Esko Public Schools (ISD 99)
Esko Public Schools, ISD 99, enrolled about 1,287 students in 2024-2025 in two buildings: Winterquist Elementary for preschool through grade 6, and Esko's Lincoln Secondary School for grades 7 through 12. Two buildings for thirteen grades is the simplest structure of any district in this guide, and it is a substantial part of why Esko property carries the premium it does. It also means the grade breaks do not line up with the districts on either side.
About Esko Public Schools
ISD 99 covers Esko and part of Thomson Township in Carlton County, about twenty minutes southwest of Duluth on I-35. The district reported 76 teacher FTE against 1,287 students, a student-teacher ratio of about 16.9 to 1 (NCES Common Core of Data, accessed 2026-08-14). That is the highest ratio among the districts in this guide, and it reflects what a small district with only two buildings can staff rather than any judgment about the classroom.
Esko is the clearest case in the region of a school district driving a housing market. The community has almost no rental stock, an extremely high ownership rate, and thin inventory, and buyers routinely wait a season or build rather than compromise on the district. That makes confirming the district boundary for a specific parcel more consequential here than almost anywhere else in this guide.
Schools in the district
Winterquist Elementary School holds 684 students across preschool through grade 6. Esko's Lincoln Secondary School holds 603 across grades 7 through 12.
The grade split is the thing to look at. Most districts nearby break after grade 4 or 5 and run a separate middle school; Esko keeps students in the elementary a year or two longer and then puts six grades together in one secondary building. A seventh-grader here shares a building with seniors. Families arriving from a three-tier district should ask the school directly how it separates the younger secondary students, because it is a real difference in daily experience and the district will have a considered answer.
Enrollment & performance
At 1,287 students, ISD 99 is the second smallest district in this guide, ahead only of Carlton ISD 93 at 308. It is about a seventh the size of Duluth's ISD 709.
Minnesota does not publish a single district grade, and this guide does not invent one. The Minnesota Report Card is the state's own reporting on achievement, progress, graduation, and attendance, broken out by school and by student group.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-2025 release (LEA 2738880), accessed 2026-08-14 (2024-2025).
Attendance boundaries
There is no internal boundary in ISD 99: one elementary, one secondary school, and every student in the district attends both in turn. The only question is whether a given address is inside the district.
That question is less obvious than it looks. Esko is unincorporated, so there is no city limit to reason from, and three different shapes get confused with each other: the Esko Census Designated Place, Thomson Township, and the ISD 99 school district boundary. Addresses at the edges can fall into Cloquet ISD 94, Carlton ISD 93, or Wrenshall ISD 100 instead. Since much of what a buyer is paying for in Esko is the district, confirm the assignment with ISD 99 for the specific parcel before writing an offer.
Neighborhoods this district serves
Esko is the one community in this guide inside ISD 99. Buyers comparing it against the alternatives usually look at Hermantown, which offers a similar small-district profile with city services and a shorter drive to Duluth retail, and at Cloquet, which is ten minutes west, has a real rental market, and runs a considerably larger district. Carlton, south toward Jay Cooke, is in ISD 93 and is smaller again.
Common questions about Esko Public Schools
How many schools are in the Esko district?
Two. Winterquist Elementary takes preschool through grade 6, and Esko's Lincoln Secondary School takes grades 7 through 12. There is no separate middle school, and no separate alternative or early childhood site in the federal count. It is the simplest structure of any district in this guide.
Why does the elementary run to grade 6?
It is a two-building district, so the break has to fall somewhere, and Esko puts it after grade 6 rather than after grade 4 or 5 like most of its neighbors. Practically, an Esko sixth-grader is still in the elementary building while a Cloquet or Hermantown sixth-grader has already moved up. Worth knowing if you are moving mid-schooling.
Is Esko a small school?
The district is small at about 1,287 students, but the buildings are not tiny, because all thirteen grades are packed into two of them. Winterquist holds 684 and Lincoln Secondary 603. A six-grade secondary school of 603 offers a different experience from a four-grade high school of the same size, since the ninth-graders share a building with seventh-graders.
Does an Esko mailing address mean the Esko district?
Not necessarily. The Esko CDP, Thomson Township, and the ISD 99 boundary are three different shapes, and addresses on the edges can fall to Cloquet, Carlton, or Wrenshall. Because Esko property carries a school-district premium, confirm the actual district for a specific parcel with ISD 99 before making an offer.
Where these facts come from
- NCES Common Core of Data, district and school directory 2024-2025, Esko Public School District (LEA 2738880) accessed 2026-08-14
- Esko Public Schools ISD 99, district website accessed 2026-08-14
- Minnesota Report Card, Minnesota Department of Education accessed 2026-08-14