Duluth: Education and Research

Duluth: Education and Research

Elementary and Secondary Schools

The Duluth School District (ISD #709) covers 337 square miles, including Duluth. It offers K-12 education, special services for students with handicaps and special needs, an Early Childhood Family Education program, Head Start, alternative schools, and community education.

The following is a summary of data regarding Duluth public schools as of the 2003–2004 school year.

Total enrollment: 10,824

Number of facilities

elementary schools: 13

middle schools: 4

high schools: 3

other: 5 (including magnet, academy, and adult education programs)

Student/teacher ratio: 22.1:1

Teacher salaries

minimum: $32,517

maximum: $54,323

Funding per pupil: $7,736 (2002 state figure)

The Marshall School, an independent, coeducational day school, offers college preparatory classes for students in grades 5–12. Holy Rosary offers Catholic education for grades K–8. Lakeview Christian Academy, an interdenomi-national, Christian school, serves students from preschool through grade 12 with a Bible-centered curriculum. Summit School is an independent school for children from kindergarten through grade four.

Public Schools Information: Independent School District #709, 215 N. 1st Ave. E., Duluth, MN 55802; telephone (218)723-4150

Colleges and Universities

The University of Minnesota–Duluth enrolls 10,300 students and offers a dozen bachelor's degrees in 75 majors, graduate programs in 19 fields, and the first two years of a medical program. The College of St. Scholastica, a private four-year institution enrolling about 3,000 students, has gained recognition in the areas of nursing, management, exercise physiology, health information management, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and education. Lake Superior College offers more than 70 majors to its 8,500 students and operates an Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting Center and a Computer Flex Lab. Business and medical training and college-level general education is available at Duluth Business University. Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College in Cloquet is a joint effort between the Fond du Lac Reservation and the state of Minnesota.

Libraries and Research Centers

The Duluth Public Library houses more than 360,000 volumes, magazines, maps, charts, video and audio recordings, and framed prints; special collections relate to Duluth, the Great Lakes region, and Minnesota. The library, a depository for federal documents, operates two branches. The University of Minnesota–Duluth and the College of St. Scholastica maintain substantial campus libraries. Duluth is home to the Saint Louis County Health Department Library, the Saint Louis County Law Library, the Environmental Protection Agency library, the Karpeles Manuscript Library, and the Northeast Minnesota Historical Center Archives, in addition to the libraries of health service and religious organizations.

The Natural Resources Research Institute, affiliated with UMD and staffed by scientists, engineers, and business consultants, conducts research and development projects in fields such as forest products and the environment.

Public Library Information: Duluth Public Library, 520 W. Superior St., Duluth, MN 55802; telephone (218)723-3800