1
What's the one class at Buchanan Elementary - 03 every student should take?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
432
Elementary
DISTRICT 407 · STATE 204
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PIERRE SCHOOL DISTRICT 32-2·NCES 465526000494
Buchanan Elementary - 03
100 N Buchanan Ave, Pierre, SD 57501 · (605) 773-7310 · Hughes County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY33-TOWNREGULAR SCHOOL432 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 91% of South Dakota public elementary schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ABeats 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 South Dakota public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
16.6:1
26 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.3:1 · STATE 15.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
37%
158 students
DISTRICT 33% · STATE 42%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 96 | 22% |
| Grade 1 | 72 | 17% |
| Grade 2 | 64 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 65 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 69 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 66 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (96) is 45% larger than its 5th grade class (66).
Student demographics
56%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 52% · STATE 53% · 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
Based on grade levels within Pierre School District 32-2. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
SD Smarter Balanced 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
64.3%
SD avg 50.3% . -0.3pp since 2022
Math
59.1%
SD avg 47.5% . +0.2pp since 2022
What this means: On the SD Smarter Balanced, South Dakota's statewide test, about 64 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 59 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all South Dakota schools, those numbers are about 50 and 47. Reading and writing scores have held steady since 2022, while math scores have held steady.
SD Smarter Balanced results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 64.3% | 59.1% |
| 2023-24 | 64.5% | 62.5% |
| 2022-23 | 64.6% | 58.9% |
% Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: SD Smarter Balanced. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of SD schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
63.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.0%
based on SD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+15.2pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 63% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 48% typical for South Dakota schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 15 points, placing it in South Dakota's top 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 Buchanan Elementary - 03
Buchanan Elementary - 03's state test result (63.3% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buchanan Elementary - 03 this school | 432 | 36.6% | 63.3% |
| Hot Springs Elementary - 02 Hot Springs | 306 | 35.6% | 38.0% |
| Jefferson Elementary - 06 Pierre | 377 | 35.5% | 52.9% |
| Vermillion Elementary - 05 Vermillion | 625 | 35.8% | N/A |
| Vandenberg Elementary - 02 Box Elder | 454 | 40.5% | 46.4% |
| Kennedy Elementary - 08 Pierre | 413 | 41.4% | 54.3% |
Matched among South Dakota 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 Buchanan Elementary - 03 ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In South Dakota |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 63.3% | #29 of 193 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 59.1% | #68 of 199 ▼ 16 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 64.3% | #34 of 202 ▼ 7 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 432 | #48 of 331 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.6:1 | #112 of 131 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 56.5% | #31 of 131 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 36.6% | #97 of 209 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -5.3% | #69 of 87 |
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
432
+13 (+3%) vs 2020
-16% since 1990-91, when it was 514
Student : Teacher
16.6:1
was 16.1:1
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 | 432 | 26 | 16.6:1 | 37% (158) |
| 2023-24 | 422 | 27 | 15.6:1 | 26% (111) |
| 2022-23 | 418 | 27 | 15.5:1 | 27% (113) |
| 2020-21 | 419 | 26 | 16.1:1 | 32% (136) |
| 2017-18 | 456 | 26 | 17.5:1 | 33% (149) |
| 2015-16 | 406 | 25 | 16.2:1 | 35% (141) |
| 2010-11 | 328 | 23 | 14.3:1 | 38% (126) |
| 2000-01 | 414 | 25 | 16.6:1 | 45% (185) |
| 1990-91 | 514 | 26 | 19.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Buchanan Elementary - 03.
Since 2017-18: students down 5% (456 to 432); teachers unchanged (26 to 26).
About Buchanan Elementary - 03
Buchanan Elementary - 03 is an elementary school with a street address in Pierre, South Dakota. The grade span is kindergarten through 5, and enrollment is 432 students. An average school in this group (elementary schools in South Dakota) has about 204 students.
The 5 schools of Pierre School District 32-2, including Buchanan Elementary - 03, enroll 2,749 students.
White students account for 63% of enrollment at Buchanan Elementary - 03. The remaining students are 15% multiracial, 14% Native American, 5% Hispanic, and 3% Asian. Census figures show Hughes County is about 81% White. By the diversity index, Buchanan Elementary - 03 comes in at 56%.
The ratio of students to teachers is 16.6:1, with 26 full-time-equivalent teachers on staff. For comparison, elementary schools in South Dakota average 15.4:1. The percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch is 37%. Across public schools in Hughes County, the average is about the same, 35%.
Buchanan Elementary - 03 is graded A by allk12, scoring above 91% of South Dakota public elementary schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
BeatsExpectations places Buchanan Elementary - 03 in the top 10% of South Dakota schools. The measure fits a line through proficiency and free or reduced-price lunch share for each state, and this school sits 15.2 points above it (63.3% actual, 48.0% predicted).
Hughes County has these Census figures: median household income is about $81,395, roughly 39% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 5%. The public schools of Hughes County number 7 and enroll about 2,919.
Nearby, T F Riggs High School - 01 is about 0.9 miles away. Buchanan Elementary - 03 is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Local comparison: Buchanan Elementary - 03 ranks 1st of 6 nearby schools, at 63.3% versus a 49.6% average.
Locale data from NCES put Buchanan Elementary - 03 in a town far from an urbanized area (Town: Remote).
The student count in 2024-25 was 432, 3% above the 419 of 2020-21.
Threads on this page can be about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Hughes County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
17,664
Census ACS
Median income
$81,395
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
39%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
7
2,919 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Pierre School District 32-2
- T F Riggs High School - 01High · 855 students
- Georgia Morse Middle School - 02Middle · 672 students
- Kennedy Elementary - 08Elementary · 413 students
- Jefferson Elementary - 06Elementary · 377 students
Other schools in Pierre
- T F Riggs High School - 01High · 855 students
- Georgia Morse Middle School - 02Middle · 672 students
- Kennedy Elementary - 08Elementary · 413 students
- Jefferson Elementary - 06Elementary · 377 students
- Pierre Indian Learning CenterElementary · 156 students
Other Buchanan Elementary schools
8 other US public schools in 8 states are named Buchanan Elementary. Buchanan Elementary - 03 is the 5th largest of the 9.
- BUCHANAN ELEMENTARYBRANSON, MO · 578 students
- Buchanan Elementary SchoolLIVONIA, MI · 483 students
- Buchanan ElementaryMurfreesboro, TN · 475 students
- Buchanan Elementary SchoolOklahoma City, OK · 460 students
- Buchanan ElementaryGRAND RAPIDS, MI · 379 students
Nearby schools
- T F Riggs High School - 010.9 mi · 855
- Pierre Indian Learning Center0.9 mi · 156
- Georgia Morse Middle School - 021.4 mi · 672
- Kennedy Elementary - 081.7 mi · 413
- Jefferson Elementary - 062.0 mi · 377
- Stanley County Middle School - 022.7 mi · 106
Frequently asked questions
About Buchanan Elementary - 03How large is Buchanan Elementary - 03?
Buchanan Elementary - 03 enrolls approximately 432 students in grades KG-05.
What grades does Buchanan Elementary - 03 serve?
Buchanan Elementary - 03 serves grades KG-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Buchanan Elementary - 03?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Buchanan Elementary - 03 is approximately 16.6:1 (26 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Buchanan Elementary - 03?
At Buchanan Elementary - 03, the student body is approximately 63% White, 5% Hispanic, 1% Black, 3% Asian, 15% Two or more.
Is Buchanan Elementary - 03 public or private?
Buchanan Elementary - 03 is a public K-12 school, overseen by Pierre School District 32-2.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.