The top reported proficiency rate is 93% in Math. The lowest is 78% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Bonner Elementary
Bonner Elementary is a public school serving kindergarten through second grade in Stewartville, Minnesota, part of the Stewartville Public School District. As a primary school for the earliest grades, it is one of several buildings in a district that also includes a separate early childhood center, an intermediate school for grades three through five, a middle school, and a high school. Bonner’s enrollment is of a size typical for a primary school in a district this size. The student body is predominantly White, with a smaller share of students who are Hispanic, Black, Asian, or of two or more races. About a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate that is moderate for the area.
Because the school serves only kindergarten through second grade, Minnesota’s state standardized assessments do not apply to its students. The only test data associated with this school in the available records comes from a single grade three cohort from several years ago, a grade the school no longer serves. That snapshot showed a high rate of proficiency in math and a solid rate in reading. However, any current academic picture would need to come from the school’s own early literacy and numeracy assessments, classroom observations, and conversations with staff. The school’s older results placed its overall proficiency index in the top quarter among districts in Olmsted County when that measure was calculated, though the relevance of that comparison to today’s kindergarten through second grade program is limited.
Stewartville is the second-largest city in Olmsted County and part of the Rochester metropolitan area. It is described by the city as a family-oriented community with small-town roots, a description that aligns with its historic Main Street, its parks and miles of trails, a municipal water park, and a library that local sources call one of the best in southeast Minnesota. The population has grown steadily since the last census, and housing values have risen as well, now sitting close to the state average and above the national figure. A mix of residential areas and business and industrial parks gives the town its own employment base while also putting Rochester and its larger job market within a short drive.
Bonner Elementary itself is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and no information was available about Title I status, discipline rates, staffing ratios, or attendance patterns. Those are common gaps for a school that serves only early grades and does not participate in the state testing program that generates much of the public accountability data. Parents looking at Bonner will find a school focused entirely on the primary years, in a community that presents as stable and growing, with a district that separates grade levels into distinct buildings. The share of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch suggests some economic diversity, and the racial composition is less diverse than the state as a whole.
Any family considering Bonner would want to understand how the school approaches early reading instruction, what interventions are in place for students who need extra support, and how the kindergarten through second grade experience feeds into the intermediate school that follows. The older test data, while not directly applicable, hints at a district that historically performed well in math and reading at the third-grade level. A parent may want to confirm whether that pattern holds in the current early grades by speaking with teachers or visiting the school. The community context—steady growth, accessible amenities, and a small-town character—gives Bonner a setting that many families find appealing for the elementary years.
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