1
What's the vibe like in the hallways at Rippleside Elementary right now?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
476
Elementary
DISTRICT 330 · STATE 344
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·AITKIN PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 270276000059
Rippleside Elementary
225 2ND AVE SW, AITKIN, MN 56431 · (218) 927-4838 · Aitkin County
GRADES PK–06ELEMENTARY43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL476 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
13.5:1
35 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.6:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
47%
225 students
DISTRICT 44% · 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 | 52 | 11% |
| Kindergarten | 58 | 12% |
| Grade 1 | 52 | 11% |
| Grade 2 | 79 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 56 | 12% |
| Grade 4 | 65 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 53 | 11% |
| Grade 6 | 61 | 13% |
This year's kindergarten class (58) is about the same size as its 6th grade class (61).
Student demographics
15%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 16% · 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
Rippleside Elementary→Aitkin Secondary School
Based on grade levels within Aitkin Public School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
MCA 2024-25 . % Meets or Exceeds StandardsEnglish Language Arts
58.8%
MN avg 49.7%
Math
64.0%
MN avg 45.3%
What this means: On the MCA, Minnesota's statewide test, about 59 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 64 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
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of MN schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
54.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
39.7%
based on MN schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+15.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 55% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 40% typical for Minnesota schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 15 points, placing it in Minnesota's top 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 Rippleside Elementary
Rippleside Elementary's state test result (54.8% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rippleside Elementary this school | 476 | 47.3% | 54.8% |
| Cuyuna Range Elementary CROSBY | 533 | 47.7% | 39.2% |
| LINDBERGH ELEMENTARY LITTLE FALLS | 473 | 45.7% | 40.7% |
| MESABI EAST ELEMENTARY AURORA | 470 | 49.8% | 41.3% |
| NEW YORK MILLS ELEMENTARY NEW YORK MILLS | 460 | 43.9% | 58.1% |
| FALLS ELEMENTARY INTERNATIONAL FALLS | 425 | 50.1% | 42.7% |
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 Rippleside Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Minnesota |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 54.8% | #244 of 844 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 64.0% | #198 of 844 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 58.8% | #224 of 844 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 476 | #334 of 1,130 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.5:1 | #364 of 769 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 15.1% | #721 of 796 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 47.3% | #368 of 942 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -23.7% | #106 of 499 |
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
476
-42 (-8%) vs 2020
-27% since 1990-91, when it was 650
Student : Teacher
13.5:1
was 13.6:1
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 | 476 | 35.4 | 13.5:1 | 47% (225) |
| 2023-24 | 463 | 38.3 | 12.1:1 | 53% (244) |
| 2022-23 | 493 | 38.9 | 12.7:1 | 54% (266) |
| 2020-21 | 518 | 38 | 13.6:1 | 39% (200) |
| 2017-18 | 624 | 40.4 | 15.4:1 | 49% (304) |
| 2015-16 | 633 | 43 | 14.7:1 | 50% (316) |
| 2010-11 | 660 | 36 | 18.3:1 | 45% (297) |
| 2000-01 | 631 | 39 | 16.2:1 | 40% (251) |
| 1990-91 | 650 | 39 | 16.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Rippleside Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 24% (624 to 476); teachers down 13% (40.4 to 35.4).
About Rippleside Elementary
Rippleside Elementary is an elementary school with a street address in AITKIN, Minnesota. Classes run from pre-K through 6, and the school has 476 students. The average for elementary schools in Minnesota is about 344 students, so this school is 38% above average.
The 3 schools in Aitkin Public School District enroll 989 students altogether, Rippleside Elementary among them.
At Rippleside Elementary, White students make up 92% of the student body. It is also 4% multiracial and 2% Hispanic. That is close to the 93% White share among all Aitkin County residents. The chance that two students picked at random at Rippleside Elementary belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 15%.
The ratio of students to teachers is 13.5:1, with 35.4 full-time-equivalent teachers on staff. Elementary schools in Minnesota have a similar average ratio of 13.7:1. The percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch is 47%. That is close to the 47% average for public schools in Aitkin County.
Test results at Rippleside Elementary are 15.1 points above what its student poverty level predicts. The average proficiency rate on state tests is 54.8%, compared with a predicted 39.7%, which ranks in the top 10% in Minnesota.
Aitkin County census figures show that median household income is about $60,833, roughly 20% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 8%. Rippleside Elementary is among the 10 public schools in Aitkin County.
Aitkin Alternative Learning Program is the public school closest to Rippleside Elementary, about 0.4 miles away. Rippleside Elementary has 2 other public schools within five miles. Rippleside Elementary's average proficiency of 54.8% compares with 43.3% for its nearest scored neighbors.
Rippleside Elementary is in rural territory far from an urban area, a location NCES labels Rural: Remote.
The student count in 2024-25 was 476, 8% below the 518 of 2020-21.
Posts about school safety, transportation, and start times are welcome on this page. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Aitkin County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
16,056
Census ACS
Median income
$60,833
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
20%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
10
1,670 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Aitkin Public School District
- Aitkin Secondary SchoolHigh · 509 students
- Aitkin Alternative Learning ProgramHigh · 4 students
Other schools in AITKIN
- Aitkin Secondary SchoolHigh · 509 students
- Aitkin Alternative Learning ProgramHigh · 4 students
- F.E.D. Aitkin Credit RecoveryElementary
Nearby schools
- Aitkin Alternative Learning Program0.4 mi · 4
- Aitkin Secondary School0.4 mi · 509
- Cuyuna Range Elementary11.3 mi · 533
- Crosby-Ironton Secondary12.6 mi · 455
- McGregor Area Learning Program20.0 mi · 1
- McGregor Secondary20.0 mi · 193
Frequently asked questions
About Rippleside ElementaryHow many students attend Rippleside Elementary?
Rippleside Elementary enrolls approximately 476 students in grades PK-06.
What grades does Rippleside Elementary serve?
Rippleside Elementary serves grades PK-06.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Rippleside Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Rippleside Elementary is approximately 13.5:1 (35 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Rippleside Elementary?
At Rippleside Elementary, the student body is approximately 92% White, 2% Hispanic, 0% Black, 1% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is Rippleside Elementary in?
Rippleside Elementary is part of Aitkin Public School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.