Dakota Middle School

Dakota Middle School, a sizable middle-grades school in ROCHESTER, Minnesota, overseen by Rochester Public School District, caters to 921 students, covering grades 6 through 8. By comparison, Minnesota's public schools average about 495 students each, so Dakota Middle School sits 86% larger than that benchmark.

Rochester Public School District runs 44 schools in total, collectively educating 17,171 students. Dakota Middle School is one of those campuses.

In terms of who attends, Dakota Middle School shows that the largest single group is White at 49%, but no single group is in the majority; the rest comes out to 19% Black, 14% Asian, 9% multiracial, 9% Hispanic. The wider county runs roughly 77% White, putting the school's mix noticeably less White than the area baseline.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Around 38% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

With demographic context factored in, Dakota Middle School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 44.6% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 36.2%.

Zooming out to the county, the surrounding county (Olmsted County) logs that median household earnings sit near $95,406, about 49% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 5%. Dakota Middle School is one of 72 public schools in Olmsted County (combined enrollment of about 24,627 students).

Nearest neighbor: Gibbs Elementary School, around 0.9 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Dakota Middle School. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Dakota Middle School ranks 5th on composite proficiency, beneath the local average of 39.3%.

The school occupies a small-town site.

On this page, recent activity here tends to focus on enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. The community welcomes input from current and former families.