The top reported proficiency rate is 44% in English language arts. The lowest is 10% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Round Lake-brewster Elementary
Round Lake-Brewster Elementary serves students from prekindergarten through fifth grade in the small, rural town of Brewster in southwestern Minnesota. It is a regular public school within the Round Lake-Brewster Public Schools district. The school’s enrollment is small, and it draws from a community that is car-dependent, with Minnesota State Highway 60 as a main route. Brewster has a historic central core, a City Hall, and a population that has been relatively stable with a slight recent decline. The school itself is the elementary arm of a district that also serves the nearby town of Round Lake.
The student body is diverse by race and ethnicity. A majority of students are Hispanic, with a much smaller share identifying as White. Very small numbers of students are Asian, two or more races, or Black. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that a large portion of families have lower household incomes. Data on the share of students with individualized education programs and those identified as English learners was not available in the data provided, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about these supports.
On Minnesota’s state assessments, proficiency rates vary by subject and grade level. In English language arts, the school’s combined proficiency rate across grades three through five sits just above the midpoint among districts in Nobles County. In math, the combined rate across those three grades is lower, and the school lands above the midpoint in the county comparison as well. Results within each subject show a range by grade. Third graders posted a somewhat higher proficiency rate in math than later grades did, while fifth graders had the lowest math proficiency. In English language arts, rates were relatively similar across grades three, four, and five. Science is tested only in fifth grade, and the proficiency rate there was low. A parent may want to explore with the school how it supports students who are not yet meeting state benchmarks, particularly in math and science.
The school serves only elementary grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Because the entire school is at the elementary level, there are no data on chronic absenteeism either, as those figures typically apply to a broader grade range or are reported differently. The district had no recent parent-relevant changes publicly reported, such as boundary redraws, leadership turnover, or major programming shifts, so the local context appears stable.
For families considering Brewster, the housing market in this area shows home values that are lower than the state benchmark. The area is rural, and the school is a neighborhood elementary that feeds into the district’s secondary schools in Round Lake. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and it is the only elementary in its district.
Overall, Round Lake-Brewster Elementary provides a small, rural elementary setting for a predominantly Hispanic and low-income student population. Proficiency in English language arts is in the middle range among county districts, while math and science scores are softer. Families who value a small-town school with a close community feel and want to understand how the school works to raise academic performance for all students would find this a relevant place to investigate further.
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