Schools in Carlton, Minnesota
Part of the Carlton neighborhood guide. Back to the full guide.
Carlton is served by Carlton Public Schools (ISD 93), which operates two schools: South Terrace Elementary, serving prekindergarten through grade 5, and Carlton High School, covering grades 6 through 12 in a single building (Carlton School District, accessed 2026-08-13).
This is a very small district, and prospective families should treat that as the central fact rather than a footnote. A single 6-12 building in a city of under a thousand people means small cohorts, teachers who know every student, and a genuine chance to participate in everything. It also means a limited course catalog, few advanced-coursework options, and little specialised staffing.
The comparison most Carlton-area families actually run is against Cloquet's ISD 94, ten minutes north, whose high school enrolls about 761 students in grades 9 through 12 and can therefore carry a much broader program including career and technical offerings. Minnesota open enrollment makes that a live option, and the drive is short. Esko's ISD 99, about twelve minutes northeast, is the other comparison, though that district's demand is concentrated inside its own attendance area and its prices reflect it.
The Fond du Lac Band also operates its own school on the reservation, offering Ojibwe language and culture alongside the standard curriculum.
Confirm the assignment for a specific address with the district. This guide builds its own transparent school ratings from Minnesota Department of Education report card data rather than republishing licensed third-party scores. Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College is in Cloquet, and the full Duluth higher-education cluster is about 25 minutes northeast.
The district's elementary school, serving prekindergarten through grade 5.
The district's secondary school, grades 6 through 12 in one building.
The county's largest high school, in Cloquet about 10 minutes north, an open-enrollment alternative for some Carlton families.
The ISD 99 secondary school in Esko, about 12 minutes northeast, the other district Carlton-area families compare against.
The Fond du Lac Band's school on the reservation, offering Ojibwe language and culture alongside the standard curriculum.
Higher education nearby: Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, Lake Superior College, University of Minnesota Duluth, College of St. Scholastica, University of Wisconsin-Superior.
District guide: Carlton Public Schools (ISD 93)
Schools next door
Ten minutes north, the county's largest city with the hospital, the grocery, and the restaurants.
EskoTwelve minutes northeast, the school-driven market in Thomson Township at considerably higher prices.
Fond du LacDuluth's far western neighborhood down the river corridor, the closest Duluth address.
ProctorFifteen minutes northeast up I-35, the other end of the Munger Trail and a comparable small-town market.