Enrollment
238
Elementary
DISTRICT 296 · STATE 344
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BEMIDJI PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 270444000196
J.W. Smith Elementary
1712 AMERICA AVE, BEMIDJI, MN 56601 · (218) 333-3290 · Beltrami County
GRADES PK–03ELEMENTARY33-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL238 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
11.6:1
20 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.3:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
82%
196 students
DISTRICT 53% · 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 | 33 | 14% |
| Kindergarten | 55 | 23% |
| Grade 1 | 51 | 21% |
| Grade 2 | 49 | 21% |
| Grade 3 | 50 | 21% |
Student demographics
54%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 47% · 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
J.W. Smith Elementary→Gene Dillon Elementary School
Based on grade levels within Bemidji Public School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
MCA 2024-25 . % Meets or Exceeds StandardsEnglish Language Arts
16.0%
MN avg 49.7%
Math
20.0%
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 20 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
17.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
20.8%
based on MN schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-3.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 17% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 21% 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 J.W. Smith Elementary
J.W. Smith Elementary's state test result (17.3% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| J.W. Smith Elementary this school | 238 | 82.4% | 17.3% |
| MAHNOMEN ELEMENTARY MAHNOMEN | 319 | 82.8% | 17.7% |
| MYERS-WILKINS ELEMENTARY DULUTH | 329 | 84.8% | 22.7% |
| Onamia Elementary School ONAMIA | 131 | 77.1% | 25.1% |
| Anishinabe Academy Elementary MINNEAPOLIS | 183 | 91.3% | 7.6% |
| NAYTAHWAUSH COMMUNITY SCHOOL NAYTAHWAUSH | 134 | 81.3% | 22.7% |
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 J.W. Smith Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Minnesota | In Beltrami County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 17.3% | #785 of 844 | #10 of 13 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 20.0% | #749 of 844 | #9 of 13 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 16.0% | #806 of 844 | #10 of 13 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 238 | #741 of 1,130 | #7 of 17 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.6:1 | #154 of 769 | #1 of 7 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 53.8% | #334 of 796 | #1 of 7 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 82.4% | #91 of 942 | #2 of 15 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -42.9% | #17 of 499 | #4 of 7 |
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
238
+51 (+27%) vs 2020
-34% since 1990-91, when it was 363
Student : Teacher
11.6:1
was 11.7:1
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 | 238 | 20.5 | 11.6:1 | 82% (196) |
| 2023-24 | 258 | 22.6 | 11.4:1 | 84% (216) |
| 2022-23 | 237 | 21.8 | 10.9:1 | 87% (206) |
| 2020-21 | 187 | 16 | 11.7:1 | 67% (126) |
| 2017-18 | 417 | 26.2 | 15.9:1 | 78% (326) |
| 2015-16 | 403 | 25 | 16.1:1 | 78% (316) |
| 2010-11 | 411 | 24 | 17.1:1 | 75% (309) |
| 2000-01 | 329 | 23 | 14.3:1 | 64% (210) |
| 1990-91 | 363 | 20 | 18.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for J.W. Smith Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 43% (417 to 238); teachers down 22% (26.2 to 20.5).
About J.W. Smith Elementary
Students in BEMIDJI, Minnesota, attend J.W. Smith Elementary, a small elementary school. A federal count lists 238 students at the school, in pre-K through 3. Average enrollment for elementary schools in Minnesota is about 344, so this school runs 31% smaller than that.
The district, Bemidji Public School District, operates 14 schools serving 4,722 students.
J.W. Smith Elementary is 63% Native American by enrollment. The rest of enrollment is 23% White, 7% multiracial, 3% Hispanic, and 2% Black. The school's diversity index is 54%, meaning two students picked at random have a 54% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Teacher staffing is 20.5 full-time equivalents, or about 11.6 students per teacher. This ratio sits 2.1 below the 13.7:1 average for elementary schools in Minnesota. Eligibility for subsidized school meals is 82%. It compares with 54% for public schools in Beltrami County.
In Minnesota, J.W. Smith Elementary is in the middle band of BeatsExpectations: 17.3% actual against a predicted 20.8%.
In the county around the school, Beltrami County, the median household income is $68,975, 32% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 10% of people live in poverty. There are 38 public schools in Beltrami County, enrolling about 8,088 students in all.
The school nearest to J.W. Smith Elementary is Lakeside Learning Center, at a distance of about 0.9 miles. Other public schools within five miles number at least 8. J.W. Smith Elementary is 5th of 5 nearby schools by average proficiency rate.
J.W. Smith Elementary is in a town far from an urbanized area, a location NCES labels Town: Remote.
Enrollment grew 27% from its 2020-21 level of 187.
Posts about school events, clubs, and volunteer needs are welcome on this page. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Beltrami County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
46,512
Census ACS
Median income
$68,975
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
32%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
38
8,088 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Bemidji Public School District
- Bemidji Senior HighHigh · 1,537 students
- Bemidji MiddleMiddle · 967 students
- Gene Dillon Elementary SchoolElementary · 667 students
- Lincoln ElementaryElementary · 320 students
- Horace May ElementaryElementary · 300 students
- Northern ElementaryElementary · 282 students
Other schools in BEMIDJI
- Bemidji Senior HighHigh · 1,537 students
- Bemidji MiddleMiddle · 967 students
- Gene Dillon Elementary SchoolElementary · 667 students
- Lincoln ElementaryElementary · 320 students
- Horace May ElementaryElementary · 300 students
- Northern ElementaryElementary · 282 students
Nearby schools
- Lakeside Learning Center0.9 mi · 7
- TREKNORTH HIGH SCHOOL0.9 mi · 144
- Trek North Middle School0.9 mi · 109
- Oshki Manidoo Center1.0 mi · 4
- First City School1.1 mi · 48
- Aurora Waasakone Community of Learn1.2 mi · 133
Frequently asked questions
About J.W. Smith ElementaryHow many students attend J.W. Smith Elementary?
J.W. Smith Elementary enrolls approximately 238 students in grades PK-03.
Is J.W. Smith Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
J.W. Smith Elementary is an elementary school covering grades PK-03.
How many teachers does J.W. Smith Elementary have?
J.W. Smith Elementary employs 20 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 11.6:1.
What is the student diversity at J.W. Smith Elementary?
Student demographics at J.W. Smith Elementary are roughly 23% White, 3% Hispanic, 2% Black, 2% Asian, 7% Two or more.
What district is J.W. Smith Elementary in?
J.W. Smith Elementary is part of Bemidji Public School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.