The top reported proficiency rate is 0% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Monticello Middle School - Snw
Monticello Middle School – SNW is a special education school serving grades 6 through 8. It is not a typical middle school. The school is operated by the Sherburne and Northern Wright Special Education Cooperative, a joint venture of the Becker, Big Lake, and Monticello school districts. The cooperative was restructured in 2021 through a revised Joint Powers Agreement that consolidated special education operations, services, and programs under a single governing board and a full-time director. That means this school exists specifically to serve students with disabilities from across the three member districts.
The school sits within the city of Monticello, a Wright County community on the Mississippi River that has seen sustained growth—new housing, retail, industrial development, and a new high school—anchored by the I-94 corridor and employers such as Xcel Energy, the Monticello schools, and CentraCare. The city offers an extensive parks network and riverfront civic spaces, but the school itself is a specialized program rather than a neighborhood building; families who send their child here likely come from any of the three member districts.
Enrollment is very small, as one would expect for a program of this kind. The student body is predominantly white, with a small share identifying as Asian or multiracial. Roughly a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school covers only the middle grades, so it has no high school graduation rate to report.
State assessment results are available for math and English language arts at grades 6 and 8, and they show zero percent of students scoring proficient. Science results for grade 8 were suppressed due to a very small tested group. These numbers need to be read in context: this is a special education school, and the students who attend are those whose individualized education programs call for a more intensive, separate setting. State proficiency rates are not a meaningful measure of the school’s quality or of individual student growth. A parent considering this placement should ask the school directly about how it tracks academic progress and what kinds of postsecondary and transition planning it offers.
The school’s overall proficiency index, when placed against all districts in Wright County, falls in the bottom quartile. That comparison is of limited use because the reference set includes typical comprehensive districts. The school’s mission is fundamentally different, and the comparison does not account for the student population it serves.
Data on discipline, chronic absenteeism, and staffing were not available. The school’s program offerings—what specific courses, therapies, or vocational supports it provides—were not included in the data. A parent looking into this program would want to learn more about the instructional model, staff-to-student ratios, and how the school coordinates with each student’s home district.
For families whose child’s IEP team has recommended a separate setting for middle school, this is one of the options within the Sherburne and Northern Wright cooperative. The 2021 governance revision suggests the cooperative has moved toward a more unified structure. The missing information on programs and outcomes means a thorough conversation with the school and district staff is essential before making a decision.
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