Waite Park Elementary

Waite Park Elementary, a tight-knit primary school in MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, part of Minneapolis Public School District, serves 266 students, covering grades pre-K through 5. Compared to the state average of about 344 students per school, that is 23% below typical.

Minneapolis Public School District comprises 86 schools with combined enrollment of 29,928 students; Waite Park Elementary is among them.

In terms of who attends, Waite Park Elementary shows that the largest single group is White, at 59% of enrollment. Other groups include 15% multiracial, 12% Hispanic, 11% Black.

In terms of school funding signals, Waite Park Elementary records 22 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 11.9:1. The state averages around 13.7:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Around 29% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. Set against Hennepin County (around 43%), the school's rate is meaningfully below typical.

With demographic context factored in, Waite Park Elementary is in the OUTPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations model, which fits a per-state line through proficiency and FRL share. Schools with this campus's poverty mix typically land near 49.3%; this one delivers 64.3%, a residual of +15.0 points.

Zooming out to the county, Hennepin County reports that median household earnings sit near $97,653, about 54% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 5%. In all, Hennepin County runs 496 public schools (combined enrollment of about 177,509 students), of which Waite Park Elementary is one.

Northeast Middle is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.6 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Waite Park Elementary ranks 1st on composite proficiency, above the local average of 34.8%.

Waite Park Elementary operates from a metropolitan location.

Looking at the recent track record. Waite Park Elementary's enrollment has fell 37% since 2018, when it stood at 425 (now 266). Over the same period, the Black share ticked down from 20% to 11%. Class-load math has fell: from 15.8:1 in 2018 to 11.9:1 in 2025.

On allk12, recent activity here tends to focus on fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.