Enrollment
65
Elementary
DISTRICT 80 · STATE 344
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CLIMAX-SHELLY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 270936000377
CLIMAX ELEMENTARY
111 E BROADWAY, CLIMAX, MN 56523 · (218) 857-2385 · Polk County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL65 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
8.9:1
7 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 10.9:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
74%
48 students
DISTRICT 66% · 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
Student demographics
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. 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
CLIMAX ELEMENTARY→CLIMAX SECONDARY
Based on grade levels within CLIMAX-SHELLY PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
MCA 2024-25 . % Meets or Exceeds StandardsEnglish Language Arts
16.1%
MN avg 49.7%
Math
16.1%
MN avg 45.3%
What this means: On the MCA, Minnesota's statewide test, about 16 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 16 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
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
15.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
25.4%
based on MN schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-9.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 16% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 25% typical for Minnesota schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Minnesota's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
65
-52 (-44%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
8.9:1
was 9.0:1
% White
72%
was 77%
% Hispanic
15%
was 17%
% Black
6%
was 1%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About CLIMAX ELEMENTARY
CLIMAX ELEMENTARY, an one-room-style K-5 school in CLIMAX, Minnesota, run under CLIMAX-SHELLY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, enrolls 65 students, covering grades pre-K through 5. By comparison, Minnesota's public schools average about 344 students each, so CLIMAX ELEMENTARY sits 81% smaller than that benchmark.
CLIMAX-SHELLY PUBLIC SCHOOLS runs 2 schools in total, collectively educating 159 students. CLIMAX ELEMENTARY is one of those campuses.
On the student-mix side, CLIMAX ELEMENTARY logs that the largest single group is White, at 72% of enrollment. Other groups include 15% Hispanic, 6% Black, 6% Native American. By comparison, Polk County as a whole is about 86% White, so the school skews meaningfully less White than its surroundings.
Looking at the economic backdrop, The school reports having 7 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 8.9:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 13.7:1 average. An estimated 74% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. By comparison, Polk County runs at roughly 43%, so the school's eligibility rate is above the surrounding baseline.
Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, CLIMAX ELEMENTARY sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 25.4%; this one delivers 15.7%.
Across the wider county, community-level numbers for Polk County indicate median household income runs about $73,107, roughly 28% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Polk County's 20 public schools (combined enrollment of about 5,075 students), CLIMAX ELEMENTARY is one campus in the mix.
The closest other public school is CLIMAX SECONDARY, roughly 0.0 miles away. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts CLIMAX ELEMENTARY at 4th of 4; the average score across the group is 26.3%.
CLIMAX ELEMENTARY operates from an outlying location.
Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count edged down 44%: 117 students in 2018 compared to 65 in 2025. Over the same period, the Black share rose from 1% to 6%.
On allk12, recent activity here tends to focus on school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Polk County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
30,705
Census ACS
Median income
$73,107
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
28%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
20
5,075 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Nearby schools
- CLIMAX SECONDARY0.0 mi · 94
- CENTRAL VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL12.0 mi · 101
- CENTRAL VALLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL12.0 mi · 109
- Fisher Elementary13.2 mi · 123
- Fisher Secondary13.2 mi · 99
- Northern Lights Academy14.3 mi · 5
Frequently asked questions
About CLIMAX ELEMENTARYHow large is CLIMAX ELEMENTARY?
CLIMAX ELEMENTARY enrolls approximately 65 students in grades PK-05.
Is CLIMAX ELEMENTARY an elementary, middle, or high school?
CLIMAX ELEMENTARY is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many students per teacher at CLIMAX ELEMENTARY?
Approximately 8.9:1 students per teacher at CLIMAX ELEMENTARY.
What is the student diversity at CLIMAX ELEMENTARY?
Student demographics at CLIMAX ELEMENTARY are roughly 72% White, 15% Hispanic, 6% Black.
What district is CLIMAX ELEMENTARY in?
CLIMAX ELEMENTARY is part of CLIMAX-SHELLY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.