Enrollment
333
Elementary
DISTRICT 238 · STATE 204
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WATERTOWN SCHOOL DISTRICT 14-4·NCES 467662001083
Jefferson Elementary - 09
1701 N Maple St, Watertown, SD 57201 · (605) 882-6390 · Codington County
GRADES 01–04ELEMENTARY33-TOWNREGULAR SCHOOL333 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 81% of South Dakota public elementary schools
- A-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A-Beats 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
14.3:1
23 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.2:1 · STATE 15.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
33%
109 students
DISTRICT 39% · 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
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 1 | 68 | 20% |
| Grade 2 | 96 | 29% |
| Grade 3 | 91 | 27% |
| Grade 4 | 78 | 23% |
This year's 1st grade class (68) is 13% smaller than its 4th grade class (78).
Student demographics
29%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 35% · 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
Jefferson Elementary - 09→Watertown Intermediate School - 13→Watertown Middle School - 02→Watertown High School - 01
Based on grade levels within Watertown School District 14-4. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
SD Smarter Balanced 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
47.9%
SD avg 50.3% . -7.4pp since 2022
Math
54.6%
SD avg 47.5% . -13.2pp since 2022
What this means: On the SD Smarter Balanced, South Dakota's statewide test, about 48 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 55 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all South Dakota schools, those numbers are about 50 and 47. Reading and writing scores are down about 7 points since 2022, while math scores are down about 13 points.
SD Smarter Balanced results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 47.9% | 54.6% |
| 2023-24 | 57.5% | 74.6% |
| 2022-23 | 55.3% | 67.8% |
% 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
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
58.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
49.6%
based on SD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+9.0pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 59% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 50% typical for South Dakota schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among South Dakota's top nor bottom 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 Jefferson Elementary - 09
Jefferson Elementary - 09's state test result (58.6% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson Elementary - 09 this school | 333 | 32.7% | 58.6% |
| Webster Area Elementary - 03 Webster | 274 | 33.6% | 62.4% |
| Redfield Elementary - 03 Redfield | 271 | 33.6% | 45.8% |
| Beadle Elementary - 03 Yankton | 412 | 33.0% | 56.6% |
| Custer Elementary - 02 Custer | 269 | 34.2% | 57.4% |
| Hamlin Elementary - 09 Hayti | 472 | 35.8% | 59.6% |
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 Jefferson Elementary - 09 ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In South Dakota | In Codington County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 58.6% | #46 of 193 | N/A |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 54.6% | #84 of 199 ▼ 69 | #2 of 7 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 47.9% | #114 of 202 ▼ 58 | #1 of 7 ▲ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 333 | #83 of 331 | #2 of 8 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.3:1 | #76 of 131 | N/A |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 29.5% | #92 of 131 | N/A |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 32.7% | #116 of 209 | #6 of 7 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -12.4% | #39 of 87 | N/A |
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
333
-34 (-9%) vs 2020
-16% since 2000-01, when it was 397
Student : Teacher
14.3:1
was 16.7:1
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 | 333 | 23.3 | 14.3:1 | 33% (109) |
| 2023-24 | 332 | 18.9 | 17.6:1 | 17% (56) |
| 2022-23 | 361 | 20.7 | 17.5:1 | 15% (53) |
| 2020-21 | 367 | 22 | 16.7:1 | 22% (79) |
| 2017-18 | 380 | 21.6 | 17.6:1 | 22% (85) |
| 2015-16 | 558 | 28 | 19.9:1 | 20% (114) |
| 2010-11 | 517 | 26 | 19.9:1 | 15% (77) |
| 2000-01 | 397 | 24 | 16.5:1 | 14% (57) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Jefferson Elementary - 09.
Since 2017-18: students down 12% (380 to 333); teachers up 8% (21.6 to 23.3).
About Jefferson Elementary - 09
The public elementary school Jefferson Elementary - 09 is located in Watertown, South Dakota. Enrolled students number 333 students, in grades 1 through 4. Enrollment is 63% higher than the average for elementary schools in South Dakota, which is about 204.
Watertown School District 14-4 counts 9 schools and 3,754 students, including Jefferson Elementary - 09.
About 83% of the student body at Jefferson Elementary - 09 is White. Other students are 6% multiracial, 6% Native American, and 4% Hispanic. The school's diversity index is 29%, meaning two students picked at random have a 29% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
The school reported 23.3 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25 and a ratio of 14.3:1. The school has fewer students per teacher than the 15.4:1 average for elementary schools in South Dakota. Eligible students account for 33% of enrollment in the free or reduced-price lunch program. For comparison, public schools in Codington County average 36%.
Measured against South Dakota public elementary schools, Jefferson Elementary - 09 receives an A-. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
The allk12 BeatsExpectations score for Jefferson Elementary - 09 is +9.0 points: 58.6% actual, 49.6% predicted.
Codington County has about 28,767 residents, and the median household income is $72,727, 21% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Besides Jefferson Elementary - 09, Codington County has 17 other public schools.
Watertown Middle School - 02 is the closest public school, about 0.8 miles away in a straight line. Other public schools within five miles number 7. Among 6 nearby schools that report test results, Jefferson Elementary - 09 ranks 2nd on proficiency.
Its NCES locale code is Town: Remote: the school is in a town far from an urbanized area.
Enrollment has fallen by 34 students since 2020-21, to 333. Over the same period, the student-to-teacher ratio fell to 14.3:1, from 16.7:1.
Community posts for Jefferson Elementary - 09 can cover school safety, transportation, and start times. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Codington County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
28,767
Census ACS
Median income
$72,727
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
21%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
18
4,561 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Watertown School District 14-4
- Watertown High School - 01High · 1,222 students
- Watertown Middle School - 02Middle · 575 students
- Watertown Intermediate School - 13Middle · 532 students
- Lincoln Elementary - 05Elementary · 361 students
- McKinley Early Childhood Center - 06Elementary · 296 students
- Mellette Elementary - 07Elementary · 267 students
Other schools in Watertown
- Watertown High School - 01High · 1,222 students
- Watertown Middle School - 02Middle · 575 students
- Watertown Intermediate School - 13Middle · 532 students
- Lincoln Elementary - 05Elementary · 361 students
- McKinley Early Childhood Center - 06Elementary · 296 students
- Mellette Elementary - 07Elementary · 267 students
Other Jefferson Elementary schools
143 other US public schools in 31 states are named Jefferson Elementary. Jefferson Elementary - 09 is the 87th largest of the 144.
- Jefferson Elementary - 06Pierre, SD · 377 students
- Jefferson Elementary SchoolJefferson, GA · 1,011 students
- Jefferson ElementaryRiverside, CA · 886 students
- Jefferson ElementaryLennox, CA · 716 students
- Jefferson Elementary SchoolCharleston, IL · 698 students
Nearby schools
- Watertown Middle School - 020.8 mi · 575
- Mellette Elementary - 070.9 mi · 267
- Lincoln Elementary - 051.1 mi · 361
- Watertown Intermediate School - 131.2 mi · 532
- Watertown High School - 011.5 mi · 1,222
- McKinley Early Childhood Center - 061.7 mi · 296
Frequently asked questions
About Jefferson Elementary - 09What is the total enrollment at Jefferson Elementary - 09?
Jefferson Elementary - 09 enrolls approximately 333 students in grades 01-04.
What grades does Jefferson Elementary - 09 serve?
Jefferson Elementary - 09 serves grades 01-04.
How many students per teacher at Jefferson Elementary - 09?
Approximately 14.3:1 students per teacher at Jefferson Elementary - 09.
How diverse is Jefferson Elementary - 09?
Jefferson Elementary - 09 reports a student body of 83% White, 4% Hispanic, 0% Black, 1% Asian, 6% Two or more.
Who oversees Jefferson Elementary - 09?
Jefferson Elementary - 09 is overseen by Watertown School District 14-4 in Codington County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.