Total enrollment
6,079
-341 (-5%) vs SY 2020-21
14 schools in BRAINERD PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT
Minnesota · 6,079 students · 3 cities
Across the district, BRAINERD PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT runs 14 public K-12 schools teaching roughly 6,079 Minnesota students (about 434 per school).
4-year change in BRAINERD PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25School count
13
+1 (+8%) vs SY 2020-21
Source: NCES Common Core of Data, enrollment-weighted demographic averages
How BRAINERD PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT ranks
Among districts| Measure | This district | In Minnesota | In the US |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 46.1% | #72 of 163 | N/A |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 6,079 | #32 of 269 | #1,556 of 9,234 |
| Number of schools ranked most first | 13 | #29 of 269 | N/A |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.4:1 | #102 of 267 | #4,811 of 9,044 |
| Free or reduced-price lunch share ranked highest first | 40.2% | #110 of 269 | #5,485 of 8,164 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 22.4% | #113 of 152 | #5,458 of 6,853 |
Districts need at least 2 schools and 500 students to be ranked. Test proficiency is ranked within the state only, since each state gives a different test. Each rank links to the full list.
Inside BRAINERD PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT
State test results across the district's 8 scored schools run from LOWELL ELEMENTARY at 66.7% proficient to GARFIELD ELEMENTARY at 34.1%, a gap of 32.6 points. That is the 15th widest gap among 84 Minnesota districts with four or more scored schools.
Since 2017-18, the 12 district schools that reported both years went from 6,744 to 5,864 students (down 13%) and from 413 to 407 full-time teachers (down 1%), as of 2024-25.
Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across each school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25; schools with fewer than 100 students and schools serving specialized populations are left out. Staffing figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data and count only schools that reported students and teachers in both years.
| Name | City | Level | Grades | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRAINERD SENIOR HIGH | Brainerd | High | 09-12 | 1,805 |
| FORESTVIEW MIDDLE | Baxter | Middle | 05-08 | 1,626 |
| BAXTER ELEMENTARY | Baxter | Elementary | PK-04 | 506 |
| RIVERSIDE ELEMENTARY | Brainerd | Elementary | PK-04 | 407 |
| LOWELL ELEMENTARY | Brainerd | Elementary | KG-04 | 355 |
| GARFIELD ELEMENTARY | Brainerd | Elementary | PK-04 | 250 |
| NISSWA ELEMENTARY | Nisswa | Elementary | PK-04 | 249 |
| HARRISON ELEMENTARY | Brainerd | Elementary | PK-04 | 230 |
| WELC - VPK | Baxter | Elementary | PK-PK | 215 |
| ISD 181 LEARNING CENTER | Brainerd | High | 08-12 | 166 |
| BRAINERD EARLY CHILDHOOD SP. ED. | Baxter | Elementary | PK-PK | 151 |
| LINCOLN EDUCATION CENTER | Brainerd | Combined | 03-12 | 105 |
| MIDDLE LEVEL ALTERNATIVE PROGRAM | Brainerd | Middle | 05-08 | 14 |
| Brainerd Online School | Brainerd | High | 09-12 | 0 |
About BRAINERD PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT
BRAINERD PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT is a thinly populated Minnesota school district running 14 schools with combined enrollment near 6,079.
In terms of grade levels, BRAINERD PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT spans 8 elementary, 2 middle, 3 high schools, and 1 combined or other.
Per-school enrollment averages around 434 in this district, above the Minnesota typical of 357.
Five-year track record. Total public-school enrollment in BRAINERD PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT has contracted 5% since SY 2020-21, moving from about 6,420 students to 6,079. Over that span, BRAINERD PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT gained 1 school, going from 12 to 13.
On this page, the community for BRAINERD PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT discusses comparison threads between local schools and program reviews. Anyone with firsthand knowledge of these schools is welcome to weigh in.