Stonebridge Elementary, Stillwater MN

Original Research by School Decision on Stonebridge Elementary

Stonebridge Elementary is a regular public school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in Stillwater, within the Stillwater Area Public Schools district. The school's student body is predominantly white, and a relatively small share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Enrollment across the grades is fairly even, each class falling in a similar size range, which gives the school a solid, predictable feel day to day. The building sits in a community where housing values are high and have risen further over the past year, while rents have climbed too, making this an elevated-cost area relative to the state and nation. For a family considering a move, the housing market here is a real factor.

Academically, the school shows a mixed profile that varies by grade and subject. In reading, proficiency rates across the tested grades land in a moderate range, while math results are more uneven. One grade posts a notably higher math proficiency rate than the others, and another grade posts a lower one. Science results, which are tested only in fifth grade, come in at a level that a parent may want to ask the school about further. Overall, the school’s combined proficiency across tested subjects sits above the midpoint when compared with other elementary schools in Washington County, a measure that includes twelve districts. The county is a large and varied one, and this places Stonebridge in a solid middle position, not at the top but ahead of many peers. Only one year of state assessment data was available for this report, so there is no trendline to show whether performance is rising or falling.

The student composition is shaped heavily by the area it serves. The school has very little racial or economic diversity. A very large majority of students are white, and the share of students from low-income households is modest. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not reported, so it is not possible to describe those populations here.

Stillwater itself is a mix of historic downtown tourism, manufacturing, and two state prisons that are major local employers. The downtown area lies along the St. Croix River and is walkable, with a trail loop that connects to Wisconsin. The city has grown through annexation in recent years, and its population increased over the last decade. The district did not report any recent changes that would materially affect a family's decision, such as boundary shifts or program additions.

For a family considering Stonebridge Elementary, the picture is this. It is a school in an expensive housing market with a narrow demographic range and moderate academic results that are slightly above the county midpoint. The strong area home values and rents signal a community with resources, though the school itself does not serve an especially affluent population by local standards. A parent who values a smaller, stable elementary setting with a limited free-lunch population will find that here. A parent who wants to see higher proficiency rates or more demographic diversity will want to look closely at the grade-level results and ask about the school's approach to the subjects where performance lags.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 355%

School 55% · District 65% · ▼ 10 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 468%

School 68% · District 70% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 542%

School 42% · District 50% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 354%

School 54% · District 56% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 468%

School 68% · District 59% · ▲ 9 pts above district

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

Grade 562%

School 62% · District 66% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 8 pts above state median · even with county median

Science

Grade 534%

School 34% · District 36% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

This schoolStillwater Area 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 5Lower-income31%Higher-income68%37 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income14%Higher-income48%34 pp gap