Jefferson Elementary - 06

Located at 900 N Poplar Ave, in Pierre, South Dakota, Jefferson Elementary - 06 is an expansive K-5 school that enrolls 377 students (grades K through 5), overseen by Pierre School District 32-2. By comparison, South Dakota's public schools average about 204 students each, so Jefferson Elementary - 06 sits 85% above that benchmark.

Jefferson Elementary - 06 is one of 5 schools operated by Pierre School District 32-2, a district that caters to 2,749 students overall.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Jefferson Elementary - 06 reports that White students make up the majority at 64%. Beyond that, the school records 17% Native American, 12% multiracial, 6% Hispanic. By comparison, Hughes County as a whole is about 81% White, so the school skews noticeably less White than its surroundings.

In terms of school funding signals, On paper, Jefferson Elementary - 06 has 28 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 13.5:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 15.4:1, putting Jefferson Elementary - 06 tighter than the state norm the norm. Around 36% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Jefferson Elementary - 06 sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 48.5%; this one delivers 52.9%.

In the broader community, census data for Hughes County shows median household income runs about $81,395, roughly 39% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 5%. Across Hughes County's 7 public schools (combined enrollment of about 2,919 students), Jefferson Elementary - 06 is one campus in the mix.

Georgia Morse Middle School - 02 is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.9 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, Jefferson Elementary - 06 comes 4th of 6 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 51.7%.

The school occupies a town-based site.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count declined 14%: 440 students in 2018 compared to 377 in 2025. Class-load math has narrowed: from 16.3:1 in 2018 to 13.5:1 in 2025.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.