CANNON RIVER STEM SCHOOL

CANNON RIVER STEM SCHOOL is a tight-knit elementary school in FARIBAULT, Minnesota, run under CANNON RIVER STEM SCHOOL. The school educates 224 students in grades K through 8. Compared to the state average of about 344 students per school, that is 35% smaller than typical.

CANNON RIVER STEM SCHOOL is the operating authority for CANNON RIVER STEM SCHOOL, handling staffing, calendars, and reporting to the state department of education.

Demographically, CANNON RIVER STEM SCHOOL records that White students make up the majority at 64%; the rest breaks down as 25% Hispanic, 8% multiracial. That is noticeably less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 80%.

Looking at school resources, On paper, CANNON RIVER STEM SCHOOL has 15 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 14.5:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.7:1, putting CANNON RIVER STEM SCHOOL higher than the state norm the norm. About 58% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. By comparison, Rice County runs at roughly 46%, so the school's eligibility rate is higher than the surrounding baseline.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, CANNON RIVER STEM SCHOOL performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 33.6%, the actual is 22.4%, a residual of -11.2 points.

In the broader community, the surrounding county (Rice County) reports that the typical household earns roughly $83,181 per year, 30% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 7%. CANNON RIVER STEM SCHOOL is one of 40 public schools in Rice County (combined enrollment of about 8,301 students).

FARIBAULT AREA LEARNING CENTER is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.7 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, CANNON RIVER STEM SCHOOL comes 3rd of 4 in the immediate cluster, beneath the nearby-schools average of 26.0%.

The campus sits in a countryside setting. CANNON RIVER STEM SCHOOL is a charter school, which puts it inside the public-school system but outside the standard district-managed model.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at CANNON RIVER STEM SCHOOL has contracted 36%, going from 351 students in 2018 to 224 in 2025. The White share of enrollment declined from 86% to 64% over that span. Class-load math has widened: from 12.7:1 in 2018 to 14.5:1 in 2025.

On the community side, recent activity here tends to focus on school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.