Hermantown Community Schools (ISD 700)
Hermantown Community Schools, ISD 700, enrolled about 2,118 students in 2024-2025 across three attendance-area buildings: one elementary, one middle school, one high school. That structure is the district's defining feature and a real part of why families pay a premium for Hermantown addresses. There is no internal boundary to get wrong, no lottery, and no chance of a sibling split. If the house is in the district, you know exactly where the children go for the next thirteen years.
About Hermantown Community Schools
The district serves the City of Hermantown and some surrounding township land on the ridge above Duluth. It reported 128 teacher FTE in 2024-2025, a student-teacher ratio of about 16.5 to 1 (NCES Common Core of Data, accessed 2026-08-14). That is a staffing ratio rather than a class size, and it runs higher than Duluth's 13.8 largely because a small district has less room to spread specialist positions across many buildings.
Grade configuration is worth a second look because it does not match the districts around it. The elementary runs kindergarten through grade 4, the middle school takes grades 5 through 8, and the high school takes 9 through 12. A family moving from a district that breaks at grade 5 or 6 will find their child changing buildings a year off from what they expect.
Schools in the district
Hermantown Elementary School is the largest of the three at 731 students, which is a substantial elementary by regional standards and a consequence of concentrating five grade levels in one building. Hermantown Middle School takes 677 across four grades. Hermantown High School enrolls 655.
Alongside those three, the district runs an early childhood program with 43 students and an alternative learning program with 12, both enrolling from across the district rather than from an attendance area. That is why the federal count says five schools while a parent would sensibly say three.
Enrollment & performance
Total enrollment of 2,118 makes ISD 700 roughly a quarter the size of Duluth's ISD 709. The comparison families actually care about is at the high school: 655 students at Hermantown against 1,495 at Duluth East and 951 at Denfeld. A student at a school of 655 has a materially better chance of playing a sport, holding a position in a program, or being known by name across the staff. A student at a school of 1,495 has more courses, more electives, and more specialized offerings available. Neither is the right answer in the abstract.
Minnesota does not publish a single district grade, and this guide does not manufacture one. The Minnesota Report Card carries the state's own achievement, progress, and graduation reporting by school and by student group.
Hermantown's population grew about 6.4 percent between 2019 and 2024 while most of the region was flat, which is the pressure behind the elementary's size. Growth is the thing to watch here rather than performance: a district with one building per level absorbs enrollment growth inside those buildings until it decides to build.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-2025 release (LEA 2713920), accessed 2026-08-14 (2024-2025).
Attendance boundaries
There is no internal boundary question in ISD 700. Every student attends the same three schools in sequence. The only line that matters is the district line itself, and it does not follow the city limits exactly: some township land is in, and a handful of addresses near the Duluth and Proctor edges are out. Because so much of Hermantown's housing premium rests on district membership, confirm that a specific parcel is actually inside ISD 700 with the district before you make an offer. Do not rely on the mailing address, which is frequently Duluth.
Neighborhoods this district serves
Hermantown is the one community in this guide inside ISD 700, and the neighborhood page covers housing, prices, and commute in detail. Buyers weighing it against the other small-district suburb usually compare it with Proctor, which is cheaper and older, or with Esko across the county line in Carlton County, which has an even smaller district and no city services. Families who want the same house style closer to Duluth retail look at Duluth Heights, which is in ISD 709.
Common questions about Hermantown Community Schools
How many schools does Hermantown have?
Three attendance-area buildings: Hermantown Elementary for kindergarten through grade 4, Hermantown Middle School for grades 5 to 8, and Hermantown High School for grades 9 to 12. An early childhood program and a small alternative learning program bring the federal count to five.
Do I need to check which Hermantown school my address is assigned to?
No, and that is a large part of the appeal. With one building per level there is no internal boundary to land on the wrong side of. Every student in the district goes to the same elementary, then the same middle school, then the same high school. What you should confirm is whether a specific address is inside ISD 700 at all, since a few properties near the Duluth and Proctor edges are not.
How does Hermantown compare in size to Duluth?
About 2,118 students against roughly 8,723 in ISD 709, so about a quarter the size. Hermantown High School enrolls 655, against 1,495 at Duluth East. That difference is the trade a family is making: a smaller school where a student is more likely to make a team or a program, against the wider course and activity menu a large high school can carry.
Is the Hermantown grade configuration unusual?
Slightly. The elementary stops at grade 4 and the middle school runs 5 to 8, where most districts in the region break at 5 and 6. It is worth knowing if you are moving mid-schooling, because a child changing districts may move buildings a year earlier or later than expected.
Where these facts come from
- NCES Common Core of Data, district and school directory 2024-2025, Hermantown Community Schools (LEA 2713920) accessed 2026-08-14
- Hermantown Community Schools, district website accessed 2026-08-14
- Minnesota Report Card, Minnesota Department of Education accessed 2026-08-14