EDUCATION

Kandiyohi County is served by several school districts with a reputation for excellent education and that enjoy strong support in the county.  All of our school districts are proud of their strong showing on the Basic Skills Test and Comprehensive Assessment tests administered by the state of Minnesota.

Willmar Public Schools www.willmar.k12.mn.us

Motto: Preparing all students for a successful tomorrow.

The Willmar Public School District serves an area of 220 square miles, including the communities of Willmar, Pennock, Blomkest and Kandiyohi. The district consists of five elementary schools, a junior high and senior high, the Washington Learning Center and Alternative Learning Programs. The 4,800 students in grades K-12 benefit from the opportunity to take part in sports, music or one of many special interest clubs open to them. For more information about how your family can benefit from the Willmar Public Schools, check out their web site at www.willmar.k12.mn.us

New London-Spicer Public Schools www.nls.k12.mn.us

Mission Statement: The New London-Spicer Community Schools are dedicated to providing "Learning for Life ". NL-S offers high-quality education in a dynamic, supportive learning environment, helping all learners develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to lead healthy, productive, fulfilling and socially responsible lives in a diverse and challenging world.

The students, teachers and staff put this philosophy into action every day at their four schools in the community: Prairie Meadows Learning Center houses Early Childhood programs and Kindergarten, Prairie Woods Elementary School houses 1st-4th grades, the NL-S Middle School is 5th-8th grades and the NL-S High School is 9th-12th grades. Students at NL-S have the opportunity to participate in winning athletic programs, special interest clubs and organizations, as well as excellent academic programs.

Other Kandiyohi County Communities have teamed up with cities and towns outside of the county to serve their students.

Atwater (ACGC Public Schools- Atwater, Cosmos, Grove City) www.acgc.k12.mn.us

Atwater is part of the Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City (ACGC) School District and the home of North Elementary School.

Lake Lillian (BOLD School District—Bird Island, Olivia and Lake Lillian) www.bold.k12.mn.us

Lake Lillian teams up with the communities of Bird Island and Olivia in Renville County, our neighbor to the south, and is a member of the BOLD School District.

Raymond (MACCRAY Public Schools—Maynard, Clara City and Raymond) www.maccray.k12.mn.us

Raymond, along with Maynard and Clara City, is a part of the MACCRAY School District and houses MACCRAY East Elementary School.

Sunburg (KMS School District—Kerkhoven, Murdock and Sunburg) www.kms.k12.mn.us

Sunburg, teams up with Kerkhoven and Murdock in Swift County, our neighbor to the west, and is a member of the KMS School District.

Families in Kandiyohi County also have two private schools from which to choose for their child's education.

Community Christian School of Willmar (Willmar) www.willmarccs.com

CCS serves preschool through grade 12.

Central Minnesota Christian School (Prinsburg) www.cmcschool.org

CMCS serves preschool through grade 12.

St. John Lutheran School

19911 56th Avenue NE

Atwater, MN 56209

Contact Karen at (320) 974-8982 for more information.

Grades K-6; enrollment 11.

Kandiyohi County proudly supports a community and technical college.

Ridgewater College—Willmar Campus www.ridgewater.mnscu.edu

Ridgewater College is located in Willmar and is both a two year community college and technical college with fully transferable general education courses combined with technical programs leading to immediate employment upon completion. Approximately 3,000 students attend Ridgewater.

Ridgewater College Continuing Education (Willmar) Center for Customized Training and Continuing Education

Ridgewater College’s Center for Customized & Continuing Education provides many educational opportunities to develop new skills, to broaden the knowledge base, and to increase technical proficiency, that benefits both a business organization and individual employees

Call the Center for Customized and Continuing Education-your best source for targeted education to increased productivity!
Willmar Campus: (320) 231-2925

Willmar Area Scholars at Home (WASH)

There is also a community of homeschooling families who live in the Willmar area. 

WASH offers support to homeschoolers through:

• organized activities for children and families
• mentoring for new homeschoolers
• sharing of resources, experience and knowledge
• WASHlines newsletter: info on WASH activities, legislative updates, educational opportunities, and other notices. Your choice of mailed paper copy or e-mail.
• WASH directory of member families
• WASH membership card that allows you educator discounts at various retailers
• annual Book Sale, and Spring Celebration which features our student's accomplishments

For more information, visit the WASH web site.