Hylen Souders Elementary School

Hylen Souders Elementary School is one of the cozy K-5 schools in Galena, Ohio, run under Big Walnut Local, with 289 students on its rolls from grades K through 3. That puts it 28% below the typical public school in Ohio, which averages around 404 students.

Hylen Souders Elementary School is one of 8 schools operated by Big Walnut Local, a district that teaches 4,298 students overall.

On demographics, Hylen Souders Elementary School lists that 83% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority; the rest looks like 12% Hispanic, 4% multiracial. That composition is broadly in line with Delaware County as a whole.

On the income-and-resources front, Staff filings list 17 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 17.0:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 17.9:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Around 27% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Hylen Souders Elementary School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 78.5% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 69.2%.

In the area at large, ACS estimates for Delaware County put the typical household earns roughly $133,540 per year, roughly 59% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 3% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Hylen Souders Elementary School is one of 59 public schools in Delaware County (combined enrollment of about 44,100 students).

Nearest neighbor: Cornerstone Academy Community School, around 3.9 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Hylen Souders Elementary School comes 6th of 8 in the immediate cluster, beneath the nearby-schools average of 76.6%.

The campus sits in a low-density setting.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count decreased 22%: 371 students in 2018 compared to 289 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 92% to 83% across the same window. Class-load math has fell: from 19.5:1 in 2018 to 17.0:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.