Enrollment
261
Elementary
DISTRICT 210 · STATE 325
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HARTLEY-MELVIN-SANBORN COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 191366001962
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary School
400 3rd St NW, Hartley, IA 51346 · (712) 928-2020 · O'Brien County
GRADES PK–04ELEMENTARY43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL261 STUDENTS
A+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 95% of Iowa public elementary schools
- A-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A+Beats 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 Iowa public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
11.9:1
22 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.0:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
50%
131 students
DISTRICT 50% · STATE 41%
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 | 25 | 10% |
| Kindergarten | 58 | 22% |
| Grade 1 | 43 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 46 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 46 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 43 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (58) is 35% larger than its 4th grade class (43).
Student demographics
32%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 33% · STATE 48% · 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
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary School→Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Middle School→Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High School
Based on grade levels within Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
QUIET COMMUNITY
Be the first to start a discussion at Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary School.
START A DISCUSSIONTest scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
80.9%
IA avg 73.6% . -1.1pp since 2023
Math
81.0%
IA avg 70.9% . -3.3pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 81 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 81 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Iowa schools, those numbers are about 74 and 71. Reading and writing scores are down about 1 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 3 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 80.9% | 81.0% |
| 2023-24 | 82.0% | 84.3% |
% Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: ISASP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of IA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
82.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
66.8%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+15.3pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 82% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 67% typical for Iowa schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 15 points, placing it in Iowa's top 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 Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary School
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary School's state test result (82.2% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary School this school | 261 | 50.2% | 82.2% |
| Pocahontas Area Elementary School Pocahontas | 265 | 50.2% | 70.7% |
| AGWSR Elementary School Ackley | 227 | 50.7% | 67.4% |
| Newell-Fonda Elementary Newell | 280 | 46.8% | 67.0% |
| Sioux Central Elementary School Sioux Rapids | 229 | 45.4% | 71.4% |
| CR-B Elementary School Coon Rapids | 233 | 50.2% | 77.8% |
Matched among Iowa 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 Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 82.2% | #92 of 564 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 81.0% | #201 of 564 ▼ 82 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 80.9% | #133 of 564 ▼ 52 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 261 | #453 of 705 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.9:1 | #104 of 561 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 31.6% | #325 of 561 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 50.2% | #215 of 666 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +11.1% | #80 of 168 |
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
261
+42 (+19%) vs 2020
-23% since 1990-91, when it was 341
Student : Teacher
11.9:1
was 12.2:1
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 | 261 | 21.9 | 11.9:1 | 50% (131) |
| 2023-24 | 274 | 22.5 | 12.2:1 | 50% (138) |
| 2022-23 | 270 | 22.8 | 11.8:1 | 51% (139) |
| 2020-21 | 219 | 18 | 12.2:1 | 49% (108) |
| 2017-18 | 235 | 22.1 | 10.6:1 | 50% (117) |
| 2015-16 | 281 | 21 | 13.4:1 | 54% (151) |
| 2010-11 | 245 | 22 | 11.1:1 | 49% (120) |
| 2000-01 | 281 | 26 | 10.8:1 | 27% (76) |
| 1990-91 | 341 | 22 | 15.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 11% (235 to 261); teachers down 1% (22.1 to 21.9).
About Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary School
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary School is the name of a small elementary school in Hartley, Iowa. It is open to students in pre-K through 4 and enrolls 261 students.
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary School is part of Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Comm School District, where 3 schools serve 629 students.
By race and ethnicity, Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary School is 81% White. Next come 15% Hispanic. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 32, compared with 70 nationally.
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary School lists 21.9 full-time-equivalent teachers; that is about 11.9 students per teacher. Across elementary schools in Iowa, the average ratio is 13.7:1. Free or reduced-price lunch covers 50% of the student body. Among public schools in O'Brien County, the average eligibility rate is 40%.
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary School earns an A+ on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 95% of Iowa public elementary schools.
Given its lunch-eligibility share, the predicted average proficiency rate across its state test results for Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary School is 66.8%. It actually posts 82.2%, which is 15.3 points higher and in the top 10% of Iowa schools.
In O'Brien County, home to about 14,126 people, the median household earns about $68,356 a year, roughly 22% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 9%. Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary School shares O'Brien County with 8 other public schools.
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary School's closest public school neighbor is Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High School, less than a tenth of a mile away. A ten-mile radius around the school includes 3 other public schools. Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary School's average proficiency of 82.2% compares with 75.0% for its nearest scored neighbors.
On the NCES locale scale, the school is Rural: Remote.
A 19% increase took enrollment from 219 in 2020-21 to 261 in 2024-25.
This page collects posts and questions about Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary School, such as fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
O'Brien County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
14,126
Census ACS
Median income
$68,356
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
22%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
9
2,377 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Comm School District
- Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High SchoolHigh · 203 students
- Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Middle SchoolMiddle · 165 students
Nearby schools
- Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High School0.1 mi · 203
- Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Middle School8.7 mi · 165
- South O'Brien Elem School - Primghar Center9.9 mi · 328
- Clay Central-Everly Elementary13.1 mi · 53
- Johnson Elementary16.7 mi · 201
- Lincoln Elementary School17.1 mi · 442
Frequently asked questions
About Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary SchoolHow many students attend Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary School?
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary School enrolls approximately 261 students in grades PK-04.
Is Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades PK-04.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary School is approximately 11.9:1 (22 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary School?
At Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary School, the student body is approximately 81% White, 15% Hispanic, 2% Black, 2% Two or more.
Is Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary School public or private?
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.