Schools in Smithville, Duluth, Minnesota
Part of the Smithville neighborhood guide. Back to the full guide.
Smithville is in Duluth Public Schools (ISD 709) on the west-side pathway: Stowe Elementary, then Lincoln Park Middle School, then Denfeld High School.
Stowe at 715 101st Avenue West enrolls roughly 245 students in prekindergarten through grade 5 and is the nearest school of any kind. Lincoln Park Middle at 3215 West 3rd Street enrolls about 606, and Denfeld High School at 401 North 44th Avenue West about 951 (NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-2025, accessed 2026-08-13). Denfeld is about fourteen minutes northeast.
Distance is the honest headline and it should be the deciding factor for any family. There is no school inside the neighborhood, and a Smithville student spends a meaningful part of each day on a bus for thirteen years. Map the actual route, ask the district for the actual pickup time, and picture it in February.
There is a geographic curiosity worth naming for orientation rather than as advice: Cloquet is about eighteen minutes southwest, a comparable drive to Denfeld. That is a Carlton County district and this address is not in it. Open enrollment is a separate process with its own rules and transportation implications.
Denfeld enrolls about two-thirds as many students as Duluth East across the city, which means smaller cohorts and easier access to activities against a narrower course catalog.
The nearest private option is the Stella Maris Academy St. James campus in West Duluth. MDE report card data does not cover private schools, so this guide does not rate them. Attendance boundaries change between years.
The far-west elementary at 715 101st Avenue West, the nearest school to Smithville.
The west-side middle school at 3215 West 3rd Street, a long ride from this end of the city.
The west-side high school at 401 North 44th Avenue West, about fourteen minutes northeast.
The west-side Catholic campus at 715 North 57th Avenue West.
Listed for orientation only. Cloquet is a comparable drive from this end of Duluth, but it is a different district and this address is not in it.
Higher education nearby: Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, Lake Superior College, University of Minnesota Duluth.
Schools next door
North along the river, sharing the same Census tract and the same owner-heavy river-corridor profile, with direct Spirit Lake frontage.
Morgan ParkEast along the river, the 1913 US Steel company town built almost entirely of concrete block.
Gary-New DuluthImmediately south, the nearest everyday services and the closest published price anchor in the far west.
Norton ParkNortheast, where the Munger and Western Waterfront trails begin and Indian Point gives boat access.
Fond du LacSouthwest along the river, the oldest community in Duluth and quieter still.