OGEMA ELEMENTARY

OGEMA ELEMENTARY, a tight-knit primary school in OGEMA, Minnesota, operated by Waubun-Ogema-White Earth Schools, instructs 251 students, covering grades pre-K through 3. Compared to the state average of about 344 students per school, that is 27% leaner than typical.

Waubun-Ogema-White Earth Schools comprises 4 schools with combined enrollment of 727 students; OGEMA ELEMENTARY is among them.

On demographics, OGEMA ELEMENTARY shows that nearly all students (83%) are Native American. Beyond that, the school lists 16% White.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 24 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 10.6:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.7:1, putting OGEMA ELEMENTARY tighter than the state norm the norm. About 64% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. That share is above Becker County's rate of about 41%.

With demographic context factored in, OGEMA ELEMENTARY performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 30.6%, the actual is 31.6%, a residual of +1.0 points.

In the broader community, the surrounding county (Becker County) shows that median household income runs about $71,388, roughly 28% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 7%. In all, Becker County runs 22 public schools (combined enrollment of about 4,637 students), of which OGEMA ELEMENTARY is one.

Nearest neighbor: Circle of Life Academy, around 4.9 miles off. 4 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 OGEMA ELEMENTARY at 2nd of 6; the average score across the group is 26.4%.

Geographically, the school is in an outlying area.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count declined 25%: 333 students in 2018 compared to 251 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 21% to 16% across the same window. Class-load math has narrowed: from 12.1:1 in 2018 to 10.6:1 in 2025.

On this page, members of the OGEMA ELEMENTARY community share and discuss fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.