riverside Elementary
Riverside Elementary serves students from prekindergarten through third grade in Jackson, Minnesota, as part of the Jackson County Central School District. Because it covers only the earliest grades, the school does not have a graduation rate, and its academic picture comes from the state assessments that are given at the third-grade level. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet.
The student body is predominantly white, with a Hispanic population that is the next largest group, followed by small shares of students who are Black, Asian, or of two or more races. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which gives a sense of the economic mix in the building. The school serves prekindergarten through third grade, so the enrollment is moderate for that grade band, with the largest single grade being kindergarten.
On the most recent state assessments, Riverside Elementary’s third graders posted math proficiency that was well above the midpoint among the county’s districts. Reading proficiency was lower, and a parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand how literacy instruction is structured in the early grades. Science results are from several years ago and reflect a different assessment, so they are not directly comparable to the current math and reading data. Because the school only goes through third grade, there is no graduation rate to report, and no chronic absenteeism data was available in the source material.
The student body is predominantly white, with a Hispanic population that is the next largest group, and small shares of students who are Black, Asian, or of two or more races. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school does not report data on students with individualized education programs or English learners in the available source material, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those supports.
Riverside Elementary is part of the Jackson County Central School District, which serves the broader Jackson area. The city of Jackson is the county seat, a small community with a mix of agriculture and manufacturing. Major employers include AGCO, which manufactures tractors, along with USF Holland, New Fashion Pork, and other industrial businesses. The city’s motto is “Come Grow With Us,” and it operates under a mayor-council form of government. Civic life centers on downtown Jackson, where the county courthouse is located, and the community has a historic fairgrounds, parks, and a community college presence through Minnesota West. The housing market in the area is modestly priced relative to state and national benchmarks, and the local economy includes a mix of farming, manufacturing, and healthcare through Sanford Medical Center.
The school itself is a regular public elementary building serving prekindergarten through third grade. Because it only covers the earliest grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and the academic data comes from a single tested grade. On the most recent state assessments, third graders at Riverside Elementary performed well in math, with proficiency that placed the school in the top quartile among districts in Jackson County. Reading proficiency was lower, and a parent may want to ask the school about early literacy supports and how reading instruction is structured across the primary grades. Science results are from several years ago and reflect a different assessment, so they are not directly comparable to the current math and reading data.
The school is part of the Jackson County Central School District, which also includes the middle and high school. No recent district-level referendum or major policy changes were found in publicly available search results, so a parent may want to check with the district office for any upcoming plans or budget developments. The school itself is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and it does not have a Title I status reported in the available data.
For a family considering this school, the key takeaway is that Riverside Elementary provides a solid math foundation in the early grades, with reading being an area where a parent may want to engage with the school to understand the approach. The school serves a small, predominantly white community with a notable Hispanic population, and the local economy is anchored by manufacturing and agriculture. The housing market in the area is affordable relative to the state, and the community has a range of civic amenities including parks, a historic courthouse, and a community college presence. Because the school only goes through third grade, families will need to plan for the transition to the district’s upper elementary or intermediate school for fourth grade and beyond.
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