31 public K-12 schools in Duluth from NCES Common Core of Data: enrollment, grade span, demographics, and Civil Rights Data Collection statistics for every active campus.
National city placement
According to NCES CCD 2024-25, Duluth has more public-school enrollment than 82% of the 4,487 US cities in this directory. Duluth's average Resource Investment Index falls in the lower portion of the 4,487-city comparison set. The index is a resource snapshot, not an academic grade: it reflects the federal staffing, counselor, gifted-program, and attendance fields available for local campuses. The most useful next step is to open the individual schools below and identify which component is pulling each score down, because the same city average can hide very different campus-level constraints.
15 of Duluth's 31 listed schools use NCES's combined or “other” grade-level classification. Citywide averages therefore blend campuses serving unusually broad or nonstandard grade spans with conventional elementary, middle, and high schools. Grade configuration is a first-order comparison here, not a minor label.
The 43-point gap between Lester Park Elementary and Alc School Within a School shows the range hidden by Duluth's average Resource Investment Index. The city figure is useful for national placement, but families ultimately choose among campuses with different grade spans, enrollment, district affiliations, and reported support fields. Start with schools serving the relevant grade level, then compare the index components rather than assuming the city average describes any one classroom.
Duluth school enrollment ranges from 18 students (lowest) to 1,495 students (highest), a spread of 1,477 students. That ratio is an extreme outlier spread — among the widest gaps observed anywhere in this dataset. Per-school staffing and program breadth can differ sharply at opposite ends of that enrollment range, so the city average should not be treated as a typical campus.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Each school district has independent budgeting, hiring, and service delivery authority. The fragmentation reflects historical patterns of inter-municipal boundary lines that pre-date modern city growth, students in different parts of the same city can attend different districts with different per-pupil spending, calendars, and graduation requirements. Per-region variation is largest in fragmented systems because each school district sets its own budget, contracts, and priorities without higher-level coordination above the regulatory floor.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
student-teacher ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE classroom teachers against total enrollment, push-in specialists, English-language aides, special-education co-teachers, and counselors are not included in most reporting Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
13% of the city's listed public-school campuses are reported as charter schools in NCES CCD. Charter status identifies a different governance arrangement; it does not establish admissions availability, academic quality, or the share of city students enrolled in those campuses. Open each school record to compare enrollment and staffing directly.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
| # | School | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Lester Park Elementary | 53 |
| 2. | Piedmont Elementary | 51 |
| 3. | Merritt Creek Academy | 51 |
| 4. | Lakewood Elementary | 49 |
| 5. | Homecroft Elementary | 48 |
| 6. | Myers-Wilkins Elementary | 46 |
| 7. | Superior Academy | 46 |
| 8. | Laura Macarthur Elementary | 45 |
| 9. | Lowell Elementary | 44 |
| 10. | Academic Excellence Online | 43 |
| 11. | Stowe Elementary | 42 |
| 12. | Congdon Elementary | 41 |
| 13. | Harbor City International Charter | 41 |
| 14. | Lowell Elementary Spanish Immersion | 40 |
| 15. | Chester Creek Academy | 38 |
| 16. | Arrowhead Academy | 37 |
| 17. | Raleigh Primary/El Academy | 36 |
| 18. | Rockridge Academy | 32 |
| 19. | Lincoln Park Middle School | 30 |
| 20. | Early Childhood Special Education | 30 |
| 21. | Duluth Area Learning Center | 30 |
| 22. | East High School | 29 |
| 23. | North Shore Community School | 29 |
| 24. | Denfeld High School | 25 |
| 25. | North Star Academy | 24 |
| 26. | Pike Lake Elementary | 22 |
| 27. | The Bridge | 20 |
| 28. | Bay View Elementary | 19 |
| 29. | Ordean East Middle School | 15 |
| 30. | Alc Independent Study | 15 |
| 31. | Alc School Within a School | 10 |
Ranked by the Simpson student-body diversity index (0-100) from NCES race and ethnicity data, where higher means a more evenly mixed student body. It measures mix, not quality.
Lester Park Elementary has the highest Resource Investment Index among the Duluth schools in this federal-data comparison at 53/100. The index summarizes reported staffing, counseling, gifted-program, and attendance inputs; it is not an academic rating.
Duluth has 31 public schools with a total enrollment of 10,890 students. 4 are charter schools. Average student-teacher ratio: 18.2:1.
Side-by-side: Compare any two schools or districts in Minnesota →
Data from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22. The Resource Investment Index uses reported student-teacher ratio, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance; it is not an academic rating. Cities must include at least five schools to be listed. This public-data comparison is for informational purposes: verify current enrollment, attendance boundaries, and programs with the school district before acting. See the guide to understanding NCES data.
