Enrollment
213
Elementary
DISTRICT 218 · STATE 344
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LESTER PRAIRIE PUBLIC SCHOOL DIST.·NCES 270264000048
LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY
131 HICKORY ST N, LESTER PRAIRIE, MN 55354 · (320) 395-2521 · McLeod County
GRADES PK–06ELEMENTARY42-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL213 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 17% of Minnesota public elementary schools
- CTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- DBeats 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
12.0:1
18 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.7:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
36%
77 students
DISTRICT 32% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 28 | 13% |
| Grade 1 | 17 | 8% |
| Grade 2 | 27 | 13% |
| Grade 3 | 34 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 28 | 13% |
| Grade 5 | 35 | 16% |
| Grade 6 | 44 | 21% |
This year's kindergarten class (28) is 36% smaller than its 6th grade class (44).
Student demographics
44%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 41% · 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
LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY→LESTER PRAIRIE SECONDARY
Based on grade levels within LESTER PRAIRIE PUBLIC SCHOOL DIST.. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
MCA 2024-25 . % Meets or Exceeds StandardsEnglish Language Arts
35.2%
MN avg 49.7%
Math
45.8%
MN avg 45.3%
What this means: On the MCA, Minnesota's statewide test, about 35 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 46 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
35.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
45.6%
based on MN schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-9.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 36% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 46% 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 LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY
LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY's state test result (35.7% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 3 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY this school | 213 | 36.2% | 35.7% |
| EDGERTON ELEMENTARY EDGERTON | 209 | 36.8% | 37.6% |
| Lincoln Elementary GLENCOE | 290 | 42.8% | N/A |
| South Elementary School SAINT PETER | 269 | 43.1% | N/A |
| Lewiston-Altura Elementary LEWISTON | 254 | 39.0% | 59.4% |
| Pearson Elementary WHEATON | 177 | 44.1% | 48.5% |
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 LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Minnesota | In McLeod County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 35.7% | #593 of 844 | #5 of 6 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 45.8% | #497 of 844 | #4 of 6 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 35.2% | #645 of 844 | #6 of 6 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 213 | #777 of 1,130 | #8 of 9 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.0:1 | #180 of 769 | #2 of 8 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 44.3% | #439 of 796 | #2 of 8 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 36.2% | #582 of 942 | #6 of 8 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -11.6% | #285 of 499 | 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
213
-29 (-12%) vs 2020
-19% since 1990-91, when it was 263
Student : Teacher
12.0:1
was 14.2:1
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 | 213 | 17.8 | 12.0:1 | 36% (77) |
| 2023-24 | 217 | 17.8 | 12.2:1 | 39% (84) |
| 2022-23 | 248 | 17.7 | 14.0:1 | 40% (99) |
| 2020-21 | 242 | 17 | 14.2:1 | 25% (61) |
| 2017-18 | 241 | 18.4 | 13.1:1 | 33% (79) |
| 2015-16 | 231 | 17 | 13.6:1 | 32% (73) |
| 2010-11 | 213 | 15 | 14.2:1 | 31% (67) |
| 2000-01 | 265 | 17 | 15.6:1 | 18% (47) |
| 1990-91 | 263 | 19 | 13.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY.
Since 2017-18: students down 12% (241 to 213); teachers down 3% (18.4 to 17.8).
About LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY
The public elementary school LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY is located in LESTER PRAIRIE, Minnesota. A federal count lists 213 students at the school, in pre-K through 6. Average enrollment for elementary schools in Minnesota is about 344, so this school runs 38% smaller than that.
District-wide, LESTER PRAIRIE PUBLIC SCHOOL DIST. has 2 schools and 435 students.
Roughly 70% of students at LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY are White. Other reported shares: 26% Hispanic and 2% multiracial. McLeod County's residents are about 90% White, 20 points above the school's share. The school's diversity index is 44%, meaning two students picked at random have a 44% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
The ratio of students to teachers is 12.0:1, with 17.8 full-time-equivalent teachers on staff. That is 1.7 students per teacher below the 13.7:1 average for elementary schools in Minnesota. The percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch is 36%. That tracks the 35% average for public schools in McLeod County.
Measured against Minnesota public elementary schools, LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY receives a C-. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
BeatsExpectations compares each school's average proficiency rate on state tests with a prediction based on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. For LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY, the prediction is 45.6% and the result is 35.7%.
According to the American Community Survey, in McLeod County, the median household income is $80,084, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 20%, and roughly 7% of residents are in poverty. LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY is one of 22 public schools in the county.
The next-closest public school is LESTER PRAIRIE SECONDARY, less than a tenth of a mile away. LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within ten miles. Ranking the closest schools with test data puts LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY at 4th of 6.
The school's locale code, Rural: Distant, means it is in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
The school enrolled 213 students in 2024-25, 29 fewer than the 242 it had in 2020-21. In 2020-21, the student-to-teacher ratio was 14.2:1; by 2024-25 it was 12.0:1.
Conversations here can range across school safety, transportation, and start times. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
McLeod County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
36,798
Census ACS
Median income
$80,084
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
20%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
22
5,121 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in LESTER PRAIRIE PUBLIC SCHOOL DIST.
- LESTER PRAIRIE SECONDARYHigh · 222 students
Nearby schools
- LESTER PRAIRIE SECONDARY0.0 mi · 222
- HOWARD LAKE WAVERLY WINSTED ECSE5.6 mi · 28
- WINSTED ELEMENTARY5.6 mi · 213
- LAKESIDE ELEMENTARY7.5 mi · 408
- GLENCOE-SILVER LAKE SENIOR HIGH9.0 mi · 468
- GSL Junior High School9.0 mi · 224
Frequently asked questions
About LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARYHow large is LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY?
LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY enrolls approximately 213 students in grades PK-06.
What age range does LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY serve?
LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY serves students from grade PK through grade 06.
How many students per teacher at LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY?
Approximately 12.0:1 students per teacher at LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY.
What is the student diversity at LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY?
Student demographics at LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY are roughly 70% White, 26% Hispanic, 0% Black, 2% Two or more.
Who oversees LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY?
LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY is overseen by LESTER PRAIRIE PUBLIC SCHOOL DIST. in McLeod County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.