Enrollment
136
Elementary
DISTRICT 203 · STATE 344
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·RED LAKE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 273051001301
PONEMAH ELEMENTARY
25039 ABINOOJIIN DR, PONEMAH, MN 56666 · (218) 554-7337 · Beltrami County
GRADES PK–08ELEMENTARY43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL136 STUDENTS
F
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 1% of Minnesota public elementary schools
- FTest 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
7.0:1
19 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 10.0:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
88%
120 students
DISTRICT 80% · 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 | 8 | 6% |
| Kindergarten | 19 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 19 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 15 | 11% |
| Grade 3 | 13 | 10% |
| Grade 4 | 12 | 9% |
| Grade 5 | 10 | 7% |
| Grade 6 | 15 | 11% |
| Grade 7 | 15 | 11% |
| Grade 8 | 10 | 7% |
This year's kindergarten class (19) is 90% larger than its 8th grade class (10).
Student demographics
7%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 7% · 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
Test scores
MCA 2024-25 . % Meets or Exceeds StandardsEnglish Language Arts
9.1%
MN avg 49.7%
Math
5.2%
MN avg 45.3%
What this means: On the MCA, Minnesota's statewide test, about 9 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 5 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
5.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
17.6%
based on MN schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-12.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 6% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 18% 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 PONEMAH ELEMENTARY
PONEMAH ELEMENTARY's state test result (5.5% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| PONEMAH ELEMENTARY this school | 136 | 88.2% | 5.5% |
| NAYTAHWAUSH COMMUNITY SCHOOL NAYTAHWAUSH | 134 | 81.3% | 22.7% |
| Anishinabe Academy Elementary MINNEAPOLIS | 183 | 91.3% | 7.6% |
| Endazhi-Nitaawiging RED LAKE | 113 | 78.8% | 7.9% |
| J.W. Smith Elementary BEMIDJI | 238 | 82.4% | 17.3% |
| RED LAKE EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER RED LAKE | 137 | 71.5% | N/A |
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 PONEMAH ELEMENTARY ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Minnesota | In Beltrami County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 5.5% | #840 of 844 | #13 of 13 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 5.2% | #839 of 844 | #11 of 13 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 9.1% | #836 of 844 | #13 of 13 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 136 | #878 of 1,130 | #12 of 17 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 88.2% | #52 of 942 | #1 of 15 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -33.0% | #53 of 499 | #6 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
136
-8 (-6%) vs 2020
-11% since 1990-91, when it was 153
Student : Teacher
7.0:1
was 6.5:1
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 | 136 | 19.5 | 7.0:1 | 88% (120) |
| 2023-24 | 115 | 18 | 6.4:1 | 79% (91) |
| 2022-23 | 130 | 17.9 | 7.3:1 | 98% (127) |
| 2020-21 | 144 | 22 | 6.5:1 | 98% (141) |
| 2017-18 | 203 | 29 | 7.0:1 | 93% (189) |
| 2015-16 | 219 | 23 | 9.5:1 | 96% (210) |
| 2010-11 | 191 | 22 | 8.7:1 | 92% (175) |
| 2000-01 | 189 | 34 | 5.6:1 | 98% (186) |
| 1990-91 | 153 | 14 | 10.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for PONEMAH ELEMENTARY.
Since 2017-18: students down 33% (203 to 136); teachers down 33% (29 to 19.5).
About PONEMAH ELEMENTARY
PONEMAH ELEMENTARY is listed by the National Center for Education Statistics as an elementary school in PONEMAH, Minnesota. Students in pre-K through 8 make up the school's enrollment of 136 students. By comparison, elementary schools in Minnesota enroll about 344 students on average.
PONEMAH ELEMENTARY reports to RED LAKE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT, which has 9 schools and 1,519 students.
PONEMAH ELEMENTARY is 96% Native American by enrollment. The next largest groups are 2% Hispanic. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 7%.
A staff of 19.5 full-time-equivalent teachers puts the student-to-teacher ratio at 7.0:1. The average for elementary schools in Minnesota, 13.7:1, is higher. The share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch is 88%. The average for public schools in Beltrami County is 54%.
On the allk12 Grade, PONEMAH ELEMENTARY lands at F, ahead of 1% of Minnesota public elementary schools.
Based on student poverty, the model expects 17.6% at PONEMAH ELEMENTARY; the school's average proficiency rate across its state test results is 5.5%.
Beltrami County is the school's county. There, the median household earns about $68,975 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 32% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 10%. PONEMAH ELEMENTARY shares Beltrami County with 37 other public schools.
Measured in a straight line, RED LAKE JUVENILE DETENTION FACLTY is about 10.7 miles from PONEMAH ELEMENTARY. Its average proficiency rate of 5.5% is below the 7.7% average for nearby schools.
The school is in rural territory far from an urban area, according to its NCES locale (Rural: Remote).
The 2020-21-to-2024-25 change in enrollment was a 6% drop, from 144 to 136.
PONEMAH ELEMENTARY has a community page on allk12 for topics such as pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. You can also rate the school on this page.
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 RED LAKE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT
- RED LAKE ELEMENTARYElementary · 526 students
- RED LAKE SECONDARYHigh · 377 students
- Red Lake Middle SchoolMiddle · 268 students
- RED LAKE EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTERElementary · 137 students
- RED LAKE ALTERNATIVE LEARNINGHigh · 53 students
- Red Lake EC Special Education ExtElementary · 14 students
Nearby schools
- RED LAKE JUVENILE DETENTION FACLTY10.7 mi · 5
- RED LAKE MIDDLE LEVEL ALC10.7 mi · 3
- RED LAKE ALTERNATIVE LEARNING10.7 mi · 53
- RED LAKE SECONDARY10.7 mi · 377
- Red Lake EC Special Education Ext10.7 mi · 14
- Red Lake Middle School10.7 mi · 268
Frequently asked questions
About PONEMAH ELEMENTARYHow many students attend PONEMAH ELEMENTARY?
PONEMAH ELEMENTARY enrolls approximately 136 students in grades PK-08.
What grades does PONEMAH ELEMENTARY serve?
PONEMAH ELEMENTARY serves grades PK-08.
How many teachers does PONEMAH ELEMENTARY have?
PONEMAH ELEMENTARY employs 19 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 7.0:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at PONEMAH ELEMENTARY?
At PONEMAH ELEMENTARY, the student body is approximately 1% White, 2% Hispanic, 1% Two or more.
Is PONEMAH ELEMENTARY public or private?
PONEMAH ELEMENTARY is a public K-12 school, overseen by RED LAKE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.