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What's something W.H.A. ELEMENTARY does better than most schools?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
369
Elementary
DISTRICT 343 · STATE 344
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WALKER-HACKENSACK-AKELEY SCHL. DIST·NCES 270291001736
W.H.A. Elementary
205 HIGHLAND AVE W, WALKER, MN 56484 · (218) 547-4261 · Cass County
GRADES PK–06ELEMENTARY43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL369 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
11.0:1
33 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.6:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
62%
228 students
DISTRICT 55% · STATE 48%
Community
1
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 | 30 | 8% |
| Kindergarten | 46 | 12% |
| Grade 1 | 39 | 11% |
| Grade 2 | 39 | 11% |
| Grade 3 | 51 | 14% |
| Grade 4 | 58 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 55 | 15% |
| Grade 6 | 51 | 14% |
This year's kindergarten class (46) is 10% smaller than its 6th grade class (51).
Student demographics
62%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 58% · 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
W.H.A. Elementary→Walker-Hackensack-Akeley Sec.
Based on grade levels within Walker-Hackensack-Akeley Schl. Dist. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
MCA 2024-25 . % Meets or Exceeds StandardsEnglish Language Arts
38.3%
MN avg 49.7%
Math
34.8%
MN avg 45.3%
What this means: On the MCA, Minnesota's statewide test, about 38 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 35 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
33.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
31.9%
based on MN schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+1.9pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 34% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 32% 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 W.H.A. Elementary
W.H.A. Elementary's state test result (33.7% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| W.H.A. Elementary this school | 369 | 61.8% | 33.7% |
| HINCKLEY ELEMENTARY HINCKLEY | 395 | 63.3% | 34.9% |
| KING ELEMENTARY DEER RIVER | 390 | 67.9% | 55.3% |
| PIEDMONT ELEMENTARY DULUTH | 410 | 58.3% | 54.3% |
| BAGLEY ELEMENTARY BAGLEY | 482 | 59.1% | 32.5% |
| BLACKDUCK ELEMENTARY BLACKDUCK | 412 | 60.9% | 35.0% |
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 W.H.A. Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Minnesota |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 33.7% | #624 of 844 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 34.8% | #638 of 844 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 38.3% | #601 of 844 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 369 | #537 of 1,130 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.0:1 | #94 of 769 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 61.8% | #256 of 796 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 61.8% | #209 of 942 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -15.2% | #222 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
369
-43 (-10%) vs 2020
+6% since 1990-91, when it was 349
Student : Teacher
11.0:1
was 11.4:1
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 | 369 | 33.4 | 11.0:1 | 62% (228) |
| 2023-24 | 388 | 37.1 | 10.5:1 | 68% (262) |
| 2022-23 | 416 | 36.2 | 11.5:1 | 66% (275) |
| 2020-21 | 412 | 36 | 11.4:1 | 50% (208) |
| 2017-18 | 435 | 36.7 | 11.8:1 | 63% (273) |
| 2015-16 | 391 | 31 | 12.6:1 | 59% (231) |
| 2010-11 | 453 | 27 | 16.8:1 | 54% (244) |
| 2000-01 | 290 | 21 | 13.8:1 | 43% (126) |
| 1990-91 | 349 | 24 | 14.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for W.H.A. Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 15% (435 to 369); teachers down 9% (36.7 to 33.4).
About W.H.A. Elementary
W.H.A. Elementary is a medium-sized elementary school with its address in WALKER, Minnesota. The school counts 369 students across pre-K through 6.
W.H.A. Elementary is among 2 schools run by Walker-Hackensack-Akeley Schl. Dist, which serves 686 students.
White students make up a majority at W.H.A. Elementary, at 54%. Smaller groups are 27% Native American, 13% multiracial, and 3% Hispanic. For comparison, the population of Cass County is roughly 81% White. W.H.A. Elementary's diversity index is 62%, against a US figure of 70%.
Teachers at the school number 33.4 full-time equivalents, and the ratio is 11.0:1. On average, elementary schools in Minnesota have 13.7:1, compared with 11.0:1 here. The school's lunch program data list 62% of students as eligible for free or reduced-price meals. That tracks the 61% average for public schools in Cass County.
On BeatsExpectations, W.H.A. Elementary is 1.9 points above its prediction, a result in the middle 80% of Minnesota schools.
County data help place the school in context: in Cass County, the median household income is $68,874, about 26% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 9% of residents are in poverty. In all, Cass County has 21 public schools and roughly 4,570 students.
The next-closest public school is Walker-Hackensack-Akeley Sec., less than a tenth of a mile away. W.H.A. Elementary is one of several public schools in the area, with 2 others within five miles. W.H.A. Elementary ranks 4th of 8 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 33.7% against a local average of 34.0%.
Federal records code the school's setting as Rural: Remote.
Enrollment is down 10% from 2020-21, when W.H.A. Elementary had 412 students, to 2024-25, when it had 369.
Questions about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news can be posted here. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Cass County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
30,992
Census ACS
Median income
$68,874
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
26%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
21
4,570 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Walker-Hackensack-Akeley Schl. Dist
- Walker-Hackensack-Akeley Sec.High · 317 students
Other schools in WALKER
- Walker-Hackensack-Akeley Sec.High · 317 students
- Up North Learning CenterCombined · 13 students
Nearby schools
- Walker-Hackensack-Akeley Sec.0.1 mi · 317
- Up North Learning Center2.0 mi · 13
- Laporte Elementary11.5 mi · 146
- Laporte Secondary11.5 mi · 106
- Laporte Middle School11.5 mi · 80
- NEVIS ELEMENTARY15.5 mi · 342
Frequently asked questions
About W.H.A. ElementaryHow many students attend W.H.A. Elementary?
W.H.A. Elementary enrolls approximately 369 students in grades PK-06.
What grades does W.H.A. Elementary serve?
W.H.A. Elementary serves grades PK-06.
What is the student-teacher ratio at W.H.A. Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at W.H.A. Elementary is approximately 11.0:1 (33 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at W.H.A. Elementary?
Student demographics at W.H.A. Elementary are roughly 54% White, 3% Hispanic, 0% Black, 1% Asian, 13% Two or more.
Is W.H.A. Elementary public or private?
W.H.A. Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by Walker-Hackensack-Akeley Schl. Dist.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.