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
F
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 0% of Alaska public elementary schools
- FTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- FBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Alaska public elementary schools
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, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 44 | 15% |
| Kindergarten | 47 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 44 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 49 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 45 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 30 | 10% |
| Grade 5 | 43 | 14% |
This year's kindergarten class (47) is 9% larger than its 5th grade class (43).
Student demographics
30%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 15% · 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
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.
AK STAR + Alaska Science results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 8.6% | 10.2% |
| 2023-24 | 5.3% | 9.7% |
% 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
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 →
Schools most like June Nelson Elementary
June Nelson Elementary's state test result (9.6% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| June Nelson Elementary this school | 302 | 83.1% | 9.6% |
| Gladys Jung Elementary Bethel | 309 | 82.5% | 9.8% |
| Alaska Native Cultural Charter School Anchorage | 357 | 85.2% | 22.4% |
| Ayaprun Elitnaurvik Bethel | 203 | 75.4% | 10.9% |
| Mikelnguut Elitnaurviat Bethel | 261 | 72.4% | N/A |
| Nome Elementary Nome | 306 | 99.0% | 26.5% |
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 June Nelson Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Alaska |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 9.6% | #134 of 134 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 10.2% | #144 of 150 ▲ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 8.6% | #147 of 150 ▲ 3 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 302 | #77 of 169 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.9:1 | #61 of 125 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 30.4% | #121 of 125 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 83.1% | #20 of 142 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -23.9% | #46 of 115 |
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
302
-34 (-10%) vs 2020
-35% since 1990-91, when it was 466
Student : Teacher
15.9:1
was 13.4:1
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 | 302 | 19 | 15.9:1 | 83% (251) |
| 2023-24 | 305 | 22 | 13.9:1 | 81% (247) |
| 2022-23 | 265 | 17 | 15.6:1 | 94% (249) |
| 2020-21 | 336 | 25 | 13.4:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 397 | 24.8 | 16.0:1 | 83% (330) |
| 2015-16 | 422 | 21 | 20.1:1 | 100% (422) |
| 2010-11 | 389 | 23 | 16.9:1 | 52% (203) |
| 2000-01 | 502 | 37 | 13.6:1 | 43% (216) |
| 1990-91 | 466 | 25 | 18.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for June Nelson Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 24% (397 to 302); teachers down 23% (24.8 to 19).
About June Nelson Elementary
A mid-sized elementary school in Kotzebue, Alaska, June Nelson Elementary is part of Northwest Arctic Borough School District. The school runs pre-K through 5 and enrolls 302 students.
Northwest Arctic Borough School District operates 13 schools. Combined enrollment is 1,945 students.
By race and ethnicity, June Nelson Elementary is 82% Native American. The remaining shares are 12% multiracial, 3% White, and 3% Asian. A diversity index of 30% means there is a 30% chance two randomly chosen students at June Nelson Elementary are from different groups.
The school has 19 full-time-equivalent teachers and a ratio of 15.9 students per teacher. The 15.3:1 average for elementary schools in Alaska is close to this figure. Of all students at June Nelson Elementary, 83% are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. It compares with 94% for public schools in Northwest Arctic Borough.
June Nelson Elementary earns an F on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 0% of Alaska public elementary schools.
On allk12's BeatsExpectations measure, June Nelson Elementary is among the bottom 10% of schools in Alaska. Predicted: 24.6%. Actual: 9.6%.
In the wider Northwest Arctic Borough area, median household income comes to about $84,018, roughly 11% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 15% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Northwest Arctic Borough's 13 public schools enroll about 1,945 students and include June Nelson Elementary.
The closest school to June Nelson Elementary is NWABSD Home School, located less than a tenth of a mile away. In all, at least 2 other public schools sit within five miles of June Nelson Elementary.
The federal government classifies June Nelson Elementary's location as Rural: Remote.
A 10% drop took enrollment from 336 in 2020-21 to 302 in 2024-25. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 13.4:1 to 15.9:1.
You can use this page to share news and ask questions about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies. You can also rate the school on this page.
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
- NWABSD Home School0.0 mi · 25
- Kotzebue Middle/High School0.0 mi · 299
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.