The top reported proficiency rate is 48% in Math. The lowest is 43% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Riverside Elementary
Riverside Elementary serves pre-kindergarten through fourth grade in Brainerd, a city that was founded as a Northern Pacific Railroad town and now functions as the Crow Wing County seat and the commercial hub of the Brainerd Lakes Area. The city’s economy has shifted from its rail and paper-mill roots toward tourism, hospitality, and public-sector employment, with the county government and school district as major employers. The school sits within the Brainerd Public School District, which operates its elementary schools on separate campuses across the city rather than in a single cluster.
The student body is predominantly white, which reflects the broader demographics of the region. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that a meaningful portion of families experience economic strain. Riverside is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and it serves only the early grades, which matters for how you interpret its academic results. Because the school stops at fourth grade, there is no graduation rate to report, and the state testing data that is available covers only the grades that are tested, namely third and fourth.
On the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments, the most recent results show that in math, about half of fourth graders met the proficiency standard, while a somewhat lower share of third graders did. In reading, the pattern was similar, with roughly two in five third graders and a slightly higher share of fourth graders reaching proficiency. Taken together across tested grades and subjects, Riverside’s overall proficiency index sits above the midpoint among elementary schools in Crow Wing County, meaning its students perform somewhat stronger on these state tests than the median school in the county, though the range across schools is not wide. These are single-year results, and the data does not yet show a multi-year trend, so it is not possible to say whether performance is improving, holding steady, or declining.
The school offers pre-kindergarten, which is a resource for families with young children who want a public option before kindergarten. The pre-K enrollment is substantial relative to the total, suggesting that many families in the attendance area take advantage of it. The remaining grades, kindergarten through fourth grade, each have enrollment in the same general range, producing a school that is moderate in size for an elementary serving this grade span.
No information was available on discipline rates, staffing ratios, chronic absenteeism, or course access, which is typical for an elementary school where those measures are less commonly reported in the same way they are for secondary schools. A parent who wants to understand class sizes or the school’s approach to student behavior may need to ask the school or district directly.
The housing market in the Brainerd area has home values that are somewhat below the state average, making it more affordable than many Minnesota communities, though prices have been rising. Rents are moderate relative to incomes. The broader Brainerd Lakes Area draws seasonal visitors and second-home owners, which can affect the local housing supply and rental market.
Riverside is a neighborhood elementary school in a town with a modest downtown and a tourism-linked economy. The academic results place it in the middle to upper portion of the county’s elementary schools, and the high share of students receiving meal assistance points to a student population with a range of economic backgrounds. Families looking at the school should consider whether the pre-K through fourth grade structure fits their plans for their child’s elementary years, since they will need to transition to another district school for upper elementary grades.
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