Enrollment
302
Elementary
DISTRICT 150 · STATE 277
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NORTHWEST ARCTIC BOROUGH SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 020062500298
June Nelson Elementary
744 Third Ave, Kotzebue, AK 99752 · (907) 442-1877 · Northwest Arctic Borough
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL302 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
15.9:1
19 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.7:1 · STATE 15.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
83%
251 students
DISTRICT 96% · 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
Student demographics
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
June Nelson Elementary→Kotzebue Middle/High School
Based on grade levels within Northwest Arctic Borough School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
AK STAR + Alaska Science 2024-25 . % Advanced + ProficientEnglish Language Arts
8.6%
AK avg 36.1% . +3.3pp since 2023
Math
10.2%
AK avg 34.6% . +0.5pp since 2023
What this means: On the AK STAR + Alaska Science, Alaska's statewide test, about 9 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 10 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 3 points since 2023, while math scores have held steady.
Source: AK STAR + Alaska Science. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of AK schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
9.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
24.6%
based on AK schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-15.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 10% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 25% typical for Alaska schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
302
-95 (-24%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
15.9:1
was 16.0:1
% White
3%
was 5%
% Hispanic
0%
was 1%
% Black
0%
was 1%
% Asian
3%
was 0%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About June Nelson Elementary
June Nelson Elementary is an average-sized primary school in Kotzebue, Alaska, run under Northwest Arctic Borough School District. The school educates 302 students in grades pre-K through 5.
June Nelson Elementary is one of 13 schools operated by Northwest Arctic Borough School District, a district that enrolls 1,945 students overall.
On the student-mix side, June Nelson Elementary lists that the student body is overwhelmingly Native American (82%). Other groups include 12% multiracial, 3% White, 3% Asian.
On the resource side, The school currently runs with 19 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 15.9:1. That tracks the state average closely. About 83% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. Set against Northwest Arctic Borough (around 94%), the school's rate is noticeably below typical.
On a demographically-adjusted basis, June Nelson Elementary falls in the UNDERPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations residual. Given its student profile, a typical campus would land near 24.6%; this one comes in at 9.6%, -15.0 points off the demographic line.
In the surrounding community, census data for Northwest Arctic Borough shows the typical household earns roughly $84,018 per year, 11% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 15%. June Nelson Elementary is one of 13 public schools in Northwest Arctic Borough (combined enrollment of about 1,945 students).
The closest other public school is Kotzebue Middle/High School, roughly 0.0 miles away. 2 of the 2 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius.
The school occupies a rural site.
Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at June Nelson Elementary has edged down 24%, going from 397 students in 2018 to 302 in 2025.
In the discussion threads here, recent activity here tends to focus on school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.
Northwest Arctic Borough at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
7,441
Census ACS
Median income
$84,018
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
11%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
15%
Below federal line
Schools in county
13
1,945 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Northwest Arctic Borough School District
- Kotzebue Middle/High SchoolHigh · 299 students
- Davis-Ramoth SchoolCombined · 252 students
- Buckland SchoolCombined · 224 students
- Aqqaluk High/Noorvik ElementaryCombined · 212 students
- Napaaqtugmiut SchoolCombined · 161 students
- Kisimgiugtuq SchoolCombined · 150 students
Other schools in Kotzebue
- Kotzebue Middle/High SchoolHigh · 299 students
- NWABSD Home SchoolCombined · 25 students
Nearby schools
- Kotzebue Middle/High School0.0 mi · 299
- NWABSD Home School0.0 mi · 25
Frequently asked questions
About June Nelson ElementaryHow many students attend June Nelson Elementary?
June Nelson Elementary enrolls approximately 302 students in grades PK-05.
Is June Nelson Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
June Nelson Elementary is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many teachers does June Nelson Elementary have?
June Nelson Elementary employs 19 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.9:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at June Nelson Elementary?
At June Nelson Elementary, the student body is approximately 3% White, 3% Asian, 12% Two or more.
Is June Nelson Elementary public or private?
June Nelson Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by Northwest Arctic Borough School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.