West Central Area Schools

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West Central Area Schools is a public school district in west-central Minnesota. It serves the towns of Kensington, Hoffman, Barrett, Elbow Lake, and Wendell, plus students from nearby communities such as Herman, Donnelly, Ashby, Evansville, Fergus Falls, Nashua, and Campbell. The district was formed in 1993 when the West Central district merged with the Hoffman-Kensington district because enrollment was falling.

The district has two elementary schools for grades K-4: WCA South in Kensington and WCA North (formerly Agnes Lynne Elementary) in Elbow Lake. The secondary school for grades 5-12 is in Barrett. The Barrett campus is large—about 63 acres, 130,000 square feet, and it can hold about 600 students. It uses geothermal heating with many wells and a computer-controlled system, plus a backup generator.

The West Central Area Knights compete in many sports, including football, volleyball, basketball, wrestling, baseball, softball, golf, tennis, track and cross country. The district also offers activities such as speech, FFA, mock trial, choir, band, Knowledge Bowl, one-act plays, student council, and musicals. West Central is part of the Minnesota State High School League. Enrollment is around 777 students, with high school classes about 20 students each. The district faces ongoing challenges from declining enrollment. The district has a history of strong academics, including a national-championship–qualifying Academic Challenge team, and it was one of Minnesota’s first Knowledge Bowl teams in 1979.