PICKETT ELEM.

As a compact elementary-level community in ST JOSEPH, Missouri, PICKETT ELEM. teaches 250 students from grades pre-K through 6, operated by ST. JOSEPH. Compared to the state average of about 315 students per school, that is 21% smaller than typical.

Within ST. JOSEPH, which oversees 22 schools and 10,430 students, PICKETT ELEM. is one campus in the system.

For racial and ethnic makeup, PICKETT ELEM. logs that the largest single group is White, at 66% of enrollment. Beyond that, the school logs 16% multiracial, 11% Hispanic, 4% Black, 2% Pacific Islander. That is noticeably less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 81%.

On the income-and-resources front, PICKETT ELEM. reports 22 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 11.2:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 12.4:1 average. Roughly 100% of students at PICKETT ELEM. qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Buchanan County (around 69%), the school's rate is meaningfully above typical.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, PICKETT ELEM. sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 49.4%; this one delivers 35.2%.

Across the wider county, Buchanan County reports that the typical household earns roughly $62,158 per year, roughly 24% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 10%. In all, Buchanan County runs 36 public schools (combined enrollment of about 11,825 students), of which PICKETT ELEM. is one.

Nearest neighbor: SKAITH ELEM., around 0.6 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 6 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), PICKETT ELEM. ranks 4th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 39.2%.

The school occupies a metropolitan site.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count contracted 20%: 313 students in 2018 compared to 250 in 2025. The White share of enrollment edged down from 78% to 66% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio tightened from 14.4:1 in 2018 to 11.2:1 today.

On the community side, the feed for PICKETT ELEM. typically covers sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.