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Parents: what's one thing you'd want the Paynesville Area Elementary administration to hear?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
429
Elementary
DISTRICT 447 · STATE 344
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PAYNESVILLE AREA SCHOOLS·NCES 272814001240
Paynesville Area Elementary
205 W MILL ST, PAYNESVILLE, MN 56362 · (320) 243-3725 · Stearns County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY42-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL429 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
14.4:1
30 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.5:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
30%
127 students
DISTRICT 29% · 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 | 21 | 5% |
| Kindergarten | 62 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 67 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 64 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 70 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 78 | 18% |
| Grade 5 | 67 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (62) is 7% smaller than its 5th grade class (67).
Student demographics
18%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 17% · 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
Paynesville Area Elementary→Paynesville Area Secondary School
Based on grade levels within Paynesville Area Schools. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
MCA 2024-25 . % Meets or Exceeds StandardsEnglish Language Arts
59.6%
MN avg 49.7%
Math
57.7%
MN avg 45.3%
What this means: On the MCA, Minnesota's statewide test, about 60 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 58 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
54.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
49.2%
based on MN schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+5.2pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 54% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 49% 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 Paynesville Area Elementary
Paynesville Area Elementary's state test result (54.4% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paynesville Area Elementary this school | 429 | 29.6% | 54.4% |
| BONNER ELEMENTARY STEWARTVILLE | 411 | 28.5% | N/A |
| Watertown-Mayer Elementary School WATERTOWN | 482 | 30.3% | 65.7% |
| Voyager Elementary ALEXANDRIA | 446 | 27.8% | 54.4% |
| ROYALTON ELEMENTARY ROYALTON | 420 | 30.5% | 53.7% |
| EDEN VALLEY ELEMENTARY EDEN VALLEY | 383 | 31.1% | 55.2% |
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 Paynesville Area Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Minnesota | In Stearns County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 54.4% | #252 of 844 | #5 of 21 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 57.7% | #312 of 844 | #8 of 21 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 59.6% | #210 of 844 | #4 of 21 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 429 | #429 of 1,130 | #11 of 28 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.4:1 | #469 of 769 | #15 of 21 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 17.9% | #695 of 796 | #15 of 21 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 29.6% | #691 of 942 | #17 of 24 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +6.7% | #141 of 244 | #8 of 11 |
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
429
+34 (+9%) vs 2020
-26% since 1990-91, when it was 582
Student : Teacher
14.4:1
was 12.3:1
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 | 429 | 29.8 | 14.4:1 | 30% (127) |
| 2023-24 | 436 | 27 | 16.1:1 | 29% (127) |
| 2022-23 | 405 | 28.2 | 14.3:1 | 30% (121) |
| 2020-21 | 395 | 32 | 12.3:1 | 20% (78) |
| 2017-18 | 402 | 31.1 | 12.9:1 | 34% (138) |
| 2015-16 | 431 | 30 | 14.4:1 | 39% (167) |
| 2010-11 | 501 | 34 | 14.7:1 | 43% (214) |
| 2000-01 | 503 | 32 | 15.7:1 | 31% (156) |
| 1990-91 | 582 | 33 | 17.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Paynesville Area Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 7% (402 to 429); teachers down 4% (31.1 to 29.8).
About Paynesville Area Elementary
Paynesville Area Elementary is an elementary school located in PAYNESVILLE, Minnesota, in Stearns County. The school's enrollment of 429 students covers pre-K through 5. Enrollment is 25% higher than the average for elementary schools in Minnesota, which is about 344.
Paynesville Area Elementary belongs to Paynesville Area Schools, a district of 2 schools and 894 students.
White students make up 90% of enrollment at Paynesville Area Elementary. Smaller groups are 5% Hispanic and 3% multiracial. For comparison, the population of Stearns County is roughly 82% White. Paynesville Area Elementary's diversity index is 18%, against a US figure of 70%.
Paynesville Area Elementary's 29.8 full-time-equivalent teachers put its ratio at 14.4:1. On average, elementary schools in Minnesota have 13.7:1, compared with 14.4:1 here. The school's rate of free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is 30%. The rate at public schools in Stearns County averages 44%, higher than here.
Paynesville Area Elementary sits between the top and bottom 10% of Minnesota schools on BeatsExpectations, with an actual average proficiency rate on state tests of 54.4% and a predicted 49.2%.
Stearns County has about 160,865 residents, and the median household income is $77,066, about 29% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 8%. In all, Stearns County has 74 public schools and roughly 24,160 students.
The closest public school to Paynesville Area Elementary is WCED 18-22 Program, about 0.5 miles away. Counting only straight-line distance, 2 other public schools are within five miles. Among its closest neighbors with test data, Paynesville Area Elementary is 2nd of 7 on proficiency.
NCES assigns Paynesville Area Elementary the locale Rural: Distant, meaning in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
Compared with 2020-21, the school had 34 more students in 2024-25. The number of students per teacher rose from 12.3 to 14.4 over 4 years.
Conversations here can range across school safety, transportation, and start times. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Stearns County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
160,865
Census ACS
Median income
$77,066
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
29%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
74
24,160 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Paynesville Area Schools
- Paynesville Area Secondary SchoolHigh · 465 students
- PAYNESVILLE MIDDLECombined
Other schools in PAYNESVILLE
- Paynesville Area Secondary SchoolHigh · 465 students
- WCED 18-22 ProgramHigh · 10 students
- PAYNESVILLE MIDDLECombined
Nearby schools
- WCED 18-22 Program0.5 mi · 10
- Paynesville Area Secondary School0.6 mi · 465
- EDEN VALLEY SECONDARY9.1 mi · 425
- EDEN VALLEY ELEMENTARY9.4 mi · 383
- RICHMOND ELEMENTARY11.0 mi · 135
- NEW LONDON-SPICER SR.12.6 mi · 448
Frequently asked questions
About Paynesville Area ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Paynesville Area Elementary?
Paynesville Area Elementary enrolls approximately 429 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Paynesville Area Elementary serve?
Paynesville Area Elementary serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many teachers does Paynesville Area Elementary have?
Paynesville Area Elementary employs 30 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.4:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Paynesville Area Elementary?
At Paynesville Area Elementary, the student body is approximately 90% White, 5% Hispanic, 0% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Is Paynesville Area Elementary public or private?
Paynesville Area Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by Paynesville Area Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.