Can I use Pope County's school score to choose a house?

No. Use the Pope County school score as a first-pass county screen, then verify the exact district, attendance boundary, transfer rules, and grade pathway for any address you are considering.

Does SchoolsByCounty confirm school attendance boundaries in Pope County?

No. SchoolsByCounty publishes NCES and Census-backed public-school records. Attendance zones, magnet eligibility, charter lotteries, transportation, and transfer rules must be confirmed with local districts.

How should parents compare public schools in Pope County?

Start with the 8 listed public schools and 2 district entries, then compare similar grade bands and confirm the address-level rules locally.

Pope County Schools & Education

Name: Pope County, Minnesota Education Data
Creator: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Pope County, Minnesota

NCES 2022-23 public school data and FY 2022 school-finance data

School Score

74/100

Percentile-style score

Score Band

Higher Signal

Graduation Rate

92.0%

National avg 87.5%

Education Statistics

Graduation Rate

92.0%

National avg 87.5%

State avg 86.6%

Per-Pupil Spending

$9,258

National avg $13,239

State avg $8,463

School Score

74/100

Percentile-style score

State avg 55/100

State Score Position

of 87 counties by score

Education Data Brief: Pope County

Measured School Summary

Pope County has a higher measured school signal with a school score of 74/100 and a graduation rate of 92.0%, based on available NCES graduation-rate and school-score inputs.

Funding Context

Pope County spends $9,258 per student, which is on the lower end of adequate and may require careful resource allocation to maintain quality.

Neighbor Context

Its school score is 34% above the Minnesota average, and its graduation rate exceeds the state average by 5.4 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 9% higher than the state norm.

School Data Brief

How to read Pope County before comparing districts

County-level education data is best used as a screening layer. It summarizes the local school environment, then points you toward the district and school records that matter for local review.

Local context that changes the interpretation

8 public schools and 2 districts are represented below. Use those school and district records to confirm whether the county-level context fits the neighborhoods you are actually considering.

Overall screen

74/100

Higher measured signal. Ranks #9 of 87 Minnesota counties with school score data.

Completion

92.0%

5.4 pts above the state average

Funding context

$9,258

$795 above the state average

School coverage

2 districts represented in the county school list.

Start with measured county context

This county screens well on the combined school metrics available here. Compare the score, graduation rate, and spending together rather than treating any single metric as final.

Check the local school mix

Pope County has 8 public schools across 2 districts, so school-level fit can vary inside the county.

Verify local rules

Use this page as county-level context, then confirm attendance zones, transportation, special programs, and current school boundaries with local districts.

View Public Schools Compare Counties

Parent decision brief

What Pope County school data means before you move

County averages are useful for screening, but parents choose addresses, grade pathways, and district rules. This brief turns the public data into the checks that matter before you sign a lease or mortgage.

Small-system county

Pope County has a compact public-school footprint. A single school change, boundary rule, or district update can move the lived experience more than the county score suggests.

State position

of 87 Minnesota counties with school score data. The county score is 19 points above the state average.

Data confidence

Usable

3 of 5 county signals are present, and 100% of listed schools report enrollment. Compare schools, then verify missing fields locally.

K-12 continuity check

These are the largest visible district slices in the county data. They show whether elementary, middle, and high school records appear together or whether a family needs to investigate transition points.

MINNEWASKA SCHOOL DISTRICT

Elementary to high school visible

1,347 students

Elementary 1Middle 2High 2Other 2

7 listed schools in this county slice.

GLACIAL HILLS ELEMENTARY

Elementary school only in this slice

93 students

Elementary 1Middle 0High 0Other 0

1 listed school in this county slice.

District reality check

MINNEWASKA SCHOOL DISTRICT is the largest listed district slice, with 7 schools. County pages do not prove address assignment, so verify boundaries with local district tools.

What the data cannot tell you

NCES records do not confirm current attendance zones, private-school options, transfer approvals, program capacity, transportation, or whether a listed school is available to a specific address.

Questions to ask before choosing an address

Which district actually serves the addresses we are considering in Pope County?

Do the neighborhoods we like fall inside the same district, or are we comparing different Pope County district systems?

What changes at the elementary-to-middle and middle-to-high transitions in the district pathway we would likely use?

Which charter, magnet, or virtual options require a lottery, application window, separate transportation plan, or address eligibility check?

Are the largest listed schools the ones our address can actually attend, or are they only county-level context?

Education Overview

About Schools in Pope County, Minnesota

This context is screened for neutral school-data wording and should be read alongside the current metrics on this page. It is not school advice.

Small Population, High-Quality Schools

Pope County maintains eight public schools serving ,1440 students across two primary districts. The landscape includes two elementary, two middle, and two high schools, alongside one charter school option.

Minnewaska District Dominates Local Enrollment

The Minnewaska School District educates the vast majority of local students with 1,347 enrollees across seven schools. Glacial Hills Elementary serves as the county's lone charter school, representing 12.5% of the total school inventory.

Purely Rural Schooling Experience

All eight schools in Pope County are classified as rural, creating a close-knit environment where the average school size is 206 students. Minnewaska Secondary is the largest campus with 399 students, while the local charter school serves just 93 children.

School Overview

Total Schools

in Pope County

Reported Enrollment

1,440

8 schools reporting

School Districts

districts

Charter Schools

13% of total

School Level Breakdown

Elementary2

Middle2

High2

Other2

2 School Districts in Pope County

MINNEWASKA SCHOOL DISTRICT

7 schools

1,347 students

GLACIAL HILLS ELEMENTARY

1 school

93 students

8 Public Schools in Pope County

Sorted by reported enrollment. Every NCES public school remains listed here; no school-level profile pages are included in the current generated coverage for this county.

NCES 2022-23 public school data and FY 2022 school-finance data

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Showing 8 of 8 matching schools

Public schools in Pope County, including district, location, profile availability, grades, type, and enrollment.
School Name	Profile	District	Location	Grades	Type / Flags	Reported Enrollment
MINNEWASKA SECONDARY	Record	MINNEWASKA SCHOOL DISTRICT	GLENWOOD, 56334Rural: Remote	7–12	High	399
MINNEWASKA AREA ELEMENTARY	Record	MINNEWASKA SCHOOL DISTRICT	GLENWOOD, 56334Rural: Remote	KG–3	Primary	351
Minnewaska Area Intermediate School	Record	MINNEWASKA SCHOOL DISTRICT	GLENWOOD, 56334Rural: Remote	4–6	Middle	292
MINNEWASKA AREA JUNIOR HIGH	Record	MINNEWASKA SCHOOL DISTRICT	GLENWOOD, 56334Rural: Remote	7–8	Middle	219
GLACIAL HILLS ELEMENTARY	Record	GLACIAL HILLS ELEMENTARY	STARBUCK, 56381Rural: Remote	PK–6	Charter	93
MINNEWASKA EARLY CHILDHOOD SP.ED.	Record	MINNEWASKA SCHOOL DISTRICT	GLENWOOD, 56334Rural: Remote	PK	Special Education	44
Minnewaska Area WIN Academy	Record	MINNEWASKA SCHOOL DISTRICT	STARBUCK, 56381Rural: Remote	KG–12	Alternative	42
MINNEWASKA SECONDARY ALTERNATIVE PG	Record	MINNEWASKA SCHOOL DISTRICT	GLENWOOD, 56334Rural: Remote	9–12	Alternative	0

MINNEWASKA SECONDARY

MINNEWASKA SCHOOL DISTRICT

GLENWOOD, 56334 / Rural: Remote

Record7–12High399 students

MINNEWASKA AREA ELEMENTARY

MINNEWASKA SCHOOL DISTRICT

GLENWOOD, 56334 / Rural: Remote

RecordKG–3Primary351 students

Minnewaska Area Intermediate School

MINNEWASKA SCHOOL DISTRICT

GLENWOOD, 56334 / Rural: Remote

Record4–6Middle292 students

MINNEWASKA AREA JUNIOR HIGH

MINNEWASKA SCHOOL DISTRICT

GLENWOOD, 56334 / Rural: Remote

Record7–8Middle219 students

GLACIAL HILLS ELEMENTARY

STARBUCK, 56381 / Rural: Remote

RecordPK–6Charter93 students

MINNEWASKA EARLY CHILDHOOD SP.ED.

MINNEWASKA SCHOOL DISTRICT

GLENWOOD, 56334 / Rural: Remote

RecordPKSpecial Education44 students

Minnewaska Area WIN Academy

MINNEWASKA SCHOOL DISTRICT

STARBUCK, 56381 / Rural: Remote

RecordKG–12Alternative42 students

MINNEWASKA SECONDARY ALTERNATIVE PG

MINNEWASKA SCHOOL DISTRICT

GLENWOOD, 56334 / Rural: Remote

Record9–12Alternative0 students

Education Funding Detail

Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure

$9,258

State avg $8,463

Compare Nearby Counties

Review Pope County against other counties using the same NCES-backed metrics.

Open Compare

Browse Public Schools

See school-level enrollment, grade ranges, school type, and district affiliation.

View Schools

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Minnesota counties have the highest graduation rates?

Jackson County (95.7%), Cottonwood County (95.3%), and Cook County (95.0%) currently lead Minnesota among counties with available NCES four-year adjusted cohort graduation-rate data. This answer is generated from the same dataset used in the county table and can change when federal data refreshes.

What is per-pupil spending like in Minnesota?

Across Minnesota counties with available NCES district-finance data, average per-pupil spending is $8,463. The highest current county values are Cook County ($12,089), Kittson County ($10,301), and Beltrami County ($10,167). Compare counties in the table before treating the statewide average as representative of a local district.

How should I read the school score in Pope County?

Pope County has a school score of 74/100, which is a higher measured signal in this county-level index. This score is calculated from available NCES graduation-rate and school-finance data, with school-level records shown separately below.

What is the graduation rate in Pope County?

The high school graduation rate in Pope County is 92.0%, which is above the national average of 87.5%. This figure is based on NCES district-level data for public high schools in the county.

How much does Pope County spend per student?

Pope County spends $9,258 per pupil annually on public education, based on NCES district finance data. Current operating spending per fall enrollment, including instruction, support services, administration, transportation, and operations. It excludes capital outlays and debt service in the SchoolsByCounty methodology.

Frequently Asked Questions

Schools in Pope County, Minnesota — FAQ

What does the school system look like in Pope County, Minnesota?

What are the major school districts in Pope County, Minnesota?

What is the school experience like in Pope County?

Counties with Similar School Profile

Lake County

Minnesota

-1 pts

72/100

School score

Big Stone County

Minnesota

+2 pts

76/100

School score

Murray County

Minnesota

+3 pts

77/100

School score

By Evan Brooks, Data EditorUpdated May 13, 2026Reviewed by Evan Brooks, Data Editor

Data Sources

Education data sourced from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data and School District Finance Survey. School scores are derived composite metrics based on available NCES graduation-rate and school-finance signals.

Data is informational only. Coverage varies by county and reporting year. Not for use as the sole basis for educational decisions.

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