Owatonna Middle School

Owatonna Middle School is one of the high-enrollment junior highs in OWATONNA, Minnesota, overseen by OWATONNA PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT, with 1,015 students on its rolls from grades 6 through 8. By comparison, Minnesota's public schools average about 495 students each, so Owatonna Middle School sits 105% bigger than that benchmark.

Across the 13 schools in OWATONNA PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT (4,890 students total), Owatonna Middle School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Looking at the student body, Owatonna Middle School shows that 70% of the student body identifies as White. The remainder is composed of 18% Hispanic, 7% Black, 4% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 86% White, putting the school's mix noticeably less White than the area baseline.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 68 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 14.9:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 17.5:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Roughly 43% of students at Owatonna Middle School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Owatonna Middle School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 42.1%; this one delivers 40.8%.

Across the wider county, the surrounding county (Steele County) shows that median household earnings sit near $84,196, roughly 28% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Steele County runs 24 public schools (combined enrollment of about 6,997 students), of which Owatonna Middle School is one.

Nearest neighbor: WASHINGTON ELEMENTARY, around 0.2 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools.

Geographically, the school is in a town-center area.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count decreased 9%: 1,120 students in 2018 compared to 1,015 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 17.5:1 in 2018 to 14.9:1 today.

On this page, recent activity here tends to focus on fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.