Plains Elementary

Plains Elementary is an elementary-level community of low-enrollment scale in South Hadley, Massachusetts, part of South Hadley, educateing 271 students in grades pre-K through 1. By comparison, Massachusetts's public schools average about 381 students each, so Plains Elementary sits 29% below that benchmark.

Within South Hadley, which oversees 4 schools and 1,620 students, Plains Elementary is one campus in the system.

On the student-mix side, Plains Elementary lists that the largest single group is White, at 68% of enrollment. Other groups include 23% Hispanic, 5% multiracial, 2% Black. The wider county runs roughly 82% White, putting the school's mix noticeably less White than the area baseline.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 20 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 13.8:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 12.2:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical.

Zooming out to the county, the surrounding county (Hampshire County) shows that median household income runs about $87,001, roughly 52% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Hampshire County's 45 public schools (combined enrollment of about 16,626 students), Plains Elementary is one campus in the mix.

South Hadley High is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.6 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius.

Plains Elementary operates from an outer-ring location.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count contracted 20%: 340 students in 2018 compared to 271 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share decreased from 77% to 68%. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 16.2:1 in 2018 to 13.8:1 today.

On the community side, members of the Plains Elementary community share and discuss enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. Members of the school community can share what they know.