Original Research by School Decision on Underwood High School
Underwood High School sits in a compact prairie town midway between Bismarck and Minot, a community shaped by the coal, ethanol, and power-generation industries that surround it. The town grew along a former Soo Line Railroad corridor and retains a traditional grid layout. Publicly reported sources describe a stable, slightly declining population and an economy anchored by Rainbow Energy Center's Coal Creek power plant, Blue Flint Ethanol, and North American Coal's Falkirk Mining Company, all of which have expansion plans. The school itself is one of the town's largest employers, which gives it a central civic role beyond academics. Housing here is affordable compared with both state and national benchmarks, with a price-to-income ratio that sits well below what most American families face. Rental data was not available.
The school serves grades seven through twelve and is small for its grade band, with roughly fifteen students per grade. The student body is predominantly white, with a small number of students identifying as Black, Hispanic, or two or more races. A modest share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on individualized education programs and English learner status was not reported, so we cannot characterize the special-population picture from what is available.
Academic results present a mixed profile based on the most recent state assessments. English language arts stands out as a clear strength, with a strong majority of students scoring proficient. Science lands in a middle range, with roughly half proficient. Mathematics is the soft spot, with a low share of students reaching proficiency. Only a single year of data was available, so there is no trend to describe, and a parent may want to look into how the school is responding to the math result and what support structures are in place. No graduation rate was reported in the data we received, and because the school does serve high school grades, that gap is worth noting. A parent would want to ask the school directly about its graduation outcomes.
We looked for information on course offerings, advanced coursework, career or dual-credit pathways, staffing ratios, attendance patterns, and discipline data, and found none of it reported in the available sources. The same is true for program offerings such as AP, career and technical education, or extracurriculars. This does not mean those programs do not exist, only that the data does not let us describe them. A family considering this school should ask what courses and pathways are available, particularly at the upper grades, and how the small enrollment shapes what the school can offer.
No neighbor comparison data was provided, so we cannot position Underwood against nearby districts in McLean County. The district brief turned up little on recent changes, so there is nothing to report on strategic priorities or shifts a family should know about.
What the picture does support is this. Underwood High School is a small, rural secondary school in a community where the energy industry drives the local economy and the school functions as a civic anchor. Families drawn to small-town life, affordable housing, and a setting where the school is tightly woven into the community will find a recognizable version of that here. The English results are a genuine bright spot. The mathematics result is a concern that deserves a direct conversation with the school. Beyond that, the absence of data on graduation, courses, staffing, and programs means a family will need to do some of the asking themselves rather than relying on published figures alone.
See more original research from School Decision →