Lakes Country Academy

Lakes Country Academy operates as a minimally staffed combined-grade school in FERGUS FALLS, Minnesota, run under REGION 4-LAKES COUNTRY SERVICE COOP. Current enrollment sits at 14 students spanning grades K through 12. Compared to the state average of about 50 students per school, that is 72% smaller than typical.

Within REGION 4-LAKES COUNTRY SERVICE COOP, which oversees 2 schools and 21 students, Lakes Country Academy is one campus in the system.

Demographically, Lakes Country Academy shows that White students make up the majority at 64%. Beyond that, the school reports 14% Black, 7% Hispanic, 7% multiracial, 7% Native American. By comparison, Otter Tail County as a whole is about 91% White, so the school skews visibly less White than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Staff filings list 7 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 2.1:1 students per teacher. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 6.4:1 average. Around 86% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, often used as a Title I proxy. By comparison, Otter Tail County runs at roughly 40%, so the school's eligibility rate is meaningfully above the surrounding baseline.

In the area at large, community-level numbers for Otter Tail County indicate median household earnings sit near $72,255, about 28% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 5%. Lakes Country Academy is one of 37 public schools in Otter Tail County (combined enrollment of about 8,503 students).

The closest other public school is K-8 Special Education, roughly 0.5 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius.

The campus sits in a town-center setting.

In the discussion threads here, recent activity here tends to focus on sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.