LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY

As a close-knit elementary school in LESTER PRAIRIE, Minnesota, LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY serves 213 students from grades pre-K through 6, overseen by LESTER PRAIRIE PUBLIC SCHOOL DIST.. That puts it 38% leaner than the typical public school in Minnesota, which averages around 344 students.

LESTER PRAIRIE PUBLIC SCHOOL DIST. comprises 2 schools with combined enrollment of 435 students; LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY is among them.

Demographically, LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY lists that the largest single group is White, at 70% of enrollment. Other groups include 26% Hispanic, 2% multiracial. By comparison, McLeod County as a whole is about 90% White, so the school skews noticeably less White than its surroundings.

On the resource side, The school currently runs with 18 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 12.0:1. The state averages around 13.7:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Roughly 36% of students at LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

With demographic context factored in, LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 45.6%, the actual is 35.7%, a residual of -9.9 points.

Around the school, McLeod County reports that the typical household earns roughly $80,084 per year, about 20% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 7%. LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY is one of 22 public schools in McLeod County (combined enrollment of about 5,121 students).

The closest other public school is LESTER PRAIRIE SECONDARY, roughly 0.0 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a ten-mile radius, suggesting a relatively low-density school footprint. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY at 4th of 6; the average score across the group is 38.5%.

The school occupies a countryside site.

Five-year trend. LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY's enrollment has decreased 12% since 2018, when it stood at 241 (now 213). White enrollment moved from 76% to 70% across the same window. Class-load math has tightened: from 13.1:1 in 2018 to 12.0:1 in 2025.

On allk12, members of the LESTER PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY community share and discuss science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.