Chatfield Secondary, Chatfield MN

Original Research by School Decision on Chatfield Secondary

Chatfield Secondary serves grades seven through twelve as a regular public school in Chatfield, a small historic town straddling the Fillmore and Olmsted county line in southeastern Minnesota. The school is part of the Chatfield Public Schools district. The town sits in a valley where Mill Creek meets the North Branch of the Root River, about a modest drive from Rochester and the Mayo Clinic. It is compact, with a single stoplight and a traditional Main Street grid, and has a mix of manufacturers, retail, and service businesses. The everyday texture is that of a self-contained small community.

The school enrolls a small student body for a secondary school, with roughly comparable numbers in each grade from seventh through twelfth. The student population is overwhelmingly white, with very small shares of students who are Hispanic, Asian, Black, or of two or more races. About a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced‑price lunch, which is a modest share. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the sources reviewed.

On state assessments, Chatfield Secondary’s proficiency rates fall below the midpoint when compared with other districts in Olmsted County. The proficiency index, which averages rates across tested subjects and grades, places the school in the lower half of that county group. In seventh grade, math proficiency was reported for just over half of students and reading proficiency for less than half. In eighth grade, both math and reading proficiency rates were lower than the seventh‑grade figures. Eighth‑grade science proficiency was reported for a modest share of students. The data provided includes only a single year of test results, so no trend is available.

State testing results for high school grades—typically administered in tenth‑grade reading and eleventh‑grade math—were not present in the data provided, and the graduation rate was also not reported. Families may wish to ask the school directly about these measures. Course offerings such as Advanced Placement, dual credit, and career‑technical programs were also not listed in the available information, so the academic pathway beyond the standard curriculum is not detailed here.

The school building shares a campus with the district’s elementary school; a recently passed bond referendum will fund a new pre‑kindergarten through sixth‑grade elementary facility built behind the current high school and middle school building, along with district‑wide deferred maintenance and safety improvements. This means the secondary school may see physical upgrades as part of that work.

Housing in Chatfield is priced near the statewide average, with home values showing modest year‑over‑year growth. Monthly mortgage costs and rents are in a range that is typical for the region. Unemployment nationally is at a moderate level, and the area has a stable economic base anchored by local manufacturing and proximity to Rochester’s medical sector.

Chatfield Secondary offers a small‑town, low‑diversity setting with academic proficiency that is below the midpoint of its county peer group. The missing high‑school assessment data and graduation rate, along with the absence of program details, mean that a full picture of the upper‑grade experience and outcomes will require direct inquiry with the school.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=90%Cohort of 57 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

649 schools plotted. 88 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 758%

School 58% · District 58%

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 27 pts above county median

Grade 843%

School 43% · District 43%

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 745%

School 45% · District 45%

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 841%

School 41% · District 41%

▲ 6 pts above state median · even with county median

Science

Grade 818%

School 18% · District 18%

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

This schoolCHATFIELD PUBLIC SCHOOLS, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 7Lower-income38%Higher-income48%10 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income46%Higher-income39%7 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 7Lower-income44%Higher-income63%19 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income46%Higher-income41%5 pp gap