Enrollment
267
Elementary
DISTRICT 238 · STATE 204
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WATERTOWN SCHOOL DISTRICT 14-4·NCES 467662000714
Mellette Elementary - 07
619 2nd St NW, Watertown, SD 57201 · (605) 882-6385 · Codington County
GRADES 01–04ELEMENTARY33-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL267 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 45% of South Dakota public elementary schools
- C+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
13.7:1
20 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.2:1 · STATE 15.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
48%
127 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 | 58 | 22% |
| Grade 2 | 63 | 24% |
| Grade 3 | 69 | 26% |
| Grade 4 | 77 | 29% |
This year's 1st grade class (58) is 25% smaller than its 4th grade class (77).
Student demographics
46%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
Mellette Elementary - 07→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
36.0%
SD avg 50.3% . -5.0pp since 2022
Math
49.6%
SD avg 47.5% . -11.9pp since 2022
What this means: On the SD Smarter Balanced, South Dakota's statewide test, about 36 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 50 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 5 points since 2022, while math scores are down about 12 points.
SD Smarter Balanced results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 36.0% | 49.6% |
| 2023-24 | 43.6% | 47.4% |
| 2022-23 | 41.0% | 61.5% |
% 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
44.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
43.5%
based on SD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+0.6pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 44% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 44% 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 Mellette Elementary - 07
Mellette Elementary - 07's state test result (44.1% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mellette Elementary - 07 this school | 267 | 47.6% | 44.1% |
| Longfellow Elementary - 05 Mitchell | 290 | 45.5% | 52.0% |
| South Park Elementary - 03 Belle Fourche | 347 | 53.9% | 43.3% |
| Kennedy Elementary - 08 Pierre | 413 | 41.4% | 54.3% |
| Gertie Belle Rogers Elementary - 04 Mitchell | 379 | 41.2% | 51.0% |
| Woonsocket Elementary - 03 Woonsocket | 181 | 40.3% | 44.8% |
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 Mellette Elementary - 07 ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In South Dakota | In Codington County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 44.1% | #126 of 193 | N/A |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 49.6% | #104 of 199 ▲ 11 | #4 of 7 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 36.0% | #159 of 202 ▼ 27 | #5 of 7 ▼ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 267 | #115 of 331 | #4 of 8 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.7:1 | #61 of 131 | N/A |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 45.6% | #59 of 131 | N/A |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 47.6% | #60 of 209 | #3 of 7 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +12.2% | #14 of 36 | 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
267
+58 (+28%) vs 2020
-28% since 1990-91, when it was 372
Student : Teacher
13.7:1
was 12.3:1
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 | 267 | 19.5 | 13.7:1 | 48% (127) |
| 2023-24 | 235 | 19.1 | 12.3:1 | 39% (92) |
| 2022-23 | 212 | 16.6 | 12.8:1 | 34% (72) |
| 2020-21 | 209 | 17 | 12.3:1 | 32% (66) |
| 2017-18 | 238 | 15.5 | 15.3:1 | 47% (111) |
| 2015-16 | 359 | 22 | 16.3:1 | 44% (158) |
| 2010-11 | 328 | 21 | 15.6:1 | 33% (109) |
| 2000-01 | 306 | 18 | 17.0:1 | 17% (52) |
| 1990-91 | 372 | 16 | 23.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Mellette Elementary - 07.
Since 2017-18: students up 12% (238 to 267); teachers up 26% (15.5 to 19.5).
About Mellette Elementary - 07
Mellette Elementary - 07 is a mid-sized elementary school found in Watertown, South Dakota. The school has 267 students in 2024-25 across grades 1 through 4. Elementary schools in South Dakota have about 204 students on average; enrollment here is 31% higher.
Besides Mellette Elementary - 07, Watertown School District 14-4 runs 8 other schools. The district enrolls 3,754 students.
The student body at Mellette Elementary - 07 is 72% White. Other reported shares: 13% multiracial, 7% Hispanic, and 6% Native American. Codington County's residents are about 91% White, 19 points above the school's share. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 46, compared with 70 nationally.
The student-to-teacher ratio at Mellette Elementary - 07 is 13.7:1, based on 19.5 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average for elementary schools in South Dakota, 15.4:1, is higher. Mellette Elementary - 07 counts 48% of students as eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The average for public schools in Codington County is 36%.
Mellette Elementary - 07 holds a B- allk12 Grade, placing it above 45% of South Dakota public elementary schools.
Schools in South Dakota with a similar free or reduced-price lunch share are predicted to score about 43.5%. Mellette Elementary - 07 scores 44.1%.
The school's county is Codington County. According to Census Bureau estimates, median household income comes to about $72,727, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 21% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 5%. Public schools in Codington County number 18, with about 4,561 students.
Mellette Elementary - 07 is about 0.9 miles from Jefferson Elementary - 09, its nearest public school. Within five miles are 7 other public schools. On proficiency, Mellette Elementary - 07 is behind the 51.3% nearby average, ranking 5th of 6.
The NCES locale for Mellette Elementary - 07 is Town: Remote, which covers schools in a town far from an urbanized area.
The 2020-21-to-2024-25 change in enrollment was a 28% rise, from 209 to 267. Its ratio of students to teachers was 12.3:1 in 2020-21, and 13.7:1 in 2024-25.
On allk12, people connected to Mellette Elementary - 07 can post about athletics, class schedules, and weather closures. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
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
- Jefferson Elementary - 09Elementary · 333 students
- McKinley Early Childhood Center - 06Elementary · 296 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
- Jefferson Elementary - 09Elementary · 333 students
- McKinley Early Childhood Center - 06Elementary · 296 students
Nearby schools
- Jefferson Elementary - 090.9 mi · 333
- McKinley Early Childhood Center - 060.9 mi · 296
- Watertown Intermediate School - 131.0 mi · 532
- Roosevelt Elementary - 081.0 mi · 148
- Watertown High School - 011.1 mi · 1,222
- Lincoln Elementary - 051.2 mi · 361
Frequently asked questions
About Mellette Elementary - 07What is the total enrollment at Mellette Elementary - 07?
Mellette Elementary - 07 enrolls approximately 267 students in grades 01-04.
Is Mellette Elementary - 07 an elementary, middle, or high school?
Mellette Elementary - 07 is an elementary school covering grades 01-04.
How many teachers does Mellette Elementary - 07 have?
Mellette Elementary - 07 employs 20 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 13.7:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Mellette Elementary - 07?
At Mellette Elementary - 07, the student body is approximately 72% White, 7% Hispanic, 1% Black, 13% Two or more.
Who oversees Mellette Elementary - 07?
Mellette Elementary - 07 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.