Monticello Middle, Monticello MN

Original Research by School Decision on Monticello Middle

Monticello Middle School is the only public middle school in the Monticello Public School District, serving grades six through eight. It sits in the city of Monticello, a community that has seen substantial growth along the Interstate 94 corridor, with extensive new retail, auto dealerships, and industrial development in recent years. The city has an extensive parks and pathway system, and the downtown area hosts a community center and a seasonal farmers market. A planned growth approach has included a new high school construction and a highway interchange, and the population has continued to rise.

The school is a regular public school and is not a charter or magnet school. The student body is predominantly white, with a Hispanic population that represents the next largest group, followed by students who identify as two or more races and a smaller Black and Asian presence. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on students with Individualized Education Programs and English learners was not available in this profile.

Academically, Monticello Middle’s state assessment results show a mixed picture. In math, the percentage of students meeting proficiency was close to half of sixth graders, somewhat less than half of seventh graders, and around half of eighth graders. In English language arts, more than three-fifths of sixth graders were proficient, while just over two-fifths of seventh graders and about half of eighth graders met that bar. In science, which is tested only in eighth grade, a much smaller share of students scored proficient. When compared to all other school districts in Wright County on an overall proficiency index that averages results across tested subjects and grades, this school sits below the midpoint of the distribution. Only a single year of test data was available for this school, so there is no trend line to say whether performance is improving, holding steady, or declining.

Monticello is a community that balances suburban-style growth, riverfront natural areas, and a working industrial base anchored by the Xcel Energy nuclear generating plant and CentraCare Medical Center. Housing values and rents in the area are near the state benchmark. Housing costs compared to incomes are moderate by national standards.

The district is in a period of financial adjustment. Publicly reported documents show the board approved a budget alignment plan in response to declining enrollment, which has dropped from past levels to a lower projected student count. The budget also adopted a revised formula for compensatory funds, which are state dollars aimed at supporting disadvantaged students. These structural changes affect programs, staffing, and services, so a parent may want to discuss directly with the district what that means for offerings at the middle school level.

Program and course access data was not included in this profile, so there is no information on whether the school offers accelerated tracks, electives, or intervention supports. The same is true for discipline and attendance data. The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate reported.

This is a larger middle school in a growing outer-ring suburb, with proficiency that runs above the half mark in some grades and subjects but well below in others, particularly eighth grade science. The overall picture places it on the lower side among Wright County districts. The district’s enrollment decline and budgeting adjustments are worth a conversation with the school to understand what is changing day to day.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 649%

School 49% · District 49%

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

Grade 744%

School 44% · District 44%

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 852%

School 52% · District 52%

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

English language arts

Grade 662%

School 62% · District 62%

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

Grade 742%

School 42% · District 42%

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 851%

School 51% · District 51%

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

Science

Grade 814%

School 14% · District 14%

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▼ 9 pts below 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 6Lower-income46%Higher-income69%23 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income28%Higher-income47%19 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income39%Higher-income56%18 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income38%Higher-income53%15 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income30%Higher-income50%20 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income37%Higher-income58%21 pp gap