Enrollment
263
Elementary
DISTRICT 344 · STATE 277
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MATANUSKA-SUSITNA BOROUGH SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 020051000724
Butte Elementary
4006 S Butte Rd, Palmer, AK 99645 · (907) 861-5200 · Matanuska-Susitna Borough
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY41-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL263 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
13.2:1
20 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.8:1 · STATE 15.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
38%
101 students
DISTRICT 53% · STATE 65%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 29 | 11% |
| Kindergarten | 32 | 12% |
| Grade 1 | 36 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 34 | 13% |
| Grade 3 | 55 | 21% |
| Grade 4 | 36 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 41 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (32) is 22% smaller than its 5th grade class (41).
Student demographics
50%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 51% · STATE 71% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
AK STAR + Alaska Science 2024-25 . % Advanced + ProficientEnglish Language Arts
49.6%
AK avg 36.1% . +4.9pp since 2023
Math
48.1%
AK avg 34.6% . +3.7pp since 2023
What this means: On the AK STAR + Alaska Science, Alaska's statewide test, about 50 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 48 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Alaska schools, those numbers are about 36 and 35. Reading and writing scores are up about 5 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 4 points.
AK STAR + Alaska Science results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 49.6% | 48.1% |
| 2023-24 | 44.7% | 44.4% |
% Advanced + Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: AK STAR + Alaska Science. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
53.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
40.1%
based on AK schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+13.0pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 53% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 40% typical for Alaska schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Alaska's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Butte Elementary
Butte Elementary's state test result (53.1% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butte Elementary this school | 263 | 38.4% | 53.1% |
| Delta Junction Elementary Delta Junction | 306 | 37.6% | 63.8% |
| William H. Seward Elementary School Seward | 205 | 36.6% | 36.1% |
| Soldotna Elementary Soldotna | 266 | 44.0% | 46.9% |
| Goose Bay Elementary Wasilla | 305 | 43.3% | N/A |
| Midnight Sun Elementary School North Pole | 322 | 36.0% | 35.5% |
Matched among Alaska elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Butte Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Alaska | In Matanuska-Susitna Borough |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 53.1% | #29 of 134 | #4 of 19 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 48.1% | #48 of 150 ▲ 10 | #10 of 23 ▲ 3 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 49.6% | #33 of 150 ▲ 16 | #6 of 23 ▲ 5 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 263 | #100 of 169 | #21 of 27 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.2:1 | #14 of 125 | #3 of 22 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 49.6% | #104 of 125 | #17 of 22 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 38.4% | #85 of 142 | #18 of 21 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -6.7% | #104 of 115 | #11 of 14 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
263
+17 (+7%) vs 2020
-21% since 2000-01, when it was 334
Student : Teacher
13.2:1
was 12.9:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 263 | 20 | 13.2:1 | 38% (101) |
| 2023-24 | 272 | 18.3 | 14.9:1 | 46% (124) |
| 2022-23 | 274 | 19 | 14.4:1 | 43% (119) |
| 2020-21 | 246 | 19 | 12.9:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 282 | 18.5 | 15.2:1 | 50% (142) |
| 2015-16 | 303 | 20 | 15.2:1 | 49% (149) |
| 2010-11 | 301 | 21 | 14.3:1 | 44% (132) |
| 2000-01 | 334 | 17 | 19.6:1 | 36% (119) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Butte Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 7% (282 to 263); teachers up 8% (18.5 to 20).
About Butte Elementary
Located in Palmer, Alaska, Butte Elementary is a mid-sized elementary school. The school teaches pre-K through 5 and enrolls 263 students.
Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District runs Butte Elementary along with 48 other schools, enrolling 19,495 students in total.
The largest group at Butte Elementary is White students, at 69%. Other students are 13% multiracial, 10% Hispanic, and 7% Native American. By comparison, Matanuska-Susitna Borough residents are about 77% White. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 50%.
The student-to-teacher ratio is 13.2:1. The school has 20 full-time-equivalent teachers. Across elementary schools in Alaska, the average ratio is 15.3:1. Federal data show 38% of students (101) are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
Test results at Butte Elementary are 13.0 points above what its free or reduced-price lunch share predicts (53.1% actual, 40.1% predicted).
In the wider Matanuska-Susitna Borough area, the median household earns about $94,031 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 24% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 7%. Across Matanuska-Susitna Borough, 49 public schools serve about 19,495 students.
The closest school to Butte Elementary is Mat-Su Secondary School, located about 4.7 miles away. There are at least 8 more public schools inside ten miles. Butte Elementary's average proficiency of 53.1% compares with 39.1% for its nearest scored neighbors.
Butte Elementary is in rural territory close to an urban area, a location NCES labels Rural: Fringe.
Over 4 years, enrollment rose by 17 students, from 246 to 263.
This page is a place to ask questions and share updates about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies at Butte Elementary. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Matanuska-Susitna Borough at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
112,988
Census ACS
Median income
$94,031
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
24%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
49
19,495 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District
- Mat-Su Central SchoolCombined · 2,780 students
- Colony High SchoolHigh · 1,046 students
- Wasilla High SchoolHigh · 816 students
- Colony Middle SchoolElementary · 771 students
- Mat-Su Career & Tech Ed High SchoolHigh · 705 students
- Teeland Middle SchoolElementary · 643 students
Other schools in Palmer
- Colony High SchoolHigh · 1,046 students
- Colony Middle SchoolElementary · 771 students
- Palmer High SchoolHigh · 616 students
- Palmer Middle SchoolMiddle · 563 students
- Pioneer Peak ElementaryElementary · 449 students
- Birchtree Charter SchoolElementary · 416 students
Nearby schools
- Mat-Su Secondary School4.7 mi · 10
- Palmer Middle School5.2 mi · 563
- Academy Charter School5.7 mi · 268
- Swanson Elementary6.1 mi · 348
- Sherrod Elementary6.1 mi · 383
- Palmer High School6.4 mi · 616
Frequently asked questions
About Butte ElementaryHow many students attend Butte Elementary?
Butte Elementary enrolls approximately 263 students in grades PK-05.
Is Butte Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Butte Elementary is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many teachers does Butte Elementary have?
Butte Elementary employs 20 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 13.2:1.
How diverse is Butte Elementary?
Butte Elementary reports a student body of 69% White, 10% Hispanic, 0% Black, 1% Asian, 13% Two or more.
Who oversees Butte Elementary?
Butte Elementary is overseen by Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District in Matanuska-Susitna Borough.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.