Pinewood Elementary, Monticello MN

Original Research by School Decision on Pinewood Elementary

Pinewood Elementary serves students in first through fifth grades as a regular public school within the Monticello Public School District. The school sits along West Broadway Street in Monticello, a city in Wright County that has seen steady growth fueled by Interstate 94 access and commercial development. The community mixes residential neighborhoods with retail corridors, industrial employers like Xcel Energy’s nuclear plant and Cargill’s kitchen solutions facility, and substantial parkland including riverfront trails and the Bertram Chain of Lakes. Housing values in the area run close to the statewide median, and rents are moderate relative to incomes, making the area accessible for many families.

The student body is predominantly white, with a notable presence of Hispanic and multiracial students. About two-fifths of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a meaningful share of households with lower incomes. Data on students receiving special education services and English learner services was not available in this report, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those supports and how they are staffed.

Academically, Pinewood’s performance sits above the midpoint among Wright County districts on a composite measure of proficiency across tested subjects and grades. In math, proficiency rates in third and fourth grades were above half, while fifth grade math proficiency was closer to half. In English language arts, results varied by grade: third and fifth grade proficiency rates were higher, while fourth grade was notably lower. Science results for fifth graders were softer, with proficiency trailing the other subjects. The school had only one year of reported testing data, so trend information is not yet available.

The district context matters for a family considering Pinewood. Monticello Public Schools have experienced declining enrollment, and the district recently approved a budget alignment plan for the 2025-2026 school year that adjusts funding for programs, staffing, and services as a result. A revised compensatory funding formula was also adopted, changing how resources for disadvantaged students are allocated across schools. These district-level financial shifts may affect what is offered at Pinewood, including class sizes and support staff, and are worth tracking.

Parents looking at Pinewood will find a school that, on its testing results, performs solidly relative to other Wright County districts. The mix of moderate housing costs, a growing town with strong park amenities, and a largely traditional elementary program creates a familiar suburban public school environment. The main areas to investigate further are the lack of detail on special education and English learner services, the lower science proficiency, and how the district’s budget reductions might specifically touch classroom resources at this building. The school’s location near the I-94 corridor also makes it a practical option for families commuting to the Twin Cities, roughly forty miles southeast.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 361%

School 61% · District 60%

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 461%

School 61% · District 62%

▲ 10 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 550%

School 50% · District 54% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 356%

School 56% · District 51% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 447%

School 47% · District 49% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 567%

School 67% · District 67% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Science

Grade 536%

School 36% · District 35%

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

This schoolMONTICELLO PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT, 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 3Lower-income38%Higher-income65%27 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income35%Higher-income53%18 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income53%Higher-income75%22 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income38%Higher-income71%34 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income54%Higher-income65%11 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income36%Higher-income58%22 pp gap