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Teachers: what resource would make the biggest difference at John Harris Elementary - 23 this year?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
666
Elementary
DISTRICT 466 · STATE 204
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SIOUX FALLS SCHOOL DISTRICT 49-5·NCES 466627001064
John Harris Elementary - 23
3501 E 49th St, Sioux Falls, SD 57103 · (605) 371-4111 · Minnehaha County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL666 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 80% 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.
- B+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
17.8:1
38 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.6:1 · STATE 15.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
21%
140 students
DISTRICT 58% · STATE 42%
Community
1
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 21 | 3% |
| Kindergarten | 103 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 99 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 109 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 111 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 114 | 17% |
| Grade 5 | 109 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (103) is 6% smaller than its 5th grade class (109).
Student demographics
36%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 65% · 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
Test scores
SD Smarter Balanced 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
62.2%
SD avg 50.3% . -1.8pp since 2022
Math
68.0%
SD avg 47.5% . +3.7pp since 2022
What this means: On the SD Smarter Balanced, South Dakota's statewide test, about 62 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 68 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 2 points since 2022, while math scores are up about 4 points.
SD Smarter Balanced results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 62.2% | 68.0% |
| 2023-24 | 69.0% | 65.4% |
| 2022-23 | 64.0% | 64.3% |
% 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
60.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
54.4%
based on SD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+6.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 61% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 54% 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 John Harris Elementary - 23
John Harris Elementary - 23's state test result (60.9% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Harris Elementary - 23 this school | 666 | 21.0% | 60.9% |
| Discovery Elementary - 26 Sioux Falls | 873 | 21.9% | 57.2% |
| Brandon Elementary - 03 Brandon | 728 | 29.8% | 71.6% |
| Camelot Intermediate - 06 Brookings | 523 | 21.4% | 44.2% |
| Freedom Elementary - 06 Harrisburg | 442 | 23.3% | 37.8% |
| Liberty Elementary - 02 Harrisburg | 559 | 16.1% | 40.7% |
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 John Harris Elementary - 23 ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In South Dakota | In Minnehaha County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 60.9% | #36 of 193 | #10 of 35 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 68.0% | #32 of 199 ▲ 7 | #9 of 35 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 62.2% | #42 of 202 ▼ 23 | #10 of 35 ▼ 3 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 666 | #8 of 331 | #7 of 39 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.8:1 | #124 of 131 | #28 of 31 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 36.0% | #78 of 131 | #23 of 31 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 21.0% | #172 of 209 | #27 of 36 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -3.2% | #79 of 87 | #15 of 16 |
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
666
-26 (-4%) vs 2020
+18% since 2000-01, when it was 564
Student : Teacher
17.8:1
was 21.0:1
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 | 666 | 37.5 | 17.8:1 | 21% (140) |
| 2023-24 | 686 | 37.8 | 18.1:1 | 16% (112) |
| 2022-23 | 706 | 39.1 | 18.1:1 | 16% (112) |
| 2020-21 | 692 | 33 | 21.0:1 | 19% (133) |
| 2017-18 | 688 | 35.4 | 19.5:1 | 16% (113) |
| 2015-16 | 686 | 34 | 20.2:1 | 17% (118) |
| 2010-11 | 629 | 37 | 17.0:1 | 12% (75) |
| 2000-01 | 564 | 36 | 15.7:1 | 4% (22) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for John Harris Elementary - 23.
Since 2017-18: students down 3% (688 to 666); teachers up 6% (35.4 to 37.5).
About John Harris Elementary - 23
John Harris Elementary - 23 is a large elementary school in South Dakota, located in Sioux Falls. In all, 666 students attend the school in pre-K through 5. That is 226% above the average of about 204 students for elementary schools in South Dakota.
John Harris Elementary - 23 is run by Sioux Falls School District 49-5, whose 44 schools enroll 25,060 students.
The share of White students at John Harris Elementary - 23 is 79%, a majority. After that, the student body is 8% multiracial, 5% Black, and 5% Hispanic. Census estimates put Minnehaha County at about 80% White, close to the school's figure. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 36, compared with 70 nationally.
The school had 37.5 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25. Its student-to-teacher ratio is 17.8:1. The gap from the 15.4:1 average for elementary schools in South Dakota is 2.4 students per teacher. The school reported 21% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024-25. Among public schools in Minnehaha County, the average eligibility rate is 42%.
John Harris Elementary - 23 holds an A- allk12 Grade, placing it above 80% of South Dakota public elementary schools.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, John Harris Elementary - 23 falls in the middle 80% of South Dakota schools: 60.9% actual against 54.4% predicted.
The county, Minnehaha County, is where the school is located. The median household earns about $76,880 a year, 35% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 6% of people live in poverty. Minnehaha County has 83 public schools with about 34,919 students, including John Harris Elementary - 23.
John Harris Elementary - 23 is about 1.1 miles from Horizon Elementary - 09, its nearest public school. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. Its average proficiency rate of 60.9% is above the 48.1% average for nearby schools.
The National Center for Education Statistics classifies the school's location as City: Mid-size, meaning it is inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
From 692 students in 2020-21, enrollment decreased to 666 by 2024-25. By 2024-25, the school had 17.8 students per teacher, compared with 21.0 in 2020-21.
This community page is for conversations about athletics, class schedules, and weather closures. You can also rate the school on this page.
Minnehaha County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
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
Related schools
Other schools in Sioux Falls School District 49-5
- Lincoln High School - 02High · 1,954 students
- Jefferson High School - 67High · 1,888 students
- Washington High School - 01High · 1,819 students
- Roosevelt High School - 03High · 1,785 students
- Memorial Middle School - 04Middle · 1,133 students
- Edison Middle School - 06Middle · 937 students
Other schools in Sioux Falls
- Lincoln High School - 02High · 1,954 students
- Jefferson High School - 67High · 1,888 students
- Washington High School - 01High · 1,819 students
- Roosevelt High School - 03High · 1,785 students
- Memorial Middle School - 04Middle · 1,133 students
- Edison Middle School - 06Middle · 937 students
Nearby schools
- Horizon Elementary - 091.1 mi · 458
- Harvey Dunn Elementary - 541.2 mi · 681
- Lincoln High School - 021.5 mi · 1,954
- Harrisburg East Middle School - 111.5 mi · 428
- Bridges At Horace Mann - 521.9 mi · 55
- Challenge Center - 512.0 mi · 165
Frequently asked questions
About John Harris Elementary - 23How many students attend John Harris Elementary - 23?
John Harris Elementary - 23 enrolls approximately 666 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does John Harris Elementary - 23 serve?
John Harris Elementary - 23 serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at John Harris Elementary - 23?
Approximately 17.8:1 students per teacher at John Harris Elementary - 23.
What is the student diversity at John Harris Elementary - 23?
Student demographics at John Harris Elementary - 23 are roughly 79% White, 5% Hispanic, 5% Black, 1% Asian, 8% Two or more.
Is John Harris Elementary - 23 public or private?
John Harris Elementary - 23 is a public K-12 school, overseen by Sioux Falls School District 49-5.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.