South Washington County is known for its good schools, and that includes elementary ones.

Thanks to the 2021 U.S. News and World Report for elementary school rankings, we now have the hard data on just how the different elementary schools rank both within South Washington County and compared beyond Schools are ranked in the report “by their performance on state-required test, graduation, and how well they prepare their students for high school,” per the magazine report. That being said, these are the ISD 833 rankings.

Starting off in first place for local district education is Liberty Ridge Elementary, located at 11395 Eagle View Boulevard in Woodbury. Serving students in kindergarten through 5th grade and with a total enrollment of 840 plus student-teacher ratio of 16 to 1, Liberty Ridge is the place to be for district elementary students, per the academic rankings. First in the district, Liberty Ridge ranks 36th in the state for elementary schools per U.S. News and World Report.

Coming in second for the district in said report is Valley Crossing Elementary, serving grades kindergarten through 6th grade and with a total student population of 653. Located on Hidden Lake Drive in Woodbury, Valley Crossing has a student- teacher ratio of 18 to 1 and most recently had fifth grader Moksh Kanukurthy named regional spelling champion, per the district website. Second in ISD 833 for elementary schools, Valley Crossing is ranked number 55 in the state for elementary education by U.S. News and World Report.

Not to be left out meanwhile and coming in third for the district is Grey Cloud Elementary, located at 952345 Indian Boulevard South in Cottage Grove. Ranked at number 179 in the state for elementary schools, Grey Cloud serves kindergarten through 5th grade and has an enrollment of 690, along with a student teacher ratio of 15 to 1. Receiving national recognition as a 2020 Blue Ribbon School from the United States Department of

U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT 2021 RANKINGS PLACE LIBERTY RIDGE FIRST, WOODBURY ELEMENTARY LAST FOR DISTRICT Education, Grey Cloud Elementary is a great place to learn.

Coming in fourth at 7447 65th Street South is Cottage Grove Elementary, with a reported student body of 461 and student teacher ratio of 15 to 1. Cottage Grove Elementary is ranked 238th in the state for elementary schools and serves kindergarten through 5th grade.

Next on the list and due to close if current proposals are seen through is Newport Elementary, located at 851 6th Avenue in Newport and ranked 5th in the district for academics by the national magazine’s report. Serving pre-K through 5th grade as of 2021 and with a reported student body of 305 per U.S. News and World Report, Newport Elementary was a Title I school serving a primarily low-income clientele and has a 12 to 1 student-teacher ratio, being named a “beat the odds” school by the Star-Tribune for three years in a row. The school is due to close for an early learning center, pending approval of a long-range facilities plan at the April 21 board meeting and the outcome of a fall referendum.

Coming in sixth for South Washington County Schools in the elementary category is Armstrong Elementary, located at 8855 Inwood Avenue South in Cottage Grove and ranked 277th in the state for elementary education. Currently serving pre-Kindergarten through 5th grade and with a student teacher ratio of 12 to 1, some 329 students were reported to call Armstrong home as of 2021.

Seventh in the list of South Washington County elementary schools is Royal Oaks Elementary, located at 7335 Steepleview Road in Woodbury with a total enrollment from 2021 of 579. Royal Oaks serves students in Kindergarten through 5th grade and had a student -teacher ratio of 17 top 1 in the report, being ranked 304th in the state in terms of educational quality.

Coming in next on the U.S. News and World Report rankings is Red Rock Elementary, ranked eighth in the district and with a student body of 648, being located at 331 commonwealth Avenue. Red Rock serves students in kindergarten through fifth grade and is ranked 356th in the state in terms of educational quality for elementary schools. Its student-teacher ratio is 17 to 1.

Coming in ninth for South Washington County Schools as to ranking by U.S. News and World Report is Gordon Bailey Elementary, located at 4125 Woodlane Drive in Woodbury. Serving grades kindergarten through fifth grade with a student body reported as 643 and student-teacher ratio of 15 to 1. Reportedly by U.S. News and World Report as being in “a fringe rural setting,” nearby housing development is due to change this as Woodbury continues to expand, with over 70,000 residents as of the 2020 Census. Bailey combines out at number 374 in the state rankings for school quality.

Coming up tenth in terms of district elementary school is Middleton Elementary, serving kindergarten through fifth grade at 4125 Woodlane Drive in Woodbury. The total enrollment of Bailey Elementary as of 2021, meanwhile, was reported as 696 students, the student-teacher ratio being 16 to 1 and ranked number 415 in terms of educational quality per state standards.

Next on the list of elementary schools for South Washington County, meanwhile, is Hillside, located at 8177 Hillside Trail South in Cottage Grove and coming in at number 11 for schools in the district, number 415 on the state listing. With a total enrollment of 415 and a student-teacher ratio of 13 to 1, Hillside serves pre-Kindergarten through fifth grade.

After Hillside is Crestview, located at 7830 80th Street South. Initially slated for closure before community outcry caused said plans to be reconsidered, current plans call for a new 1,000 seat elementary school for Crestview as the current building is to be turned into a campus for the South Washington Alternative School and Park High extended to the building as well. Teachers and students at Crestview will move to the new building in a more central location after this is completed under the plan.

As to rankings, meanwhile, Crestview is currently 12th in the district and number 537 in the state, with a total enrollment of 396 and student-teacher ratio of 14 to 1, serving grades pre-kindergarten through grade 5.

Next after Crestview in terms of local elementary schools is Pullman in St. Paul Park, ranked 13th in local elementary schools and number 594 in terms of the state rankings. Serving grades kindergarten through fifth grade, Pullman has a student enrollment of 429 and a student-teacher ratio of 12 to 1.

Next in district rankings is the Nuevas Fronteras Spanish Immersion school, without an attendance boundary and its name standing for “New Frontiers” in the Spanish language. Serving grades kindergarten through fifth grade with a total enrollment of 447 and a student-teacher ratio of 25 to 1, Nuevas Fronteras ranks at number 14 in the district rankings and 602nd in terms of the State of Minnesota. The next school, meanwhile, requires a shift across the municipal boundary line to Cottage Grove.

Among the first schools to be built in South Washington County in terms of the suburban era, Pine Hill comes in next on the local rankings at number 15, being number 641 in the state. With a total enrollment as of 2021 of 451 students and a student-teacher ratio of 13 to 1, Pine Hill serves kindergarten through fifth grade, being located at off Hadley aVenue South. Current district plans call for Pullman to get a new building with 850 seats on site.

Also dating to the beginnings of suburbia in the area and ranked number 16 out of 16 elementary schools is Woodbury Elementary, located just north of Woodbury Middle School and serving grades kindergarten through grade 5, with a 12 to 1 student-teacher ratio.

Current district plans call for Woodbury to absorb part of the attendance boundary for Newport along with renovation projects to create a shared learning space, early learning and special education spaces, and a renovated kitchen. The plans are dependent on board approval April 21 and a fall bond referendum. Both Newport and Woodbury Elementary serve a high percentage of minority students in their student body.

As to parents looking for options should Newport close as proposed, a better-ranked school than Newport exists just north in ISD 622, with Carver Lake Elementary on Upper Afton Road in Maplewood (just north of Woodbury) ranked as 2nd in its district and 128th in the state, while school choice allows for open enrollment should parents so desire.

As to a good education in South Washington County, there’s plenty of room at Newport, for the present. With 236 students enrolled at Newport per official district statistics, there’s still room for a full 143 more, pending April 21 and approval of the long-range facilities plan approval as presented.