Dell Rapids Middle School - 03

Dell Rapids Middle School - 03 is one of the sprawling junior highs in Dell Rapids, South Dakota, run under Dell Rapids School District 49-3, with 295 students on its rolls from grades 5 through 8. By comparison, South Dakota's public schools average about 187 students each, so Dell Rapids Middle School - 03 sits 58% bigger than that benchmark.

Across the 3 schools in Dell Rapids School District 49-3 (965 students total), Dell Rapids Middle School - 03 accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Demographically, Dell Rapids Middle School - 03 lists that the student body is overwhelmingly White (93%). Other groups include 3% multiracial, 2% Hispanic. The wider county runs roughly 80% White, putting the school's mix visibly more White than the area baseline.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 18 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 16.1:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.4:1, putting Dell Rapids Middle School - 03 higher than the state norm the norm. Roughly 16% of students at Dell Rapids Middle School - 03 qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. By comparison, Minnehaha County runs at roughly 42%, so the school's eligibility rate is below the surrounding baseline.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Dell Rapids Middle School - 03 performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 56.6%, the actual is 66.1%, a residual of +9.5 points.

In the broader community, community-level numbers for Minnehaha County indicate median household income runs about $76,880, about 35% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 6%. Across Minnehaha County's 83 public schools (combined enrollment of about 34,919 students), Dell Rapids Middle School - 03 is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Dell Rapids High School - 01, roughly 0.0 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 2 other public schools cluster around Dell Rapids Middle School - 03. Among the 6 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Dell Rapids Middle School - 03 ranks 2nd on composite proficiency, ahead of the local average of 52.6%.

The campus sits in a small-town setting.

Over the past 7-year window. Dell Rapids Middle School - 03's enrollment has grew 5% since 2018, when it stood at 282 (now 295).

Inside the community feed, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.