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SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SIOUX FALLS SCHOOL DISTRICT 49-5·NCES 466627001129

Challenge Center - 51

3101 S 4th Ave, Sioux Falls, SD 57105 · (605) 367-6170 · Minnehaha County
GRADES 02–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL165 STUDENTS
Enrollment
165
Elementary
DISTRICT 466 · STATE 204
Student : Teacher
14.9:1
11 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.6:1 · STATE 15.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
16%
26 students
DISTRICT 58% · STATE 42%
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

GradeStudentsShare
Grade 21912%
Grade 34024%
Grade 45232%
Grade 55433%
Student demographics
White
13682%
DISTRICT 55% · STATE 66%
Hispanic
95%
DISTRICT 17% · STATE 9%
Black
85%
DISTRICT 13% · STATE 3%
Asian
32%
DISTRICT 2% · STATE 2%
Two+
95%
DISTRICT 8% · STATE 6%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Male
11368%
Female
5232%

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Test scores

SD Smarter Balanced 2024-25 . % Proficient
English Language Arts
97.9%
SD avg 50.3% . +2.4pp since 2022
Math
95.1%
SD avg 47.5% . -3.6pp since 2022

What this means: On the SD Smarter Balanced, South Dakota's statewide test, about 98 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 95 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all South Dakota schools, those numbers are about 50 and 47. Reading and writing scores are up about 2 points since 2022, while math scores are down about 4 points.

SD Smarter Balanced results by year

School yearEnglish Language ArtsMath
2024-2597.9%95.1%
2023-2493.0%95.5%
2022-2395.5%98.7%
% Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: SD Smarter Balanced. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →

BeatsExpectations

Demographically-adjusted score · methodology
Tier
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of SD schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
95.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
56.6%
based on SD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+38.5pp
above demographic expectation

What this means: About 95% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 57% 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 38 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 →

7-year change

SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25
Enrollment
165
+9 (+6%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
14.9:1
was 17.8:1
% White
82%
was 81%
% Hispanic
5%
was 3%
% Black
5%
was 3%
% Asian
2%
was 8%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree or reduced lunch
2024-2516511.114.9:116% (26)
2023-2417710.916.3:112% (22)
2022-2318510.118.3:112% (22)
2017-181568.817.8:115% (23)
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Challenge Center - 51.

About Challenge Center - 51

Challenge Center - 51 is a small elementary school in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The school has 165 students in 2024-25 across grades 2 through 5.

Challenge Center - 51 is run by Sioux Falls School District 49-5, whose 44 schools enroll 25,060 students.

The share of White students at Challenge Center - 51 is 82%. The remaining shares are 5% Hispanic, 5% multiracial, and 5% Black. In Minnehaha County overall, the White share is about 80%.

Classroom staffing at Challenge Center - 51 totals 11.1 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the student-to-teacher ratio is 14.9:1. That is in line with the 15.4:1 average for elementary schools in South Dakota. Federal data show 16% of students (26) are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. By comparison, the figure for public schools in Minnehaha County is 42%.

On a poverty-adjusted basis, Challenge Center - 51 is in the top 10% of South Dakota schools: 95.0% actual against 56.6% predicted.

Looking at the county, Minnehaha County, the median household earns about $76,880 a year, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 35%, and roughly 6% of residents are in poverty. Minnehaha County has 83 public schools with about 34,919 students, including Challenge Center - 51.

Challenge Center - 51's closest public school neighbor is Robert Frost Elementary - 18, less than a tenth of a mile away. The five-mile area around Challenge Center - 51 holds at least 8 other public schools. Challenge Center - 51 ranks 1st of 8 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 95.0% against a local average of 42.3%.

The school's locale code, City: Mid-size, means it is inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.

The school grew from 156 students in 2017-18 to 165 in 2024-25. The Asian share was 8% in 2017-18 and 2% in 2024-25. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 17.8:1 to 14.9:1.

This page is set up for the Challenge Center - 51 community to discuss open houses, carpools, and field trips. Members of the school community can share what they know.

Minnehaha County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
203,289
Census ACS
Median income
$76,880
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
35%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
83
34,919 students

Quick facts

School name
Challenge Center - 51
District
Sioux Falls School District 49-5
Address
3101 S 4th Ave, Sioux Falls, SD 57105
Phone
(605) 367-6170
County
Minnehaha County
Level
Elementary
Grade range
02–05
Total enrollment
165
Teachers (FTE)
11
Student–teacher ratio
14.9:1
Free/Reduced lunch
26 (16%)
Locale
12-City: Mid-size
NCES ID
466627001129
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in Sioux Falls School District 49-5
Other schools in Sioux Falls
Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About Challenge Center - 51
What is the total enrollment at Challenge Center - 51?
Challenge Center - 51 enrolls approximately 165 students in grades 02-05.
What grades does Challenge Center - 51 serve?
Challenge Center - 51 serves grades 02-05.
How many teachers does Challenge Center - 51 have?
Challenge Center - 51 employs 11 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.9:1.
What is the student diversity at Challenge Center - 51?
Student demographics at Challenge Center - 51 are roughly 82% White, 5% Hispanic, 5% Black, 2% Asian, 5% Two or more.
What district is Challenge Center - 51 in?
Challenge Center - 51 is part of Sioux Falls School District 49-5.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
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