Original Research by School Decision on Bob Callies Elementary School
Bob Callies Elementary School sits in Garrison, a small rural city in McLean County, North Dakota, serving children from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. It is a regular public school and the elementary anchor of the Garrison 51 district. The enrollment is modest, with roughly two dozen or so students per grade level, which means class groups are small and children grow up alongside the same peers year after year. The student body is predominantly white, with small numbers of American Indian or Alaska Native, multiracial, Hispanic, and Asian students. A relatively small share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which is lower than what many rural schools see and reflects Garrison's generally stable, working modest population.
Garrison itself is a farm town layered with recreation tourism. Publicly reported sources describe it as the self-proclaimed "Walleye Capital of the World," with a compact Main Street grid of small shops, a vintage malt shoppe, a local theater, and seasonal festivals like the Dickens Village event that bring concentrated pedestrian life in winter. Fort Stevenson State Park sits just south of town on Lake Sakakawea and anchors much of the area's recreational draw, with camping, boating, fishing, and miles of trails. The town's population has been essentially flat over the past decade, with an older age profile and no major new housing developments on the horizon. The community has earned state recognition for Main Street revitalization efforts, and civic life centers on that downtown core rather than on separated campuses. The school sits within this compact town fabric, close to the civic and commercial center.
On state assessments, North Dakota administered the ND A-PLUS in the most recent school year, and the data comes with an important caveat: the assessment name and proficiency cut scores changed, so results are not comparable to prior years. Trend data was not available for that reason. Proficiency results are reported as ranges rather than precise figures, which is common when grade-level cohorts are small.
In math, third-grade proficiency fell in a band centered below half, sixth grade landed in a similar range, and fourth grade was the strongest, reaching the middle to upper portion of the scale. Fifth grade sat in between. In English language arts, third grade was the weakest area, with proficiency in a lower band, while fourth grade was the standout, reaching the upper half. Fifth and sixth grades were mid-range. Science was tested only in fourth grade among the grades this school serves, and that result was the school's strongest showing, landing in the upper portion of the scale. When the state aggregates across all tested grades, roughly half of students met proficiency in math and science, and slightly fewer than half in English language arts.
Participation rates were consistent at the level the state expects, though third-grade English language arts participation dipped below the other grades, which a parent may want to look into further with the school.
We looked for data on special education enrollment, English learner services, Title I status, staffing ratios, attendance, and discipline. None of these were available in the provided data, so we left them out rather than guess. Because this is an elementary school, there is no graduation rate or advanced coursework to report, which is expected for this grade band.
The housing market in Garrison is modest by national standards. Typical home values sit below both the North Dakota state benchmark and the national figure, and values have been appreciating at a healthy clip recently. With a price-to-income ratio that remains below what many parts of the country face, Garrison is one of the more affordable small-town markets a family can find. Rent data was not available. Mortgage rates nationally hover in the mid-six percent range.
We searched for recent district-level changes that might matter to families and found nothing notable reported, so there is little to flag there. No program offerings, career pathways, or specialized academic options were listed in the available data, which is typical for an elementary school of this size in a rural district.
What this school appears to offer is a small, stable, community-rooted elementary experience in a town where recreation, agriculture, and Main Street life define the setting. The academic results are mixed across grades and subjects, with bright spots in fourth-grade science and math, and softer spots in third-grade literacy. A family considering Garrison would be looking at a close-knit environment where children are known, where housing is affordable, and where the town's identity is tied to its lake, its festivals, and its farm heritage.
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