Three public school districts in Olmsted County received overall grades ranging from B− to C− in Niche’s latest county evaluations, placing them at the bottom of its graded local field.
The 2027 evaluations show some revealing contrasts. Both districts receiving B− overall earned B grades for academics, while the district with the lowest overall mark received a B for teachers.
Their official reports also describe changes families would encounter firsthand, from expanded career planning to school-issued Chromebooks and additional reading support. Here’s what sits behind the letters.
Dover-Eyota Public School District — Overall Niche Grade: B−
Serving Dover, Eyota and surrounding communities from preschool through 12th grade, Dover-Eyota received a B− overall on its current Niche profile. It shares that grade with Stewartville; the alphabetical presentation does not put either district ahead.
Federal education records report 1,057 students and approximately 15.3 students per full-time-equivalent teacher in 2024–25. That staffing ratio is not an average classroom size.
A Stronger Mark for Teachers
Niche awarded Dover-Eyota a B+ for teachers, above its overall grade, alongside a B for academics and C+ for college preparation.
The profile reports 51% reading proficiency and 48% math proficiency, identifying the source as Minnesota’s 2024–25 statewide testing program.
Those results show a substantial share of tested students had not reached proficiency, even as Niche’s broader academic evaluation remained in the B range.
More Career Options—and Learning Outdoors
The district’s 2026–2031 strategic plan, approved by the board in January 2026, calls for increased access to dual-credit courses, career and technical education, postsecondary enrollment and apprenticeships.
It also calls for stronger business and college partnerships, regular curriculum reviews, and academic and social-emotional interventions. These are adopted priorities; the plan does not establish that every proposed expansion has already happened.
For younger children, an existing option offers a different sort of classroom experience.
Dover-Eyota Elementary’s nature-based kindergarten connects learning with outdoor experiences in different weather conditions, with stated goals spanning academic development and environmental stewardship.
That gives families something specific to examine alongside test results: both the instruction children receive now and the opportunities the district intends to build.
Stewartville Public School District — Overall Niche Grade: B−
Stewartville’s preschool-through-12th-grade district also received a B− overall from Niche. It serves Stewartville and surrounding rural communities, with an attendance area extending beyond Olmsted County’s boundary.
Its 2024–25 federal enrollment record lists 1,976 students and approximately 15.3 students per full-time-equivalent teacher.
College Courses Behind a C in College Prep
Stewartville earned a B for academics, B for clubs and activities, and C for college preparation. Niche reports 52% reading proficiency and 49% math proficiency from Minnesota’s 2024–25 statewide assessments.
The college-preparation grade does not mean students lack college-credit opportunities.
The high school’s counseling department lists concurrent-enrollment partnerships with Southwest Minnesota State University, Riverland Community College, Rochester Community and Technical College, and the University of Minnesota.
Concurrent enrollment lets students take college-credit courses at the high school with teachers working alongside college faculty.
Students can also pursue Postsecondary Enrollment Options, or PSEO, through participating colleges, subject to admission and eligibility requirements.
For families, the useful distinction is between the composite grade and the courses a particular student can actually access.
A Practical Change for the School Year
A more immediate development concerns what students bring to class. In its August 2026 technology announcement, Stewartville said the board had approved moving grades 5–9 to school-managed Chromebooks for 2026–27.
Students in grades 6–8 who previously brought personal devices must switch to district-issued equipment. Expansion into grades 10–12 is planned for subsequent school years.
The announcement lists device fees of $20, $45 or $70, depending on eligibility category, including mandatory insurance. That is a concrete change in equipment and household costs—something an overall district grade will not communicate.
Rochester Math and Science Academy — Overall Niche Grade: C−
Rochester Math and Science Academy received the lowest overall grade in the county listing: C− on its district profile.
Despite “Academy” in its name, it qualifies as a district comparison. The National Center for Education Statistics identifies it as an operating independent charter district in Olmsted County serving kindergarten through 12th grade.
Its 2024–25 enrollment was 552, with approximately 15.8 students per full-time-equivalent teacher.
Academic Concerns Alongside a B for Teachers
Niche gives the district a C− for academics, a B for teachers and B− for administration. Its profile reports 39% reading proficiency and 37% math proficiency from the state’s 2024–25 assessment program.
The academy’s 2024–25 annual report provides a different measure of student progress: 55 of 77 students assessed in grades 1–2, or 71.4%, met their fall-to-spring NWEA reading-growth goals.
Meeting an individual growth target is different from reaching state proficiency. The two findings can coexist: students may make meaningful progress while still needing support to meet grade-level expectations.
A Consolidated Campus and More Reading Checks
The annual report says the academy consolidated its K–6 and 7–12 schools into a unified K–12 building during 2024–25. It describes facility upgrades associated with bringing the programs together.
That organizational change also warrants care when interpreting older district totals or outcomes.
The academy’s 2026–27 literacy planning document describes adding DIBELS progress monitoring between broader screening periods. It also describes weekly monitoring for students receiving supplemental or intensive reading intervention.
Those details identify how the academy plans to respond to learning needs. Whether the additional support produces sustained gains will require subsequent results.
A County Comparison With Different Kinds of Districts
The rest of Niche’s Olmsted County listing received higher overall marks: Byron earned A−, Rochester Public Schools B+, and Chatfield B.
The selected districts therefore occupy different positions within the lower end of that field; a B− and a C− should not be treated as equivalent judgments.
Their operating models differ, too. Two are traditional geographic districts, while the academy is an independent public charter district.
Enrollment, transportation, admissions and the range of available courses deserve separate attention when families compare them.
Under its 2027 district methodology, Niche combines academic information with factors including teacher measures, school culture, family feedback, resources and extracurricular opportunities.
Its overall letters are private evaluations, rather than Minnesota-issued accountability grades or test-score summaries.
The underlying dates matter as well. A 2027 label does not make every statistic a 2027 result: the proficiency figures cited here describe 2024–25 testing, and the federal enrollment and staffing figures cover that same school year.
