Enrollment
255
Elementary
DISTRICT 277 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HAMILTON-WENHAM·NCES 250567001459
Bessie Buker Elementary
1 School Street, Wenham, MA 01984 · (978) 468-5324 · Essex County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL255 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 89% of Massachusetts public elementary schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ·Beats expectations Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
- B-Three-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Massachusetts public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
14.2:1
18 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.5:1 · STATE 12.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
,
Title I proxy
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 38 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 39 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 40 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 64 | 25% |
| Grade 4 | 39 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 35 | 14% |
This year's kindergarten class (38) is 9% larger than its 5th grade class (35).
Student demographics
23%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 24% · STATE 65% · 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
Based on grade levels within Hamilton-Wenham. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
MCAS 2024-25 . % Meeting or Exceeding ExpectationsEnglish Language Arts
67.0%
MA avg 43.8% . +7.0pp since 2016
Math
72.0%
MA avg 42.2% . +13.0pp since 2016
What this means: On the MCAS, Massachusetts's statewide test, about 67 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 72 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Massachusetts schools, those numbers are about 44 and 42. Reading and writing scores are up about 7 points since 2016, while math scores are up about 13 points.
MCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 67.0% | 72.0% |
| 2023-24 | 62.0% | 71.0% |
| 2022-23 | 65.0% | 61.0% |
| 2021-22 | 71.0% | 66.0% |
| 2020-21 | 73.0% | 49.0% |
| 2018-19 | 74.0% | 63.0% |
| 2017-18 | 74.0% | 58.0% |
| 2016-17 | 60.0% | 59.0% |
% Meeting or Exceeding Expectations, all students and all tested grades.
Source: MCAS. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
Where Bessie Buker Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Massachusetts | In Essex County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 72.0% | #68 of 920 ▲ 27 | #5 of 111 ▲ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 67.0% | #95 of 920 ▲ 29 | #3 of 111 ▲ 7 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +1.0pp | #458 of 901 | #52 of 107 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 255 | #835 of 1,086 | #104 of 129 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.2:1 | #798 of 938 | #109 of 115 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 23.0% | #848 of 938 | #87 of 115 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -0.8% | #581 of 602 | #63 of 67 |
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
255
+32 (+14%) vs 2020
-3% since 2000-01, when it was 262
Student : Teacher
14.2:1
was 13.9:1
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 | 255 | 18 | 14.2:1 | N/A |
| 2023-24 | 259 | 19.6 | 13.3:1 | N/A |
| 2022-23 | 265 | 18.7 | 14.2:1 | N/A |
| 2020-21 | 223 | 16 | 13.9:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 257 | 16 | 16.1:1 | N/A |
| 2015-16 | 249 | 17 | 14.7:1 | N/A |
| 2010-11 | 266 | 18 | 14.8:1 | 9% (23) |
| 2000-01 | 262 | N/A | N/A | 2% (4) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Bessie Buker Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 1% (257 to 255); teachers up 12% (16 to 18).
About Bessie Buker Elementary
Bessie Buker Elementary runs as a small elementary school in Wenham, Massachusetts. It is open to students in kindergarten through 5 and enrolls 255 students. By comparison, elementary schools in Massachusetts enroll about 381 students on average.
Bessie Buker Elementary is one school in Hamilton-Wenham, a system of 5 schools with 1,669 students.
At Bessie Buker Elementary, 87% of students are White. It is also 6% Hispanic, 3% Asian, and 2% multiracial. For comparison, the population of Essex County is roughly 68% White. The diversity index for Bessie Buker Elementary is 23%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
With 18 full-time-equivalent teachers, the student-to-teacher ratio is about 14.2:1. Statewide, elementary schools in Massachusetts average 12.2:1.
Bessie Buker Elementary 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 89% of Massachusetts public elementary schools.
American Community Survey estimates for Essex County show that median household income comes to about $101,883, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 43% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 7%. Essex County counts 221 public schools with about 113,427 students.
Of the public schools around it, Bessie Buker Elementary is closest to Winthrop School, about 0.8 miles away. Bessie Buker Elementary has at least 8 other public schools within five miles.
The school's locale code, Suburb: Large, means it is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
By 2024-25, enrollment had risen to 255, from 223 in 2020-21.
People can post here about homework, tutoring, and testing dates and other school topics. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Essex County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
813,054
Census ACS
Median income
$101,883
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
43%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
221
113,427 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Hamilton-Wenham
- Hamilton-Wenham Regional HighHigh · 448 students
- Miles River MiddleMiddle · 391 students
- Winthrop SchoolElementary · 329 students
- Cutler SchoolElementary · 246 students
Nearby schools
- Winthrop School0.8 mi · 329
- Cutler School0.9 mi · 246
- North Beverly Elementary2.0 mi · 356
- Hamilton-Wenham Regional High2.3 mi · 448
- Miles River Middle2.4 mi · 391
- Danvers High3.0 mi · 784
Frequently asked questions
About Bessie Buker ElementaryHow large is Bessie Buker Elementary?
Bessie Buker Elementary enrolls approximately 255 students in grades KG-05.
What age range does Bessie Buker Elementary serve?
Bessie Buker Elementary serves students from grade KG through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Bessie Buker Elementary?
Approximately 14.2:1 students per teacher at Bessie Buker Elementary.
How diverse is Bessie Buker Elementary?
Bessie Buker Elementary reports a student body of 87% White, 6% Hispanic, 1% Black, 3% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Who oversees Bessie Buker Elementary?
Bessie Buker Elementary is overseen by Hamilton-Wenham in Essex County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.