Enrollment
138
Elementary
DISTRICT 141 · STATE 344
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WEST CENTRAL AREA·NCES 270010400731
WEST CENTRAL AREA S. EL.
31 N CENTRAL, KENSINGTON, MN 56343 · (320) 965-7600 · Douglas County
GRADES PK–04ELEMENTARY43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL138 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 72% of Minnesota public elementary schools
- B+Test 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 elementary schools
Student : Teacher
11.2:1
12 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 10.4:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
40%
55 students
DISTRICT 38% · 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 | 23 | 17% |
| Kindergarten | 25 | 18% |
| Grade 1 | 18 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 21 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 18 | 13% |
| Grade 4 | 33 | 24% |
This year's kindergarten class (25) is 24% smaller than its 4th grade class (33).
Student demographics
20%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 19% · 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
47.1%
MN avg 49.7%
Math
60.8%
MN avg 45.3%
What this means: On the MCA, Minnesota's statewide test, about 47 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 61 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
53.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
43.6%
based on MN schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+10.0pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 54% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 44% 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 WEST CENTRAL AREA S. EL.
WEST CENTRAL AREA S. EL.'s state test result (53.6% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| WEST CENTRAL AREA S. EL. this school | 138 | 39.9% | 53.6% |
| WEST CENTRAL AREA N. EL. ELBOW LAKE | 144 | 41.0% | 59.7% |
| WILLIAM KELLEY ELEMENTARY SILVER BAY | 143 | 42.0% | 27.7% |
| LEROY ELEMENTARY LEROY | 120 | 40.8% | 34.6% |
| Pre-K - 5th Grade Building CLINTON | 152 | 36.8% | 48.8% |
| Crosslake Community Seat Based CROSSLAKE | 150 | 36.7% | 43.7% |
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 WEST CENTRAL AREA S. EL. ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Minnesota | In Douglas County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 53.6% | #264 of 844 | #7 of 9 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 60.8% | #254 of 844 | #8 of 9 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 47.1% | #452 of 844 | #8 of 9 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 138 | #872 of 1,130 | #6 of 12 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 39.9% | #507 of 942 | #4 of 11 |
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
138
+18 (+15%) vs 2020
-22% since 2000-01, when it was 177
Student : Teacher
11.2:1
was 8.0:1
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 | 138 | 12.3 | 11.2:1 | 40% (55) |
| 2023-24 | 125 | 14.8 | 8.4:1 | 43% (54) |
| 2022-23 | 130 | 13.8 | 9.4:1 | 44% (57) |
| 2020-21 | 120 | 15 | 8.0:1 | 26% (31) |
| 2017-18 | 138 | 16 | 8.6:1 | 41% (56) |
| 2015-16 | 142 | 12 | 11.8:1 | 39% (55) |
| 2010-11 | 127 | 9 | 14.1:1 | 56% (71) |
| 2000-01 | 177 | 13 | 13.6:1 | 37% (65) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for WEST CENTRAL AREA S. EL..
Since 2017-18: students unchanged (138 to 138); teachers down 23% (16 to 12.3).
About WEST CENTRAL AREA S. EL.
WEST CENTRAL AREA S. EL. is the name of a small elementary school in KENSINGTON, Minnesota. It covers pre-K through 4, with a total enrollment of 138 students. Statewide, elementary schools in Minnesota average about 344 students each.
WEST CENTRAL AREA S. EL. is one school in WEST CENTRAL AREA, a system of 4 schools with 743 students.
About 89% of the student body at WEST CENTRAL AREA S. EL. is White. Beyond that, enrollment is 5% Hispanic, 2% Black, and 2% Native American. WEST CENTRAL AREA S. EL.'s diversity index is 20%, against a US figure of 70%.
Its teaching staff equals 12.3 full-time positions, a ratio of 11.2:1. That is lower than the 13.7:1 average for elementary schools in Minnesota. Free and reduced-price lunch eligibility, a common measure of family income, is 40%. The gap from the 31% average for public schools in Douglas County is 9 points.
WEST CENTRAL AREA S. EL. is graded B+ by allk12, scoring above 72% of Minnesota public elementary schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, WEST CENTRAL AREA S. EL. falls in the middle 80% of Minnesota schools: 53.6% actual against 43.6% predicted.
In Douglas County (population about 39,575), the median household income is $79,043, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 30% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 5%. There are 22 public schools in Douglas County, enrolling about 5,781 students in all.
WEST CENTRAL AREA SECONDARY is the public school closest to WEST CENTRAL AREA S. EL., about 13.1 miles away. WEST CENTRAL AREA S. EL. ranks 4th of 7 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 53.6% against a local average of 51.8%.
In the federal locale system, WEST CENTRAL AREA S. EL. is coded Rural: Remote, for schools in rural territory far from an urban area.
2024-25 enrollment was 138, a 15% increase from 120 in 2020-21. The number of students per teacher rose from 8.0 to 11.2 over 4 years.
Threads on this page can be about sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Douglas County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
39,575
Census ACS
Median income
$79,043
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
30%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
22
5,781 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in WEST CENTRAL AREA
- WCA Middle SchoolMiddle · 232 students
- WEST CENTRAL AREA SECONDARYHigh · 229 students
- WEST CENTRAL AREA N. EL.Elementary · 144 students
- West Central Area ALPHigh
Nearby schools
- WEST CENTRAL AREA SECONDARY13.1 mi · 229
- WCA Middle School13.1 mi · 232
- Brandon-Evansville Middle School13.7 mi · 124
- Brandon-Evansville High School13.7 mi · 158
- Brandon Elementary13.7 mi · 107
- GLACIAL HILLS ELEMENTARY13.9 mi · 97
Frequently asked questions
About WEST CENTRAL AREA S. EL.What is the total enrollment at WEST CENTRAL AREA S. EL.?
WEST CENTRAL AREA S. EL. enrolls approximately 138 students in grades PK-04.
What grades does WEST CENTRAL AREA S. EL. serve?
WEST CENTRAL AREA S. EL. serves grades PK-04.
What is the student-teacher ratio at WEST CENTRAL AREA S. EL.?
The student-to-teacher ratio at WEST CENTRAL AREA S. EL. is approximately 11.2:1 (12 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at WEST CENTRAL AREA S. EL.?
At WEST CENTRAL AREA S. EL., the student body is approximately 89% White, 5% Hispanic, 2% Black, 1% Two or more.
Is WEST CENTRAL AREA S. EL. public or private?
WEST CENTRAL AREA S. EL. is a public K-12 school, overseen by WEST CENTRAL AREA.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.