FRIENDLY HILLS MIDDLE

Set in MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minnesota, FRIENDLY HILLS MIDDLE is an expansive 6-8 campus, part of West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan. It instructs 785 students across grades 5 through 8. That puts it 59% bigger than the typical public school in Minnesota, which averages around 495 students.

Within West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan, which oversees 13 schools and 5,452 students, FRIENDLY HILLS MIDDLE is one campus in the system.

Demographically, FRIENDLY HILLS MIDDLE shows that 49% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups; the rest looks like 24% Hispanic, 13% Black, 9% multiracial, 4% Asian. The wider county runs roughly 74% White, putting the school's mix noticeably less White than the area baseline.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 45 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 17.4:1 students per teacher. The state averages about 17.5:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Around 41% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

With demographic context factored in, FRIENDLY HILLS MIDDLE sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 43.0%; this one delivers 44.2%.

Zooming out to the county, Dakota County reports that the typical household earns roughly $106,318 per year, 45% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 4%. In all, Dakota County runs 170 public schools (combined enrollment of about 74,687 students), of which FRIENDLY HILLS MIDDLE is one.

The closest other public school is Special Education, roughly 1.5 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 7 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), FRIENDLY HILLS MIDDLE ranks 4th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 50.9%.

The campus sits in a residential setting.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at FRIENDLY HILLS MIDDLE has climbed 6%, going from 742 students in 2018 to 785 in 2025. The White share of enrollment edged down from 59% to 49% over that span.

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