2023 Best School Districts in Stearns County

• Sartell, MN•

• School District

• •
  Rating 4.37 out of 5  19 reviews

Senior: The Sartell-St. Stephen School District is located in central Minnesota and serves students in the cities of Sartell and St. Stephen, as well as some surrounding areas. The district has received positive reviews for its academic programs, extracurricular activities, and facilities. We are constantly ranked with high marks in categories such as academics, teachers, and college readiness. Additionally, our district has received recognition for its music program, with both the band and choir receiving numerous awards and accolades.... Read 19 reviews

• grade A

• Total schools 5

• Students 4,159

• Albany, MN•

• School District

• •
  Rating 4 out of 5  3 reviews

Alum: The things I liked most about Albany Public School District, being the graduated alumni that I am is how well it prepared me for college. The teachers hands on involvement with every student making sure that they were keeping up and most importantly learning course material was huge! The teachers in this district by far exceeded all other schools in its area.... Read 3 reviews

• grade B+

• Total schools 4

• Students 1,786

• Cold Spring, MN•

• School District

• •
  Rating 3.78 out of 5  18 reviews

Senior: I went to Rocori Middle and High School and all I can say is that it was an amazing experience. The teachers were always on task, practices for sports consistent and focused, and there was always enough help. The diversity in the school is gradually growing, which is amazing! The school almost feels like your at home, the teachers, students, etc are nice and great at giving information.... Read 18 reviews

• grade B+

• Total schools 6

• Students 2,299

• Holdingford, MN•

• School District

• •
  Rating 4.43 out of 5  7 reviews

Alum: I had a good experience at Holdingford--the teachers and staff really care about you and get to know you on a personal level. Like many schools there is a lack of funding in the arts, but there is a lack of funding everywhere. While I felt very prepared for college academically, I feel I lacked a knowledge of resources when I left. For example, I had no knowledge of scholarships available after I left my community; I did not learn about them until halfway through my college career.... Read 7 reviews

• grade B

• Total schools 2

• Students 1,065

• Sauk Centre, MN•

• School District

• •
  Rating 4 out of 5  6 reviews

Senior: Sauk Centre has a great atmosphere. Everyone is pretty close to everyone in their grade. It also has good sports and theatre arts programs. Most of the students are involved. This school offers a variety of classes including college credit and online classes. Other than that, the teachers for the most part are down to earth, helpful people. They help try to help students as much as possible. If one is looking for a diverse high school, this is not the school for you. Yes, it is usually not a childs choice to where he/she wants to go but most people who live here are white. Additional not everyone is white and the students here are great at not looking at skin/gender/race as a barrier of who can be friends with who. As a small school, the community support is extraordinary. Many community members are involved in helping with school functions and other activities.... Read 6 reviews

• grade B

• Total schools 3

• Students 1,028

• Belgrade, MN•

• School District

• •
  Rating 4.33 out of 5  3 reviews

Senior: I have been attending Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa schools since preschool. I am now a senior and will be attending NDSU next fall. My school is combined of three small towns, which is how it got its name. My graduating class is around 60 students. With having a small class, I have gotten the opportunity to get to know my classmates on a more personal level. Also, the same goes for teachers. For many of my teachers, I have had them multiple times while in high school. My teachers are always helpful and will make time to get with anyone when a student needs help. One thing I wish BBE would improve on is even more classes to prepare us for college. Although our counselors get together with seniors to discuss how far and independently we have gotten on applications and more, more classes based on our future would be helpful.... Read 3 reviews

• grade B

• Total schools 2

• Students 641

• Kimball, MN•

• School District

• •
  Rating 4.22 out of 5  9 reviews

Senior: Kimball high school experience has been an awesome experience to me. I have been able to participate in three sports and because it is such a small school I am able to start and play in all three sports. The. Lass sizes are very small therefore I get a lot of one on one attention from all the teachers. Kimball has offered a variety of collage classes so therefore I will be graduating with a lot of college credits which in turn has thus far prepared me for my academic future. I do not think I would be able to have had this same personal experience if I had gone to a big high school. We rarely had any violence involving Student circumstances related to the crime in the school. Because of the small class sizes I have been better able to focus and learn the essential elements needed to graduate and pursue a degree in Biomedical engineering. My high school has thus prepared me for the reality of living in the real world. Not only will I graduate with a degree in biomedical engineering,... Read 9 reviews

• grade B minus

• Total schools 2

• Students 720

• Melrose, MN•

• School District

• •
  Rating 3.8 out of 5  10 reviews

Parent: Melrose is a great school and the teachers there are amazing. One thing that would be nice to change in the school would be updating the tech ed department as with the change in people going into the tech field. It needs a total overhaul!... Read 10 reviews

• grade B minus

• Total schools 3

• Students 1,269

• Paynesville, MN•

• School District

• •
  Rating 3.8 out of 5  5 reviews

Senior: I love Paynesville High School with all my heart. Paynesville is much more different than other schools. For example, we don't do the Pacer Test, our Prom is much different, and we also have a different schedule called the Block Schedule. I really enjoy the uniqueness of Paynesville.... Read 5 reviews

• grade B minus

• Total schools 3

• Students 898

• Waite Park, MN•

• School District

• •
  Rating 3.87 out of 5  15 reviews

Senior: The St. Cloud Public School District was a fairly average high school, although I was only able to attend from 7th to 10th grade because I was in college full-time for Junior and Senior year my judgement on my schools might be different for others students. I thought my experience was not much more differently than other high schools. The teachers were amazing of course, they were very helpful especially the english teachers, I loved every single one of them. There are some staff and teachers that are a little bit grouchy but what other school doesn't have those types of teachers. There was a wide variety of courses offered at Technical High School, ranging from STEM courses to a wide variety of AP courses, I loved the ability to get as many college credit as I wanted before going into college. The counselors from the district are very helpful and are always making sure everything is going good with you and your academics. In overall, it was a good school district.... Read 15 reviews

• grade C+

• Total schools 20

• Students 9,628

• Sartell, MN•

• School District

• grade unavailable

• Total schools 5

• Students 110

• Melrose, MN•

• School District

• grade unavailable

• Total schools 4

• Students 72