Swift River

Swift River, a very small elementary school in New Salem, Massachusetts, operated by New Salem-Wendell, teaches 134 students, covering grades pre-K through 6. That puts it 65% leaner than the typical public school in Massachusetts, which averages around 381 students.

Operationally, Swift River answers to New Salem-Wendell, which sets policy, hires staff, and reports enrollment to the state.

On demographics, Swift River records that 87% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority. The remainder breaks down as 7% multiracial, 4% Hispanic. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

In terms of school funding signals, On paper, Swift River has 15 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 9.2:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 12.2:1 average.

In the surrounding community, census data for Franklin County shows the typical household earns roughly $74,907 per year, about 41% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and roughly 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Franklin County runs 36 public schools (combined enrollment of about 8,666 students), of which Swift River is one.

Ralph C Mahar Regional is the nearest neighboring public school, about 4.6 miles from this campus. Within ten miles, there are 8 other public schools, a sparser pattern than typical urban areas.

The campus sits in a rural setting.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count contracted 12%: 152 students in 2018 compared to 134 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio tightened from 10.6:1 in 2018 to 9.2:1 today.

Within the allk12 community for this school, members of the Swift River community share and discuss sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.