Hibbing Public School District

Hibbing Public Schools
Location
Hibbing, Minnesota
St. Louis County, Minnesota
United States
District information
TypePublic
GradesK–12
Established1893
SuperintendentRichard B. Aldrich
Schools3
NCES District ID2713980
Students and staff
Students~2,000 (2024)
Teachers~130
Student–teacher ratio~15:1
Athletic conferenceIron Range Conference
Other information
Websiteisd701.org

Hibbing Public Schools (Independent School District 701) is a public K–12 school district located in Hibbing, Minnesota. The district serves the city of Hibbing and adjacent unorganized territories in St. Louis County. Founded in 1893, it is one of the oldest public school districts on the Mesabi Iron Range.

Administration

The superintendent is Richard B. Aldrich, appointed by the Hibbing School Board.[1][2] The district is governed by a six-member elected school board, with board policies, regular meetings, and annual notifications published on the district website.[3]

List of schools

Hibbing Public Schools currently operates the following:

  • Hibbing High School (grades 8–12) – The main campus includes the historic high school building, opened in 1922 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[4] Facilities include a theater/auditorium, natatorium, industrial-arts area, and planetarium.
  • Washington Elementary School (Pre‑K–1)
  • Lincoln Elementary School (grades 4–7)

Supplementary programs housed on campus include:

  • Hibbing Alternative Learning Program (HALP) – Also known as Night School, this program serves grades 9–12 through a flexible, credit-recovery model.[5]
  • Adult Basic Education (ABE) – GED preparation, adult diploma, and English as a Second Language (ESL) courses for adult learners.
  • Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) – State-sponsored family education for children birth through kindergarten-age, with parent/child classes held at the Hibbing Early Learning Center.[6]

Hibbing High School

Hibbing High School serves students in grades 7 through 12. The current high school building was constructed between 1920 and 1922 with funding from the Oliver Mining Company. Designed in Collegiate Gothic style, it includes an 1,800-seat auditorium modeled after the Capitol Theatre in New York City.[7] The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

As of 2024, Hibbing High School enrolls approximately 1,100 students. The school offers a wide range of academic programs including AP courses, concurrent enrollment with Hibbing Community College, vocational-technical education, and music and fine arts programs.

Auditorium and historic features

The auditorium remains a centerpiece of the school, with a 1,900-pipe Barton organ still in use for concerts and public events.[8] The school also features a marble lobby, brass chandeliers, and imported Italian ceiling murals.

Hibbing High School activities

Hibbing High School athletics compete in the Iron Range Conference and are part of the Minnesota State High School League. Sports include football, basketball, hockey, cross country, track and field, golf, tennis, baseball, and softball. The boys’ hockey team has appeared in the state tournament 16 times, winning championships in 1952 and 1973.[9]

Other activities include band, choir, Knowledge Bowl, speech, drama, robotics, and student government.

Washington Elementary School

Washington Elementary School serves students in grades 3 through 6. The school emphasizes STEM learning and literacy development. It includes media center access, computer labs, and project-based science curriculum.

Lincoln Elementary School

Lincoln Elementary School serves students from preschool through grade 2. It provides early childhood screening, special education services, and full-day kindergarten.

Former schools

The Hibbing district previously operated several neighborhood elementary schools, including:

  • Jefferson Elementary – closed 2003[10]
  • Brooklyn Elementary – closed 1990s
  • Lincoln Junior High – consolidated into HHS
  • Central High School – predecessor to current HHS, demolished

Demographics

As of the 2023–2024 school year:

  • White – 88.4%
  • American Indian – 5.2%
  • Hispanic – 2.3%
  • Black – 1.4%
  • Two or more races – 2.7%
  • Students eligible for free/reduced-price lunch – ~41%[11]

Academic achievement

Hibbing Public Schools offers Advanced Placement (AP), Career and Technical Education (CTE), and concurrent enrollment through Minnesota North College – Hibbing.

As of the 2023–24 school year:

  • The high school’s four-year graduation rate was 92.4%.[12]
  • Approximately 50% of graduates complete at least one college-level course via AP or dual enrollment.[13]
  • MCA (Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments) performance for 2023 shows student proficiency at or above state averages in reading and mathematics.[14]
  • Hibbing won the Bellamy Award in 1968, presented annually by the National Education Association to an outstanding high school civics program.[15]

Academic programming also includes welding, automotive technology, CAD labs, special education, English Language Learner support, Title I reading interventions, and gifted/talented enrichment.

YearSportClassResult
1927Swimming & Diving – BoysState Champion
1929Swimming & Diving – BoysState Champion
1930Swimming & Diving – BoysState Champion
1931Swimming & Diving – BoysState Champion
1934Swimming & Diving – BoysState Champion
1935Swimming & Diving – BoysState Champion
1936Swimming & Diving – BoysState Champion
1937Swimming & Diving – BoysState Champion
1938Swimming & Diving – BoysState Champion
1939Swimming & Diving – BoysState Champion
1940Swimming & Diving – BoysState Champion
1941Swimming & Diving – BoysState Champion
1942Swimming & Diving – BoysState Champion
1943Swimming & Diving – BoysState Champion
1943One Act PlayState Participant
1944Swimming & Diving – BoysState Champion
1945Swimming & Diving – BoysState Champion
1946Swimming & Diving – BoysState Champion
1947Swimming & Diving – BoysState Champion
1948Swimming & Diving – BoysState Champion
1949Swimming & Diving – BoysState Champion
1949Cross Country - Boys10th Place
1949Basketball - BoysState Participant
1950Cross Country - Boys16th Place
1951Tennis - BoysState Champion
1951Swimming & Diving – BoysState Champion
1952Swimming & Diving – BoysState Champion
1953Basketball - BoysRunner-up (2nd)
1953Swimming & Diving – BoysState Champion
1954Basketball - BoysState Participant
1954Swimming & Diving – BoysState Champion
1956BaseballState Participant
1956Swimming & Diving – BoysState Champion
1957Basketball - BoysState Participant
1958Cross Country - Boys6th Place
1958Swimming & Diving – BoysState Champion
1959Cross Country - Boys6th Place
1960Cross Country - BoysState Champion
1960Cross Country - Boys - IndividualState Champion
1961Cross Country - Boys - IndividualState Champion
1961Cross Country - Boys10th Place
1963BaseballRunner-up (2nd)
1967Hockey - BoysThird Place
1968BaseballRunner-up (2nd)
1969Curling - BoysState Champion
1970Curling - BoysState Champion
1970Hockey - BoysThird Place
1971BaseballState Participant
1971Curling - BoysState Champion
1972FootballState Participant
1972One Act PlaySuperior
1973Hockey - BoysState Champion
1973One Act PlaySuperior
1974Curling - BoysState Champion
1974VolleyballState Participant
1975FootballState Participant
1975VolleyballAAState Champion
1976Curling - BoysState Champion
1976Basketball - BoysAARunner-up (2nd)
1976VolleyballState Participant
1977VolleyballState Participant
1977Curling - BoysConsolation
1978FootballState Participant
1978VolleyballState Participant
1978One Act PlaySuperior
1979VolleyballState Participant
1979One Act PlaySuperior
1980Cross Country - BoysAA7th Place
1980Cross Country - GirlsAA3rd Place
1982VolleyballState Participant
1982Hockey - BoysThird Place
1983One Act PlaySuperior
1983Golf - GirlsAAState Champion
1984WrestlingState Participant
1984Hockey - BoysThird Place
1985WrestlingState Participant
1985Hockey - BoysConsolation
1985One Act PlaySuperior
1986Hockey - BoysState Participant
1986VolleyballState Participant
1987GymnasticsAAState Champion
1987VolleyballState Participant
1988VolleyballState Participant
1989BaseballAARunner-up (2nd)
1989Basketball - BoysState Participant
1989VolleyballState Participant
1989GymnasticsAAState Champion
1991BaseballState Participant
1991VolleyballState Participant
1991WrestlingState Participant
1992One Act PlayState Participant
1992VolleyballState Participant
1994Hockey - BoysARunner-up (2nd)
1997Hockey - GirlsState Champion
1998Hockey - GirlsRunner-up (2nd)
1998VolleyballRunner-up (2nd)
2002Hockey - GirlsARunner-up (2nd)
2003Hockey - GirlsARunner-up (2nd)
2004Hockey - GirlsAThird Place
2005Hockey - GirlsARunner-up (2nd)
2006VolleyballState Participant
2006WrestlingState Participant
2007Basketball - GirlsState Participant
2007VolleyballState Participant
2007Hockey - GirlsAState Participant
2008VolleyballState Participant
2008Hockey - GirlsAConsolation
2009VolleyballState Participant
2011Hockey - BoysAState Participant
2013Hockey - GirlsAConsolation
2015Hockey - GirlsAState Participant
2017Hockey - GirlsAState Participant
2017Clay TargetRunner-up (2nd)
2018Clay TargetState Participant
2019Basketball - GirlsState Participant
2019Clay TargetState Participant
2021Basketball - BoysState Participant
2021Clay TargetState Participant
2021Cross Country - GirlsAA10th Place
2022Track & Field - GirlsAAState Champion
2022Cross Country - GirlsAA9th Place
2023RoboticsState Participant
2023Cross Country - GirlsAA7th Place
2025One Act PlaySuperior
2025Hockey - BoysA4th Place

Notable alumni

Arts and literature

  • Bob Dylan (Class of 1959), singer-songwriter and recipient of the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature.[16][17]
  • Marie Myung-Ok Lee, novelist and professor at Columbia University; author of The Evening Hero and Finding My Voice.[17]
  • Bethany McLean, journalist and author known for her reporting on the Enron scandal.[17]

Politics and public service

Athletics

Business and industry

  • Jeno Paulucci (Class of 1935), food industry entrepreneur who founded Chun King and Michelina’s.[17]

Entertainment and media

  • Roger Maris, Major League Baseball player and former single-season home run record holder; born in Hibbing but raised in Fargo.[17]
  • Vincent Bugliosi, prosecutor in the Charles Manson trial and co-author of Helter Skelter; born in Hibbing.[17]
  • Gary Puckett, lead singer of Gary Puckett & The Union Gap; born in Hibbing.[17]

References

  1. ↑ "Superintendent's Office – Hibbing Public Schools". Hibbing Public Schools.
  2. ↑ "Hibbing High School Administration". Minnesota State High School League.
  3. ↑ "Annual Notifications – Hibbing Public Schools". Hibbing Public Schools.
  4. ↑ "Hibbing High School National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form". National Register of Historic Places.
  5. ↑ "Alternative Programs – Hibbing High School". Hibbing Public Schools.
  6. ↑ "ECFE – Early Learning Center". Hibbing Public Schools.
  7. ↑ "Hibbing High School". MNopedia. Minnesota Historical Society.
  8. ↑ "Hibbing's high school theater is an architectural gem". MPR News. February 5, 2017.
  9. ↑ "MSHSL: Hibbing High School State Tournament History". Minnesota State High School League.
  10. ↑ GRINSTEINNER, KELLY (August 23, 2002). "Jefferson school to close". Mesabi Tribune. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
  11. ↑ "National Center for Education Statistics: Hibbing Public School District".
  12. ↑ "Minnesota Report Card – Hibbing Public Schools". Minnesota Department of Education. Archived from the original on February 25, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  13. ↑ "College Credit Opportunities – Hibbing High School". Hibbing Public Schools.
  14. ↑ "District Assessment Data – Hibbing Public Schools". Minnesota Department of Education. Archived from the original on February 25, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  15. ↑ "Hibbing High School celebrates 100 years of history". Duluth News Tribune.
  16. ↑ "The Nobel Prize in Literature 2016 – Bob Dylan", NobelPrize.org. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Shah, Allison. "Why has Hibbing produced so many famous people?" Star Tribune, July 9, 2023.
  18. ↑ Minnesota House of Representatives – Carly Melin
  19. ↑ Minnesota House of Representatives – Julie Sandstede
  20. ↑ Minnesota Legislative Reference Library – Delores Knaak
  21. ↑ NBA.com – Kevin McHale Career Stats
  22. ↑ Basketball-Reference – Dick Garmaker
  23. ↑ NHL.com – Scott Perunovich Player Profile
  24. ↑ ESPN – "Penguins forward Adam Johnson dies after injury", Oct. 2023
  25. ↑ Olympics.com – John Petroske
  26. ↑ Pro Football Reference – Rudy Sikich
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