High Plains - 06

As a minimally staffed 9-12 campus in Chester, South Dakota, High Plains - 06 hosts 84 students from grades 9 through 12, part of Chester Area School District 39-1. By comparison, South Dakota's public schools average about 225 students each, so High Plains - 06 sits 63% below that benchmark.

Within Chester Area School District 39-1, which oversees 7 schools and 582 students, High Plains - 06 is one campus in the system.

On the student-mix side, High Plains - 06 records that the student body is overwhelmingly White (94%). Other groups include 4% multiracial, 2% Hispanic. That composition is broadly in line with Lake County as a whole.

Looking at school resources, High Plains - 06 records 0 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 700.0:1. The state averages around 20.6:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. Around 12% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Lake County (around 23%), the school's rate is noticeably below typical.

In the surrounding community, the surrounding county (Lake County) logs that median household income runs about $76,808, 35% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 5%. In all, Lake County runs 21 public schools (combined enrollment of about 2,009 students), of which High Plains - 06 is one.

Chester Area Cyber School - 92 is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.0 miles from this campus. 4 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius.

The school occupies a rural site. As a virtual school, attendance and instruction happen remotely rather than in person.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at High Plains - 06 has increased 29%, going from 65 students in 2018 to 84 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio loosened from 91.5:1 in 2018 to 700.0:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Members of the school community can share what they know.