Tatanka Elementary STEM School

Tatanka Elementary STEM School is one of the reasonably sized elementary-level communitys in BUFFALO, Minnesota, part of Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose Schools, with 393 students on its rolls from grades K through 5.

Within Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose Schools, which oversees 10 schools and 5,175 students, Tatanka Elementary STEM School is one campus in the system.

On the student-mix side, Tatanka Elementary STEM School records that White students make up the majority at 77%; the rest comes out to 8% Black, 7% multiracial, 6% Hispanic. By comparison, Wright County as a whole is about 89% White, so the school skews meaningfully less White than its surroundings.

In terms of school funding signals, Tatanka Elementary STEM School reports 26 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 14.8:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.7:1, putting Tatanka Elementary STEM School higher than the state norm the norm. Around 35% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. Set against Wright County (around 24%), the school's rate is somewhat above typical.

After controlling for student poverty, Tatanka Elementary STEM School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 46.2% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 39.3%.

Zooming out to the county, community-level numbers for Wright County indicate the typical household earns roughly $107,209 per year, roughly 34% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 4% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Wright County runs 88 public schools (combined enrollment of about 27,879 students), of which Tatanka Elementary STEM School is one.

The closest other public school is SWMetro Buffalo-Transitions, roughly 0.1 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Tatanka Elementary STEM School at 4th of 4; the average score across the group is 44.2%.

Geographically, the school is in a small-town area.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count decreased 21%: 497 students in 2018 compared to 393 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share edged down from 87% to 77%. Class-load math has pulled in: from 17.8:1 in 2018 to 14.8:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, posts here usually surface around fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.