Enrollment
186
Elementary
DISTRICT 103 · STATE 344
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BUFFALO LAKE-HECTOR-STEWART·NCES 270002300288
Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element
220 3RD ST W, HECTOR, MN 55342 · (320) 848-2233 · Renville County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL186 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
11.5:1
16 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.5:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
51%
94 students
DISTRICT 42% · STATE 48%
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 | 13 | 7% |
| Kindergarten | 30 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 36 | 19% |
| Grade 2 | 25 | 13% |
| Grade 3 | 25 | 13% |
| Grade 4 | 28 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 29 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (30) is about the same size as its 5th grade class (29).
Student demographics
38%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 38% · STATE 60% · 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
Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element→Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Seconda
Based on grade levels within Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
QUIET COMMUNITY
Be the first to start a discussion at Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element.
START A DISCUSSIONTest scores
MCA 2024-25 . % Meets or Exceeds StandardsEnglish Language Arts
65.1%
MN avg 49.7%
Math
75.6%
MN avg 45.3%
What this means: On the MCA, Minnesota's statewide test, about 65 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 76 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Minnesota schools, those numbers are about 50 and 45.
Source: MCA. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of MN schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
64.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
37.9%
based on MN schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+27.0pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 65% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 38% typical for Minnesota 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 27 points, placing it in Minnesota'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 Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element
Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element's state test result (64.9% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element this school | 186 | 50.5% | 64.9% |
| BOLD-Bird Island Elementary OLIVIA | 260 | 49.6% | 53.2% |
| Pearson Elementary WHEATON | 177 | 44.1% | 48.5% |
| Washington Learning Center NEW ULM | 180 | 43.9% | N/A |
| Fisher Elementary FISHER | 123 | 50.4% | 30.8% |
| GFW Elementary School GIBBON | 240 | 53.3% | 44.8% |
Matched among Minnesota 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 Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Minnesota |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 64.9% | #77 of 844 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 75.6% | #60 of 844 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 65.1% | #106 of 844 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 186 | #808 of 1,130 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 50.5% | #325 of 942 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -24.7% | #91 of 499 |
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
186
-16 (-8%) vs 2020
-28% since 2000-01, when it was 257
Student : Teacher
11.5:1
was 12.6:1
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 | 186 | 16.2 | 11.5:1 | 51% (94) |
| 2023-24 | 190 | 15.8 | 12.0:1 | 61% (116) |
| 2022-23 | 201 | 16.2 | 12.4:1 | 61% (122) |
| 2020-21 | 202 | 16 | 12.6:1 | 39% (78) |
| 2017-18 | 247 | 19.9 | 12.4:1 | 46% (114) |
| 2015-16 | 261 | 20 | 13.1:1 | 45% (117) |
| 2010-11 | 279 | 21 | 13.3:1 | 44% (123) |
| 2000-01 | 257 | 18 | 14.3:1 | 37% (95) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element.
Since 2017-18: students down 25% (247 to 186); teachers down 18% (19.9 to 16.2).
About Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element
Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element is a small elementary school found in HECTOR, Minnesota. Enrolled students number 186 students, in pre-K through 5. Enrollment is 46% lower than the average for elementary schools in Minnesota, which is about 344.
Besides Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element, Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart runs 2 other schools. The district enrolls 451 students.
Roughly 77% of students at Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element are White. Enrollment also includes 16% Hispanic and 6% multiracial. Among people living in Renville County, the White share is about 87%. The school's diversity index is 38%, meaning two students picked at random have a 38% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Federal data list 16.2 full-time-equivalent teachers at Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element in 2024-25, for a ratio of 11.5:1. That is 2.2 students per teacher below the 13.7:1 average for elementary schools in Minnesota. The school's rate of free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is 51%.
Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element is a top-10% school in Minnesota on BeatsExpectations, beating its predicted average proficiency rate on state tests of 37.9% with an actual 64.9%.
Census estimates describe Renville County this way: the median household income is $70,625, 18% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Besides Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element, Renville County has 9 other public schools.
The shortest distance from Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element to another public school is less than a tenth of a mile, to Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Seconda. Other public schools within ten miles: 2. Among 7 nearby schools that report test results, Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element ranks 1st on proficiency.
Its NCES locale code is Rural: Remote: the school is in rural territory far from an urban area.
Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element's enrollment dropped from 202 in 2020-21 to 186 in 2024-25. In 2020-21, the student-to-teacher ratio was 12.6:1; by 2024-25 it was 11.5:1.
Parents and students can post about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week at Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Renville County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
14,558
Census ACS
Median income
$70,625
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
18%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
10
1,806 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart
- Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart SecondaHigh · 245 students
- Little Stangs Learning CenterElementary · 20 students
Nearby schools
- Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Seconda0.0 mi · 245
- Little Stangs Learning Center5.0 mi · 20
- BOLD Middle School13.4 mi · 173
- BOLD Senior High School13.4 mi · 203
- BOLD-Bird Island Elementary13.4 mi · 260
- SWWC ELC - Cosmos13.6 mi · 39
Frequently asked questions
About Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart ElementHow large is Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element?
Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element enrolls approximately 186 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element serve?
Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element?
Approximately 11.5:1 students per teacher at Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element?
At Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element, the student body is approximately 77% White, 16% Hispanic, 1% Black, 6% Two or more.
What district is Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element in?
Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Element is part of Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.