Independent School District 196 is a K-12 public school district located in the south suburban Twin Cities, near both Minneapolis

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...

 and St. Paul

Saint Paul, Minnesota

Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...

 in Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

.

Also known as the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District, District 196 serves approximately 28,300 students in grades Early Childhood-12 and is Minnesota's fourth largest school district. The 110 square miles (284.9 km²) district boundary includes all or part of seven cities - Rosemount

Rosemount, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 14,619 people, 4,742 households, and 3,931 families residing in the city. The population density was 434.2 people per square mile . There were 4,845 housing units at an average density of 143.9 per square mile...

, Apple Valley

Apple Valley, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 45,527 people, 16,344 households, and 12,405 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,625.5 people per square mile . There were 16,536 housing units at an average density of 953.6 per square mile...

, Eagan

Eagan, Minnesota

Eagan is a city south of Saint Paul in Dakota County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies on the south bank of the Minnesota River, upstream from the confluence with the Mississippi River. Eagan and nearby suburbs form the southern portion of Minneapolis-St. Paul, the fifteenth largest...

, Burnsville

Burnsville, Minnesota

Burnsville is a city south of downtown Minneapolis in Dakota County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies on the south bank of the Minnesota River, upstream from the confluence with the Mississippi River...

, Coates

Coates, Minnesota

Coates is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota located west of the Upper Mississippi River on the exurban fringe in central Dakota County. U.S. Highway 52 connects north to Saint Paul while County Road 46 draws east-west to nearby suburban cities. The population was 161 at the 2010 census. It is...

, Inver Grove Heights

Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 29,751 people, 11,257 households, and 7,924 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,038.8 people per square mile . There were 11,457 housing units at an average density of 400.1 per square mile...

 and Lakeville

Lakeville, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 43,128 people, 13,609 households, and 11,526 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,192.4 people per square mile . There were 13,799 housing units at an average density of 381.5 per square mile...

 - and rural Empire

Empire Township, Minnesota

Empire Township is a township in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,638 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , all of it land.-Demographics:...

 and Vermillion

Vermillion Township, Minnesota

Vermillion Township is a township in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,243 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 34.1 square miles , all of it land.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there...

 townships.

District 196 has 18 elementary schools (grades k-5), six middle schools (grades 6-8), four high schools (grades 9-12), the School of Environmental Studies

School of Environmental Studies

The School of Environmental Studies is an optional two-year high school in Apple Valley, Minnesota, United States. Also known as the "Zoo School" because of its active partnership with the Minnesota Zoo and its 12 acre site on zoo property, the school embraces project-based learning with an...

 optional high school (grades 11-12), the Area Learning Center alternative high school (grades 9-12) and Dakota Ridge special education school (grades k-12). (School attendance boundary maps and address search)

The district has been honored with six National Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence

Blue Ribbon Schools Program

The Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States government program created in 1981 to honor schools which have achieved high levels of performance or significant improvements with emphasis on schools serving disadvantaged students. The program centers around a self-assessment conducted by the...

 awards and numerous state and nationally recognized programs in academics, the arts and athletics.

District 196 is consistently recognized among the nation's top school districts.

District 196 High Schools

All four District 196 high schools compete in the South Suburban Conference

South Suburban Conference (Minnesota)

The South Suburban Conference is a Minnesota State High School League conference in Minnesota that began on July 1 , 2010. The conference officially started on July 1, 2010....

 of the Minnesota State High School League

Minnesota State High School League

The Minnesota State High School League is a voluntary, non-profit association for the support and governance of interscholastic activities at high schools in Minnesota, United States. The association supports interscholastic athletics and fine arts programs for member schools...

.

In order of age:

• Rosemount
  Rosemount High School
  Rosemount High School is a public four-year high school in Rosemount, Minnesota founded in 1918. The school is a member of Minnesota Independent School District 196...
  
   (Irish)
• Apple Valley (Eagles)
• Eagan
  Eagan High School
  Eagan High School is a public high school in east-central Eagan, Minnesota. The school opened in fall of 1989 for ninth grade students and for grades ten through twelve the following year. It is particularly noted for its fine arts programs and use of technology...
  
   (Wildcats)
• Eastview
  Eastview High School
  Eastview High School is a comprehensive and college preparatory public high school located in Apple Valley, Minnesota, USA. Established in 1997, Eastview is the newest of the four high schools serving Independent School District 196. Newsweek ranked the school in their "List of the Top High Schools...
  
   (Lightning)

Eagan, MN

• Red Pine Elementary
• Northview Elementary
• Deerwood Elementary
• Pinewood Elementary
• Glacier Hills Elementary (magnet school)
• Thomas Lake Elementary
• Woodland Elementary
• Oak Ridge Elementary

Apple Valley, MN

• Highland Elementary
• Greenleaf Elementary
• Westview Elementary
• Southview Elementary
• Diamond Path Elementary (magnet school)
• Cedar Park Elementary (magnet school)

District 196 Demographics (Revised annually)

Total population – 145,796

Total households – 51,181

60 percent with pre-school and school-age children

Nearly one-third of all district residents are under age 18