St. Cloud Sun

There were 4,428 Black students enrolled in Stearns County public schools in the 2023-24 school year, 0.5% more than the previous year, according to the Minnesota Department of Education.

Data showed that Stearns County welcomed 23,331 students during the 2023-24 school year. Among them, Black students comprised 19% of the student body to be the second most represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 47 schools in the county, Technical Senior High School recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 717.

According to the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), Minnesota's fourth graders scored 241 in math, just above the national average of 237. Their reading score of 216 was on par with the U.S. average, but shows a slight decline over recent years. Eighth graders scored 284 in math and 264 in reading, both above the national averages. 

However, despite these results, both grade levels remain below pre-pandemic levels in math and reading.

As of 2024, according to Public School Review, the student-to-teacher ratio in Minnesota's public schools stands at 1:16, slightly worse than the national average of 1:15. This is part of a larger framework within Minnesota's educational system, which is the 10th largest in the United States, accommodating over 869,000 students across 2,709 public schools.

School Name	No. of Black Students	% of Black Students	Total School Enrollment
Success Academy Saint Cloud	183	98.9%	185
Saint Cloud Math and Science Academy Charter School	235	97.9%	240
St. Cloud Math & Science Academy Middle School	82	96.5%	85
STRIDE Academy K-8 Charter School	493	83.8%	588
Athlos Academy of Saint Cloud	153	59.8%	256
St. Cloud Area Learning Center	124	53.7%	231
Oak Hill Community Elementary School	368	48.9%	752
Discovery Community Elementary School	254	47%	540
Technical Senior High School	717	46.6%	1,538
South Junior High School	368	42.5%	866
Madison Elementary School	284	42.3%	671
North Junior High School	274	39.1%	701
Apollo Senior High School	460	37.4%	1,230
Westwood Elementary School	105	23.2%	452
Kennedy Community School	137	22.5%	608
Oak Ridge Early Learning Center	17	5.6%	306
Riverview Intermediate School	37	4%	915
Pine Meadow Primary School	18	3.4%	534
Sartell Middle School	29	3%	976
Richmond Elementary School	3	2.3%	128
Sartell Senior High School	29	2.2%	1,315
ROCORI Senior High School	18	2.1%	861
ROCORI Middle School	8	1.5%	541
Albany Elementary School	6	1.3%	478
Kimball Elementary School	3	0.9%	323
Rockville Elementary School	1	0.8%	130
Cold Spring Elementary School	5	0.8%	670
Holdingford Secondary School	3	0.6%	513
Sauk Centre Elementary School	2	0.5%	378
Paynesville Area Elementary School	2	0.5%	436
Holdingford Elementary School	2	0.4%	564
Albany Area Middle School	2	0.4%	470
Albany Area High School	2	0.4%	560
Paynesville Area Secondary School	2	0.4%	484
Kimball Secondary School	1	0.2%	425
Melrose Secondary School	1	0.2%	504
Melrose Elementary School	0	0%	476
Eden Valley Elementary School	0	0%	391
Sauk Centre Middle School	0	0%	132
Melrose Middle School	0	0%	286
Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa Sec.	0	0%	317
Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa Elementary School	0	0%	313
Avon Elementary School	0	0%	291
Sauk Centre Secondary School	0	0%	620
West Central Area Learning Center	0	0%	29
ALC - Sartell	0	0%	1
Rocori Alternative Learning Center	0	0%	21