Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element

As a close-knit K-5 school in HECTOR, Minnesota, Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element enrolls 186 students from grades pre-K through 5, one of the schools within Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart. Enrollment runs roughly 46% leaner than the state mean of about 344.

Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element is one of 3 schools operated by Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart, a district that serves 451 students overall.

Demographically, Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element shows that White students make up the majority at 77%. Beyond that, the school records 16% Hispanic, 6% multiracial. By comparison, Renville County as a whole is about 87% White, so the school skews noticeably less White than its surroundings.

On the resource side, The school currently runs with 16 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 11.5:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.7:1, putting Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element tighter than the state norm the norm. Roughly 51% of students at Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element is in the OUTPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations model, which fits a per-state line through proficiency and FRL share. Schools with this campus's poverty mix typically land near 37.9%; this one delivers 64.9%, a residual of +27.0 points.

Around the school, community-level numbers for Renville County indicate median household income runs about $70,625, 18% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 7%. Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element is one of 10 public schools in Renville County (combined enrollment of about 1,806 students).

Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Seconda is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.0 miles from this campus. 2 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a ten-mile radius, suggesting a relatively low-density school footprint. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element at 1st of 7; the average score across the group is 41.7%.

The school occupies a low-density site.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element has shrank 25%, going from 247 students in 2018 to 186 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share fell from 86% to 77%.

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