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Does HEART OF THE LAKE ELEMENTARY have enough mental health and stress support?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
578
Elementary
DISTRICT 418 · STATE 344
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PERHAM-DENT PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 272823001247
HEART OF THE LAKE ELEMENTARY
810 2ND AVE SW, PERHAM, MN 56573 · (218) 346-5437 · Otter Tail County
GRADES PK–04ELEMENTARY43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL578 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 67% of Minnesota public elementary schools
- BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Minnesota public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
14.3:1
40 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.2:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
41%
237 students
DISTRICT 40% · STATE 48%
Community
5
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 | 36 | 6% |
| Kindergarten | 96 | 17% |
| Grade 1 | 105 | 18% |
| Grade 2 | 117 | 20% |
| Grade 3 | 118 | 20% |
| Grade 4 | 106 | 18% |
This year's kindergarten class (96) is 9% smaller than its 4th grade class (106).
Student demographics
36%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 33% · 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
Based on grade levels within PERHAM-DENT PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
MCA 2024-25 . % Meets or Exceeds StandardsEnglish Language Arts
46.1%
MN avg 49.7%
Math
60.3%
MN avg 45.3%
What this means: On the MCA, Minnesota's statewide test, about 46 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 60 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
50.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
43.0%
based on MN schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+7.7pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 51% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 43% 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 →
Schools most like HEART OF THE LAKE ELEMENTARY
HEART OF THE LAKE ELEMENTARY's state test result (50.7% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| HEART OF THE LAKE ELEMENTARY this school | 578 | 41.0% | 50.7% |
| Montgomery Pre K-8 MONTGOMERY | 608 | 38.0% | 40.8% |
| BLUFF VIEW ELEMENTARY LAKE CITY | 592 | 37.0% | 40.7% |
| LUVERNE ELEMENTARY LUVERNE | 515 | 36.7% | 56.3% |
| CHALLENGER ELEMENTARY THIEF RIVER FALLS | 727 | 43.2% | 46.0% |
| LINCOLN ELEMENTARY OWATONNA | 505 | 36.6% | 45.5% |
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 HEART OF THE LAKE ELEMENTARY ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Minnesota | In Otter Tail County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 50.7% | #326 of 844 | #7 of 10 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 60.3% | #266 of 844 | #7 of 10 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 46.1% | #466 of 844 | #10 of 10 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 578 | #185 of 1,130 | #1 of 15 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.3:1 | #467 of 769 | #7 of 10 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 35.9% | #512 of 796 | #2 of 11 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 41.0% | #470 of 942 | #5 of 11 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +5.9% | #156 of 244 | N/A |
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
578
+49 (+9%) vs 2020
-8% since 1990-91, when it was 627
Student : Teacher
14.3:1
was 11.3:1
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 | 578 | 40.3 | 14.3:1 | 41% (237) |
| 2023-24 | 596 | 45 | 13.2:1 | 42% (250) |
| 2022-23 | 575 | 44.5 | 12.9:1 | 47% (272) |
| 2020-21 | 529 | 47 | 11.3:1 | 35% (187) |
| 2017-18 | 546 | 37.2 | 14.7:1 | 41% (224) |
| 2015-16 | 530 | 38 | 13.9:1 | 45% (239) |
| 2010-11 | 453 | 36 | 12.6:1 | 58% (262) |
| 2000-01 | 442 | 29 | 15.2:1 | 36% (159) |
| 1990-91 | 627 | 34 | 18.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for HEART OF THE LAKE ELEMENTARY.
Since 2017-18: students up 6% (546 to 578); teachers up 8% (37.2 to 40.3).
About HEART OF THE LAKE ELEMENTARY
HEART OF THE LAKE ELEMENTARY is a high-enrollment elementary school based in PERHAM, Minnesota. Students in pre-K through 4 make up the school's enrollment of 578 students. That compares with an average of about 344 students for elementary schools in Minnesota.
PERHAM-DENT PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT is the district for HEART OF THE LAKE ELEMENTARY. It has 4 schools and 1,671 students.
Of every 100 students at HEART OF THE LAKE ELEMENTARY, about 79 are White. The school is also 12% Hispanic and 6% multiracial. The White share of the county population is higher, at 91%. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, HEART OF THE LAKE ELEMENTARY scores 36%.
For every teacher at HEART OF THE LAKE ELEMENTARY, there are about 14.3 students; the school has 40.3 full-time-equivalent teachers. That is in line with the 13.7:1 average for elementary schools in Minnesota. The eligibility rate for free or reduced-price meals is 41%. The average for public schools in Otter Tail County is similar, at 40%.
HEART OF THE LAKE ELEMENTARY holds a B+ allk12 Grade, placing it above 67% of Minnesota public elementary schools.
After adjusting for student poverty, HEART OF THE LAKE ELEMENTARY lands between the top and bottom 10% of Minnesota schools. Its average proficiency rate across its state test results is 50.7%; the prediction is 43.0%.
In the surrounding county, Otter Tail County, the median household earns about $72,255 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 28% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 5%. The county has 37 public schools and about 8,503 students.
Straight-line distance to the nearest public school, PRAIRIE WIND MIDDLE, is about 0.1 miles. Other public schools within five miles: 3. The average proficiency across nearby scored schools is 47.9%; HEART OF THE LAKE ELEMENTARY's is 50.7%, ranking 4th of 8.
The federal government classifies HEART OF THE LAKE ELEMENTARY's location as Rural: Remote.
In 2024-25, the school enrolled 578, up from 529 in 2020-21. Over the same period, the student-to-teacher ratio increased to 14.3:1, from 11.3:1.
This page is set up for the HEART OF THE LAKE ELEMENTARY community to discuss special education services, counseling, and support programs. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Otter Tail County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
60,475
Census ACS
Median income
$72,255
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
28%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
37
8,503 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in PERHAM-DENT PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT
- PERHAM SENIOR HIGHHigh · 529 students
- PRAIRIE WIND MIDDLEMiddle · 526 students
- PERHAM AREA LEARNING CENTERHigh · 38 students
Other schools in PERHAM
- PERHAM SENIOR HIGHHigh · 529 students
- PRAIRIE WIND MIDDLEMiddle · 526 students
- PERHAM AREA LEARNING CENTERHigh · 38 students
Nearby schools
- PRAIRIE WIND MIDDLE0.1 mi · 526
- PERHAM SENIOR HIGH0.2 mi · 529
- PERHAM AREA LEARNING CENTER0.2 mi · 38
- NEW YORK MILLS SECONDARY10.7 mi · 362
- NEW YORK MILLS ELEMENTARY10.7 mi · 460
- FRAZEE SECONDARY11.3 mi · 381
Frequently asked questions
About HEART OF THE LAKE ELEMENTARYHow many students attend HEART OF THE LAKE ELEMENTARY?
HEART OF THE LAKE ELEMENTARY enrolls approximately 578 students in grades PK-04.
What age range does HEART OF THE LAKE ELEMENTARY serve?
HEART OF THE LAKE ELEMENTARY serves students from grade PK through grade 04.
How many students per teacher at HEART OF THE LAKE ELEMENTARY?
Approximately 14.3:1 students per teacher at HEART OF THE LAKE ELEMENTARY.
How diverse is HEART OF THE LAKE ELEMENTARY?
HEART OF THE LAKE ELEMENTARY reports a student body of 79% White, 12% Hispanic, 1% Black, 1% Asian, 6% Two or more.
What district is HEART OF THE LAKE ELEMENTARY in?
HEART OF THE LAKE ELEMENTARY is part of PERHAM-DENT PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.