Sheridan Hills Elementary, Richfield MN

Original Research by School Decision on Sheridan Hills Elementary

Sheridan Hills Elementary serves students from prekindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school in the Richfield Public School District. The school sits in a dense inner-ring suburb of Minneapolis, a place the city itself calls "The Urban Hometown." Richfield’s housing stock runs from single-family homes to condominiums, apartments, and senior living, and the community has been working to remain vital through commercial and residential redevelopment after a period of population decline. The school’s immediate neighborhood is a mix of postwar residential streets and commercial corridors like 66th Street, with Best Buy’s corporate campus a major presence nearby. Housing values in the area sit roughly in line with state benchmarks, and rents have risen modestly in recent years.

The student body is diverse. White students make up the largest share of the enrollment, followed by a substantial population of Hispanic students. Black, Asian, and multiracial students each account for significant groups, and a small number of American Indian or Alaska Native students are also enrolled. About half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that points to a mix of economic backgrounds in the building. Data on special populations, such as students with disabilities and English learners, was not available in the source material.

State testing results from the most recent school year show a range of performance across grades and subjects. In math, proficiency rates in grades three, four, and five each landed in the mid-forties, a fairly consistent pattern across the tested grades. Reading results were more uneven: third-grade proficiency lagged behind, fourth-grade was higher, and fifth-grade reached a stronger level, with over half of students meeting the standard. Science results, available only for fifth grade, were lower than the reading and math figures for that grade. A parent may want to discuss the science numbers with the school, especially given that the state changed both the assessment name and the cut scores for science that year, which makes direct comparisons to prior years difficult. Because only one year of district-level data was available, no trend line could be drawn.

Against other schools within Hennepin County districts, Sheridan Hills’ overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades sits above the midpoint of the cohort. That places the school in the middle-to-upper tier of its county peers, though the range across districts in the county is wide, and several schools post much higher figures.

The school is part of a district that adopted a five-year strategic plan called "Richfield Realized," covering 2021 through 2026. That plan sets the district’s vision, goals, and policy direction across academics, student support, and community engagement, and it shapes budget priorities and curriculum focus. For families new to the area, the plan provides a defined roadmap of what the district is emphasizing through the end of this cycle.

Sheridan Hills is a neighborhood elementary school in a suburb that has both urban density and the amenities of a postwar community: parks, a nature center, an ice arena, and a civic center. Its academic profile is mixed, with math holding steady, reading showing variability by grade, and science requiring further conversation. For a family weighing Richfield as a place to live, the school serves a wide cross-section of the city’s population, sits in a district with an active strategic framework, and offers a reasonable starting point for elementary education within a short drive of Minneapolis and the airport.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 346%

School 46% · District 40% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 444%

School 44% · District 40% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 544%

School 44% · District 36% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 326%

School 26% · District 29% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 438%

School 38% · District 36% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 556%

School 56% · District 45% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Science

Grade 517%

School 17% · District 18% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

This schoolRICHFIELD 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-income17%Higher-income42%25 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income31%Higher-income44%14 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income41%Higher-income78%38 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income31%Higher-income74%42 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income33%Higher-income54%21 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income34%Higher-income57%22 pp gap