Prairie Lakes Education Center

Located at 1808 CIVIC CENTER DRIVE, in WILLMAR, Minnesota, Prairie Lakes Education Center is a micro-enrollment multi-level school that caters to 19 students (grades 4 through 12), operated by Willmar Public School District. That puts it 62% smaller than the typical public school in Minnesota, which averages around 50 students.

Prairie Lakes Education Center is one of 12 schools operated by Willmar Public School District, a district that teaches 4,218 students overall.

Demographically, Prairie Lakes Education Center shows that the most-represented group is Hispanic (42%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups; the rest looks like 26% White, 16% Black, 11% multiracial, 5% Asian. By comparison, Kandiyohi County as a whole is about 15% Hispanic, so the school skews noticeably more Hispanic than its surroundings.

On the income-and-resources front, Staff filings list 8 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 2.4:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 6.4:1, putting Prairie Lakes Education Center tighter than the state norm the norm. Roughly 63% of students at Prairie Lakes Education Center qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. Set against Kandiyohi County (around 54%), the school's rate is north of typical.

In the broader community, census data for Kandiyohi County shows the typical household earns roughly $76,592 per year, about 28% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 5%. In all, Kandiyohi County runs 22 public schools (combined enrollment of about 6,213 students), of which Prairie Lakes Education Center is one.

The closest other public school is Lake Park School, roughly 0.0 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools.

The campus sits in a small-town setting.

Five-year trend. Prairie Lakes Education Center's enrollment has fell 58% since 2018, when it stood at 45 (now 19). Hispanic enrollment moved from 20% to 42% across the same window. Class-load math has narrowed: from 5.6:1 in 2018 to 2.4:1 in 2025.

Within the allk12 community for this school, members of the Prairie Lakes Education Center community share and discuss classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. The community welcomes input from current and former families.