The bulletin board for America's public schools. Parents, teachers, students, and staff. One community per school.
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BUFFALO-HANOVER-MONTROSE SCHOOLS·NCES 270720004186

NORTHWINDS ELEMENTARY

1111 7TH AVE NW, BUFFALO, MN 55313 · (763) 682-8800 · Wright County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY31-TOWNREGULAR SCHOOL419 STUDENTS
Enrollment
419
Elementary
DISTRICT 328 · STATE 344
Student : Teacher
14.8:1
28 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.4:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
26%
108 students
DISTRICT 31% · STATE 48%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.

Enrollment by grade, 2024-25

GradeStudentsShare
Kindergarten7518%
Grade 16415%
Grade 26816%
Grade 36415%
Grade 47217%
Grade 57618%

This year's kindergarten class (75) is about the same size as its 5th grade class (76).

Student demographics
11%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 25% · STATE 60% · US 70%
White
39494%
DISTRICT 86% · STATE 60% · US 43%
Hispanic
102%
DISTRICT 5% · STATE 12% · US 30%
Black
72%
DISTRICT 3% · STATE 12% · US 15%
Asian
10%
DISTRICT 1% · STATE 7% · US 6%
Two+
61%
DISTRICT 4% · STATE 7% · US 5%
Native American
10%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 2% · US 1%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Male
21652%
Female
20348%

School pathway

Students here typically continue to
NORTHWINDS ELEMENTARY→BUFFALO COMMUNITY MIDDLE
Based on grade levels within Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose Schools. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.

Discussions

+ POST

Test scores

MCA 2024-25 . % Meets or Exceeds Standards
English Language Arts
52.9%
MN avg 49.7%
Math
61.4%
MN avg 45.3%

What this means: On the MCA, Minnesota's statewide test, about 53 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 61 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Minnesota schools, those numbers are about 50 and 45.

Source: MCA. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →

BeatsExpectations

Demographically-adjusted score · methodology
Tier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
52.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
51.2%
based on MN schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+1.0pp
above demographic expectation

What this means: About 52% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 51% typical for Minnesota schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Minnesota's top nor bottom 10%.

BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →

Schools most like NORTHWINDS ELEMENTARY

NORTHWINDS ELEMENTARY's state test result (52.2% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.

SchoolStudentsLow-incomeProficient
NORTHWINDS ELEMENTARY this school41925.8%52.2%
HOMECROFT ELEMENTARY
DULUTH
44826.3%60.7%
MAPLE LAKE ELEMENTARY
MAPLE LAKE
40427.2%51.4%
CHATFIELD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
CHATFIELD
46926.7%60.3%
Voyager Elementary
ALEXANDRIA
44627.8%54.4%
ALBANY ELEMENTARY
ALBANY
38023.7%53.1%
Matched among Minnesota elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.

Where NORTHWINDS ELEMENTARY ranks

Among elementary schools
MeasureThis schoolIn MinnesotaIn Wright County
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
52.2%#290 of 844#11 of 20
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
61.4%#248 of 844#10 of 20
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
52.9%#345 of 844#14 of 20
Enrollment
ranked largest first
419#446 of 1,130#11 of 31
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
14.8:1#515 of 769#10 of 21
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
11.5%#753 of 796#19 of 21
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
25.8%#744 of 942#13 of 24
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked steepest decline first
-23.4%#111 of 499#1 of 14
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.

4-year change

SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25
Enrollment
419
-19 (-4%) vs 2020
-33% since 2010-11, when it was 622
Student : Teacher
14.8:1
was 17.5:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-2541928.214.8:126% (108)
2023-2440828.714.2:128% (115)
2022-2343727.415.9:128% (121)
2020-214382517.5:117% (76)
2017-1854733.416.4:123% (126)
2015-165433117.5:122% (122)
2010-116223120.1:130% (185)
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for NORTHWINDS ELEMENTARY.

Since 2017-18: students down 23% (547 to 419); teachers down 15% (33.4 to 28.2).

About NORTHWINDS ELEMENTARY

NORTHWINDS ELEMENTARY is a mid-sized elementary school in BUFFALO, Minnesota. The school runs kindergarten through 5 and enrolls 419 students. Elementary schools in Minnesota have about 344 students on average; enrollment here is 22% higher.

Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose Schools runs NORTHWINDS ELEMENTARY along with 9 other schools, enrolling 5,175 students in total.

Of every 100 students at NORTHWINDS ELEMENTARY, about 94 are White. It is also 2% Hispanic. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 11%.

For every teacher at NORTHWINDS ELEMENTARY, there are about 14.8 students; the school has 28.2 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average for elementary schools in Minnesota, 13.7:1, is lower. There are 108 students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, 26% of enrollment. Public schools in Wright County average a similar 24%.

Given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, NORTHWINDS ELEMENTARY would be expected to post about 51.2%. Its actual average proficiency rate across its state test results is 52.2%.

The school's county is Wright County. According to Census Bureau estimates, the median household earns about $107,209 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 34% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 4%. Public schools in Wright County number 88, with about 27,879 students.

About 1.0 miles separate NORTHWINDS ELEMENTARY from the closest public school, BUFFALO COMMUNITY MIDDLE. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. Compared with its nearest neighbors, NORTHWINDS ELEMENTARY ranks 1st of 4 on average proficiency.

On the NCES locale scale, the school is Town: Fringe.

The 2020-21-to-2024-25 change in enrollment was a 4% decline, from 438 to 419. The ratio of students to teachers went from 17.5:1 to 14.8:1 over the same years.

People who know NORTHWINDS ELEMENTARY can post here about special education services, counseling, and support programs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.

Wright County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
148,269
Census ACS
Median income
$107,209
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
34%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
88
27,879 students

Quick facts

School name
NORTHWINDS ELEMENTARY
District
Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose Schools
Address
1111 7TH AVE NW, BUFFALO, MN 55313
Phone
(763) 682-8800
County
Wright County
Level
Elementary
Grade range
KG–05
Total enrollment
419
Teachers (FTE)
28
Student–teacher ratio
14.8:1
Free and reduced lunch
108 (26%)
Locale
31-Town: Fringe
NCES ID
270720004186
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose Schools
Other schools in BUFFALO
Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About NORTHWINDS ELEMENTARY
How many students attend NORTHWINDS ELEMENTARY?
NORTHWINDS ELEMENTARY enrolls approximately 419 students in grades KG-05.
What age range does NORTHWINDS ELEMENTARY serve?
NORTHWINDS ELEMENTARY serves students from grade KG through grade 05.
How many teachers does NORTHWINDS ELEMENTARY have?
NORTHWINDS ELEMENTARY employs 28 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.8:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at NORTHWINDS ELEMENTARY?
At NORTHWINDS ELEMENTARY, the student body is approximately 94% White, 2% Hispanic, 2% Black, 0% Asian, 1% Two or more.
Who oversees NORTHWINDS ELEMENTARY?
NORTHWINDS ELEMENTARY is overseen by Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose Schools in Wright County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
+ Post