Enrollment
231
Elementary
DISTRICT 218 · STATE 344
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WILLOW RIVER PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 274275001811
WILLOW RIVER ELEMENTARY
8142 PINE ST, WILLOW RIVER, MN 55795 · (218) 372-3131 · Pine County
GRADES PK–06ELEMENTARY43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL231 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
11.6:1
20 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.3:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
44%
102 students
DISTRICT 41% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 32 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 36 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 33 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 26 | 11% |
| Grade 4 | 30 | 13% |
| Grade 5 | 34 | 15% |
| Grade 6 | 40 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (32) is 20% smaller than its 6th grade class (40).
Student demographics
19%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 16% · 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
WILLOW RIVER ELEMENTARY→WILLOW RIVER SECONDARY
Based on grade levels within WILLOW RIVER PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
MCA 2024-25 . % Meets or Exceeds StandardsEnglish Language Arts
48.8%
MN avg 49.7%
Math
45.7%
MN avg 45.3%
What this means: On the MCA, Minnesota's statewide test, about 49 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 46 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
45.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
41.3%
based on MN schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+4.0pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 45% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 41% 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 WILLOW RIVER ELEMENTARY
WILLOW RIVER ELEMENTARY's state test result (45.3% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| WILLOW RIVER ELEMENTARY this school | 231 | 44.2% | 45.3% |
| LITTLEFORK-BIG FALLS ELEMENTARY LITTLEFORK | 216 | 44.0% | 34.8% |
| FERTILE-BELTRAMI ELEMENTARY FERTILE | 249 | 43.4% | 59.3% |
| McKinley Elementary FERGUS FALLS | 249 | 43.4% | 55.4% |
| J.A. HUGHES ELEMENTARY RED LAKE FALLS | 237 | 42.2% | 53.8% |
| McGregor Elementary MCGREGOR | 220 | 45.0% | 49.8% |
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 WILLOW RIVER ELEMENTARY ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Minnesota | In Pine County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 45.3% | #431 of 844 | N/A |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 45.7% | #498 of 844 | N/A |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 48.8% | #416 of 844 | N/A |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 231 | #753 of 1,130 | #4 of 6 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.6:1 | #149 of 769 | N/A |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 19.3% | #681 of 796 | N/A |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 44.2% | #420 of 942 | N/A |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +3.6% | #186 of 244 | N/A |
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
231
+4 (+2%) vs 2020
-18% since 1990-91, when it was 283
Student : Teacher
11.6:1
was 13.3:1
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 | 231 | 20 | 11.6:1 | 44% (102) |
| 2023-24 | 224 | 19.1 | 11.7:1 | 44% (99) |
| 2022-23 | 218 | 19.9 | 10.9:1 | 46% (101) |
| 2020-21 | 227 | 17 | 13.3:1 | 37% (83) |
| 2017-18 | 223 | 18.8 | 11.9:1 | 39% (87) |
| 2015-16 | 240 | 18 | 13.3:1 | 37% (88) |
| 2010-11 | 245 | 17 | 14.4:1 | 38% (92) |
| 2000-01 | 240 | 18 | 13.3:1 | 54% (129) |
| 1990-91 | 283 | 15 | 18.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for WILLOW RIVER ELEMENTARY.
Since 2017-18: students up 4% (223 to 231); teachers up 6% (18.8 to 20).
About WILLOW RIVER ELEMENTARY
WILLOW RIVER ELEMENTARY is a small elementary school found in WILLOW RIVER, Minnesota. A federal count lists 231 students at the school, in pre-K through 6. An average school in this group (elementary schools in Minnesota) has about 344 students.
WILLOW RIVER ELEMENTARY is one school in a 2-school district, WILLOW RIVER PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT, which enrolls 436 students.
At WILLOW RIVER ELEMENTARY, White students make up 90% of the student body. After that, the student body is 5% Native American, 3% multiracial, and 3% Hispanic. That is close to the 89% White share among all Pine County residents. WILLOW RIVER ELEMENTARY has a diversity index of 19%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
Dividing enrollment by its 20 full-time-equivalent teachers gives a ratio of about 11.6:1. Among elementary schools in Minnesota, the typical ratio is 13.7:1. Eligible students account for 44% of enrollment in the free or reduced-price lunch program. Across public schools in Pine County, the average is about the same, 46%.
The BeatsExpectations prediction for WILLOW RIVER ELEMENTARY is 41.3%, and its average proficiency rate on state tests is 45.3%.
Census estimates describe Pine County this way: median household income is about $71,146, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 17% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 7%. Federal data list 21 public schools in Pine County, with a combined enrollment of about 3,657.
The next-closest public school is WILLOW RIVER SECONDARY, less than a tenth of a mile away. In all, at least 8 other public schools sit within ten miles of WILLOW RIVER ELEMENTARY. Among its closest neighbors with test data, WILLOW RIVER ELEMENTARY is 2nd of 7 on proficiency.
Locale: Rural: Remote. In NCES terms, the school is in rural territory far from an urban area.
The school's size has been steady, with 227 students in 2020-21 and 231 in 2024-25. Over the same period, the student-to-teacher ratio fell to 11.6:1, from 13.3:1.
Conversations here can range across science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Pine County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
29,640
Census ACS
Median income
$71,146
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
17%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
21
3,657 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in WILLOW RIVER PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT
- WILLOW RIVER SECONDARYHigh · 205 students
Other Willow River Elementary schools
One other US public school is named Willow River Elementary. WILLOW RIVER ELEMENTARY is the 2nd largest of the 2.
- Willow River ElementaryHudson, WI · 278 students
Nearby schools
- WILLOW RIVER SECONDARY0.0 mi · 205
- MOOSE LAKE ELEMENTARY8.4 mi · 285
- MOOSE LAKE SECONDARY8.4 mi · 276
- MCF-MOOSE LAKE/WILLOW RIVER9.1 mi · 3
- FINLAYSON ELEMENTARY9.1 mi · 58
- EAST CENTRAL ELEMENTARY9.6 mi · 391
Frequently asked questions
About WILLOW RIVER ELEMENTARYHow many students attend WILLOW RIVER ELEMENTARY?
WILLOW RIVER ELEMENTARY enrolls approximately 231 students in grades PK-06.
What grades does WILLOW RIVER ELEMENTARY serve?
WILLOW RIVER ELEMENTARY serves grades PK-06.
How many teachers does WILLOW RIVER ELEMENTARY have?
WILLOW RIVER ELEMENTARY employs 20 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 11.6:1.
How diverse is WILLOW RIVER ELEMENTARY?
WILLOW RIVER ELEMENTARY reports a student body of 90% White, 3% Hispanic, 3% Two or more.
Who oversees WILLOW RIVER ELEMENTARY?
WILLOW RIVER ELEMENTARY is overseen by WILLOW RIVER PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT in Pine County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.