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Teachers: what resource would make the biggest difference at ROBERT J. ELKINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL this year?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
764
Middle
DISTRICT 409 · STATE 495
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·GRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 271317000939
ROBERT J. ELKINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL
1000 NE 8TH AVE, GRAND RAPIDS, MN 55744 · (218) 327-5800 · Itasca County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE33-TOWNREGULAR SCHOOL764 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 59% of Minnesota public middle schools
- BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B-Beats 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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
17.3:1
44 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.3:1 · STATE 17.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
34%
261 students
DISTRICT 53% · STATE 48%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 282 | 37% |
| Grade 7 | 245 | 32% |
| Grade 8 | 237 | 31% |
Student demographics
25%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 28% · 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
ROBERT J. ELKINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL→GRAND RAPIDS SENIOR HIGH
Based on grade levels within GRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
MCA 2024-25 . % Meets or Exceeds StandardsEnglish Language Arts
54.6%
MN avg 49.7%
Math
41.2%
MN avg 45.3%
What this means: On the MCA, Minnesota's statewide test, about 55 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 41 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
43.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
46.7%
based on MN schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-3.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 44% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 47% 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 ROBERT J. ELKINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL
ROBERT J. ELKINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL's state test result (43.8% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| ROBERT J. ELKINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL this school | 764 | 34.2% | 43.8% |
| Kennedy Middle School FERGUS FALLS | 558 | 34.4% | 53.0% |
| Cambridge Middle School CAMBRIDGE | 607 | 32.5% | 50.9% |
| Princeton Middle School PRINCETON | 740 | 29.7% | 40.4% |
| PEQUOT LAKES MIDDLE PEQUOT LAKES | 581 | 32.9% | 47.5% |
| New Ulm Middle School NEW ULM | 617 | 33.5% | 47.0% |
Matched among Minnesota middle 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 ROBERT J. ELKINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Minnesota |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 43.8% | #99 of 245 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 41.2% | #122 of 245 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 54.6% | #82 of 245 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 764 | #83 of 306 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.3:1 | #121 of 210 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 25.4% | #169 of 216 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 34.2% | #135 of 252 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -27.4% | #11 of 129 |
Ranked against other public middle 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
764
-24 (-3%) vs 2020
-18% since 2000-01, when it was 928
Student : Teacher
17.3:1
was 17.5:1
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 | 764 | 44.3 | 17.3:1 | 34% (261) |
| 2023-24 | 778 | 44.3 | 17.6:1 | 40% (314) |
| 2022-23 | 747 | 40.8 | 18.3:1 | 45% (334) |
| 2020-21 | 788 | 45 | 17.5:1 | 32% (253) |
| 2017-18 | 1,053 | 46.2 | 22.8:1 | 34% (353) |
| 2015-16 | 961 | 48 | 20.0:1 | 33% (321) |
| 2010-11 | 991 | 41 | 24.2:1 | 35% (349) |
| 2000-01 | 928 | 55 | 16.9:1 | 24% (222) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for ROBERT J. ELKINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL.
Since 2017-18: students down 27% (1,053 to 764); teachers down 4% (46.2 to 44.3).
About ROBERT J. ELKINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL
Among the schools in GRAND RAPIDS, Minnesota, is ROBERT J. ELKINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL, a large middle school. The latest federal count shows 764 students in grades 6 through 8. The average for middle schools in Minnesota is about 495 students, so this school is 54% above average.
ROBERT J. ELKINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL belongs to GRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT, a district of 11 schools and 3,972 students.
ROBERT J. ELKINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL enrolls a student body that is 86% White. Other reported shares: 6% Native American, 5% multiracial, and 3% Hispanic. The White share in Itasca County as a whole is similar, at about 89%. By the diversity index, ROBERT J. ELKINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL comes in at 25%.
At ROBERT J. ELKINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL, 44.3 full-time-equivalent teachers work with students, a ratio of about 17.3:1. Middle schools in Minnesota average about 17.5:1, a similar figure. Roughly 34% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. The 48% average for public schools in Itasca County is 14 points higher.
The allk12 Grade for ROBERT J. ELKINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL is B. Compared with Minnesota public middle schools, the school scored higher than 59% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
The BeatsExpectations prediction for ROBERT J. ELKINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL is 46.7%, and its average proficiency rate on state tests is 43.8%.
In Itasca County (population about 45,275), median household income is about $68,603, roughly 26% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 8% of residents live below the federal poverty line. ROBERT J. ELKINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL is one of 26 public schools in Itasca County, which together enroll about 6,407 students.
MIDDLE AREA LEARNING CENTER is the closest public school, less than a tenth of a mile away in a straight line. There are 7 more public schools inside five miles. ROBERT J. ELKINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL places 4th of 4 on proficiency among the closest schools that report scores.
NCES lists the school's locale as Town: Remote. That means it sits in a town far from an urbanized area.
A comparison of 2020-21 and 2024-25 shows enrollment down 3%, from 788 to 764.
Questions about science fairs, picture day, and bus routes can be posted here. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Itasca County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
45,275
Census ACS
Median income
$68,603
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
26%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
26
6,407 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in GRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT
- GRAND RAPIDS SENIOR HIGHHigh · 1,091 students
- East Rapids ElementaryElementary · 639 students
- West Rapids ElementaryElementary · 612 students
- COHASSET ELEMENTARYElementary · 312 students
- BIGFORK ELEMENTARYElementary · 139 students
- BIGFORK SECONDARYHigh · 130 students
Other schools in GRAND RAPIDS
- GRAND RAPIDS SENIOR HIGHHigh · 1,091 students
- East Rapids ElementaryElementary · 639 students
- West Rapids ElementaryElementary · 612 students
- GRAND RAPIDS AREA LEARNING CENTERHigh · 129 students
- GRAND RAPIDS EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTERElementary · 63 students
- MIDDLE AREA LEARNING CENTERMiddle · 54 students
Nearby schools
- MIDDLE AREA LEARNING CENTER0.0 mi · 54
- East Rapids Elementary0.1 mi · 639
- GRAND RAPIDS SENIOR HIGH1.3 mi · 1,091
- ITASKIN EDUCATION CENTER1.6 mi · 39
- GRAND RAPIDS AREA LEARNING CENTER1.7 mi · 129
- GRAND RAPIDS EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER1.7 mi · 63
Frequently asked questions
About ROBERT J. ELKINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOLWhat is the total enrollment at ROBERT J. ELKINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL?
ROBERT J. ELKINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL enrolls approximately 764 students in grades 06-08.
Is ROBERT J. ELKINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL an elementary, middle, or high school?
ROBERT J. ELKINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
How many teachers does ROBERT J. ELKINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL have?
ROBERT J. ELKINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL employs 44 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 17.3:1.
What is the student diversity at ROBERT J. ELKINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL?
Student demographics at ROBERT J. ELKINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL are roughly 86% White, 3% Hispanic, 1% Black, 5% Two or more.
What district is ROBERT J. ELKINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL in?
ROBERT J. ELKINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL is part of GRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.